Legal practitioner, Samson Lardy has expressed shock at excuses given by some leading New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs over their failure to pass arguably Ghana’s oldest bill, the Right to Information Bill.
Asokwa NPP MP, K.T Hammond has said, passing the bill aimed at deepening transparency and public accountability will make governance difficult because “there will be no secret in government.”
Samson Lardy Anyenini in a Facebook post on Thursday called this claim a “big lie” and explained most information at the presidency is exempt.
He also expressed dismay at the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, who has asked the media not to put pressure on parliament to pass a law first drafted by government in 2002.
The host of Joy News analysis show Newsfile, stressed the importance of the bill explaining it would remove the need for citizens to go to court for an order demanding information from the government.
Instead of paying legal fees in the demand for information, a straightforward request to a proposed information commissioner will suffice.
He expressed disappointment that public officials who generate public information through the use of public funds, do not want the public to have it.
The RTI coalition has set a new November 15 deadline for parliament to pass the bill. In March 2018, the Civil Society Organisation gave government a 10-day ultimatum to lay the Right To Information (RTI) bill before parliament rose on March 23.
Parliament met that deadline after considerable pressure after the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, promised to have the bill passed into law before the year ended.
??????The RTI bill has remained a draft after four different parliaments made several alterations to it.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS