The over two-decades-old Right to Information Bill which gathered dust on Parliamentary shelves, and became a subject of controversy between governments and civil society groups has finally been passed into law.

The bill was passed Tuesday but not without controversy.

Members of the Minority want the law to take effect immediately after it is assented to by the president. The Majority wants a 12-month reprieve within which to prepare public institutions before the law takes effect.

In the end, it was agreed the law will take effect in the beginning of 2020 after the presidential assent.

The law will require public institutions and officers to make available information to the public when it is demanded.

At long last

“I am very happy at long last the RTI Bill has now survived in this house,” Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Bagbin said shortly after members of Parliament passed the bill into law.

According to him, the Bill first came to Parliament in 1999 through the initiative of the Institute of Economic Affairs.

“I was a member of the House and assisted the Institute to draft the bill,” he said, adding, it is the right of the good people of Ghana to have access to information.

Benefits

The law is to deepen the country’s democracy by increasing the principles of transparency and accountability. It is also to help in the fight against corruption.

But the journey from the drafting of the Bill to its final passage into law has been long and tortuous. It took five presidents and five parliaments all in the fourth Republic to have the Bill passed into law.

Background

Parliament

It was first brought to Parliament in 1999 under the Rawlings led administration. It died with the administration and was resurrected when the Kufuor government was elected into office in 2000.

From 2000-2008, the Kufuor government, like its predecessor, paid lip service to the passage of the bill. There were however some amendments which it made.

The late Prof John Evans Atta Mills also failed to pass the Bill into law despite making some amendments as well.  He died in July 2012 without passing the bill.

His successor John Mahama for close to eight years failed to pass the Bill into the law citing a number of constraints.

Civil Society groups including the RTI Coalition began to mount pressure on the government to pass the bill into law but it failed to heed to the call.

With just days for the NDC to leave office in 2016, the John Mahama administration decided to pass the bill but was fiercely resisted by the then opposition NPP accusing the then government of rushing to pass a bill it will not execute.

The Akufo-Addo led NPP government made it a campaign promise to pass the Bill when voted into power. The RTI coalition mounted more pressure after several deadlines by the president and the government to pass the bill failed.

There were accusations of assault on RTI campaigners who thronged Parliament with placards demanding the passage of the Bill.

Finally the Bill has been passed into law with the hope of promoting good governance in Ghana’s fledgling democracy.