The Coalition on the Right to Information is appealing to the government not to neglect its obligations under the Right to Information Act because of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease.
It wants to see building blocks towards the effective implementation of the Right to Information Act established immediately, without any further delay.
These expectations were outlined in a statement, released by the coalition to mark the first anniversary of President Akufo-Addo’s assent to the RTI Act 2019.
Roadmap abandoned?
“Sadly, one year after the assent to [the new RTI law] and 141 days since it took effect, major milestones set out by the supervising ministry, the Ministry of Information, in its roadmap towards the implementation of the Act have still not seen the light of day,” the statement said.
The coalition is unhappy that Ghana still has not attained any of the RTI milestones. These include the opening of a fully equipped RTI Commission Office; the appointment of Information Commissioners and fully trained staff; agreement on the template for an information manual for all public institutions; and the drafting of a legislative instrument to be laid before Parliament.
The Coalition also said that no action has been taken to equip the Office of the Head of the Civil Service to set up information units in all public institutions.
Timely information
According to the Coalition, with the growing need for access to timely and adequate information in this era of COVID-19, there is a greater need than ever to implement the RTI roadmap.
“Monitoring the global situation, we have observed some threats to many countries’ obligation to access to information on public health, which must not emerge in our country,” the statement said.
“We encourage government to continue to be proactive in sharing information and remain responsive to citizens’ feedback and questions about the information being supplied,” the Coalition said.
“Similarly, we call on citizens to take advantage of the RTI Act to demand information on public health data around coronavirus cases, deaths, testing facilities, the country’s involvement in drug trials, contingency planning and other issues,” it said.
Proactive approach
Meanwhile, the Coalition has expressed satisfaction with the government for its proactive and responsive attitude in providing information to the public on the novel coronavirus epidemic.
The Coalition also commended the Office of the President, the Ministries of Information and Health and other ministries, departments and agencies for living up to the tenets of the RTI Act 2019.
Fred Dzakpata
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