Delegating supervision of RTI to Information Minister ‘wrong’ – Haruna
The Minority has described as a major mistake, the decision of the government to make the Information Minister, the supervising Minister for Right to Information (RTI) instead of the Attorney General.
According to Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, this affects the policy credibility of the legal framework.
“I believe that the government has already lost it. Lost it because the Shepherding Minister has been reduced to the Ministry of Information. Right to Information is not about propaganda or government information or government misinformation. It is about the right of access to information to aid in exposure.
“What decisions the Executive and Parliament and others may take so in my view, to substitute the Attorney General for the Minister of Information itself waters down the policy credibility of the Right to Information.”
Parliament finally passed RTI Bill into law on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after several policy changes and amendments.
About RTI
The RTI is supposed to be a fundamental human right guaranteed by the Constitution and recognized as a right under International Conventions on Human rights.
The passage of the Bill gives substance to Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution which states that “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary for a democratic society.”
The RTI Bill was first drafted in 1999 under former President, Jerry John Rawlings.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its 2008 and 2012 election manifestos promised to ensure the Bill was passed. In 2010, it was presented to Parliament for consideration.
In 2011, the government signed unto the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Initiative with a commitment to pass the law. In November 2013, the Bill was formally laid before Parliament.
Former Attorney General, Deputy Dominic Ayine in 2015, moved the Bill for second reading in Parliament. In October 2016, the Bill was withdrawn and replaced with a new one which was immediately laid.
Following the dissolution of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic and the swearing-in of new Parliament in January 2017, the Bill had to be re-laid by the new government before work commences on it.
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Source: citinewsroom