The Northern Regional Chapter of the Coalition on the Right to Information (RTI) has expressed displeasure over parliament’s failure to pass the Right to Information bill which.
The bill has been put before Parliament for nearly 10 years but has failed to catch the attention of the leadership of the House for its passage.
According to the regional chapter “Parliamentarians are either adopting this lukewarm attitude towards the bill for their parochial political interest to continue running away from accountability and transparency or for reasons best known to them.”
In a release issued in Tamale and signed by Mr Mahama Zakaria, the Northern Regional Coordinator of the RTI, demanded to know from the Joint Committee on Communication and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the report on the Regional Consultations which were held in six selected regions last year, saying “It is very necessary the Joint Committee makes its report available to the House and the general public”.
It also called on the leadership of Parliament to make the RTI bill part of its agenda for its next sitting which is expected to start in May 2012.
“We consider this very necessary because the bill, which was drafted in 2002, has been sitting on the shelves of law makers for 10 years now and needs the necessary attention,” the statement said.
The group further reminded the government of its assurance during the 2008 campaign that it would ensure the passage of the bill when voted to power, saying “government should note that election 2012 is just around the corner and that their manifesto promise is yet to see the light of day.”
Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh
