Status of the Right to Information Bill

The draft bill on right to information has been posted on the government portal at http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php.There is also posted on the portal a Q & A that assists the public to have a quick glimpse of the bill. Additionally the sector ministry responsible for Information has launched a strategic plan that includes serialisation of the bill in a newspaper, distribution of several thousands of booklets containing the Q & A, plus a number of nationwide seminars for the civil service, the private sector and members of the public. The seminars will also involve the Public Records and Archives Administration Department officials whose main responsibility will be to encourage proper records keeping. The objective of the government agenda is to a. Create public awareness about the bill b. sensitise public servants especially about the bill in preparation for implementation of the law and c. create awareness amongst the private sector about the bill and its applicability to private bodies.

On January 27, 2010 over fifteen hundred people belonging to various civil society organizations took to the streets of Accra to mount pressure on the government to expedite action on the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Bill. The Right to Information Coalition-Ghana and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa Office, expressed its support to the Right to Information (RTI) Public March conducted on Wednesday 27th January 2010. The RTI campaigners marched through principal streets of Accra and raising public awareness on the need for Government to pass the Right to Information Bill. Campaigners also submitted statements to the Attorney Generals Department and the House of Parliament and received a high profile reception from the leadership of Parliament. It is because of the CHRI- coalition support that The Right to Information Bill has now been tabled on the floor of Parliament .The Parliament has started work on the Bill according to the promise it made to Ghanaians during the recent public march organised by the RTI coalition and has also led to the passage of first reading phase of the bill.

For more information, Click on the links given below:

Highlights on the Right to Information Act 2003

Right to Information Bill 2003-Questions & Answers