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The minority in Parliament opposed last Friday a proposal for a transitional provision to delay the implementation of the bill on the right to information one year after its adoption.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Suhum, Mr. Frederick Opare-Andah, proposed the amendment that the entry into force of the ITRs should come into force twelve months after the date on which the law will have been sanctioned by the president.
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He said public institutions should have time to hire information officers and set up information offices to facilitate the dissemination of information to the public.
However, minority members of parliament said that the media, civil society organizations and many Ghanaians have been waiting for the pbadage and implementation of the RTI for years; it would therefore be wrong to delay it once adopted.
They stated that government institutions already had information managers and an information system that allowed them to disclose information to the public.
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National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Abdulai Fuseini; Wa West MP NDC Joseph Yieleh-Chireh and Naw MP Central Bawku Mahama Ayariga therefore asked the House to reject the transitional provision.
Therefore, the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, has decided that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Gloria Akuffo, should inform Parliament, in writing or by person, on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, of the question to know if the government was ready. implement an ITR Act immediately or after a specified period.
He added that the laws have no retrospective effect, but that they could have a futuristic effect.
Therefore, Professor Oquaye said that it was crucial to hear the executive power to know if he had the ability to immediately enforce a law on ITRs.
Chairman of the committee
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Ben Abdallah Banda, deputy of the Offinso-Sud constituency and chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, defended the proposal to suspend the implementation of the law. RTI.
He added that government institutions needed time to hire qualified information managers and set up information offices that would allow the public to easily access information.
Context
The purpose of the RTI bill is to provide for the implementation of the constitutional right to information held by public institutions and certain private institutions, subject to the necessary derogations and consistent with the protection of the law. public interest in a democratic society.
It also aims to promote a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs and to resolve related issues.
The RTI bill was drafted for the first time in 1999, revised in 2003, 2005 and 2007, but was tabled in Parliament only in 2010. It was brought back to the sixth legislature but n & rsquo; Could be adopted before the expiry of this, on January 6, 2016.
After months of waiting, the bill was tabled in Parliament earlier this year (2018) by Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice Joseph Dindiok.
The RTI bill was pbaded in first and second readings and the House has almost completed consideration of the proposed amendments to the bill, after which it will be pbaded.
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