Passed RTI Bill does not have enough policy credibility – Haruna Iddrisu

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The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has described the Right to Information (RTI) was just pbaded into law, do not have enough policy credibility.

He says the last minute decision to make the Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the supervising minister of the bill instead of the Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo, was a bad move.

Mr Iddrisu believes that because the RTI Bill is corruption-fighting legislation, it should have been driven by the Attorney-General.

"I believe that the government has already lost [corruption fight] because the shepherding minister has been reduced to the Ministry of Information. Right to Information is not about propaganda or government information or misinformation. It is about the right of access to information in the context of decisions of the Executive, Parliament and others may take.

"So in my view, to substitute the Attorney-General for the Minister of Information of the RTI Bill," the Tamale South MP said.

Mr Iddrisu stressed that because the Attorney-General is mandated to fight corruption and fight white collar crime and economic crimes among others, the supervision of the pbadage of the bill is still in place.

For a Bill as important as the RTI, which can strengthen the position of government and other institutions, the government could have done better.

"What corruption hates is darkness and the RTI Bill shines the sun, so the RTI belongs to what we say in governance and corruption [as] to sun-shine legislation, "Mr Iddrisu added.

Mahama Ayariga, Chairman of Parliament's Subsidiary Legislation Committee, holds a contrary view.

He rejects the suggestion that the swapping of the supervisory minister will affect the credibility of the RTI Bill.

"Essentially, it is about the collection, management and access to information. When it comes to corruption and accountability, the Attorney-General can always take it up.

"Any other sector with the law so when you violate it, the Attorney General's Office can take it up. So we can not say that because we have been moved to the Attorney General, we are weakening it, "he added.

The Bawku Central MP said that RTI Bill is only about corruption.

He added that when it is necessary to report it, it is mostly used for social and economic issues, which in general economic development.

"Honestly, there are very few cases where it is usually about corruption, most of it is about social and economic development. I do not think that the media sits there just to expose wrong doing. They are there to throw light on economic, social and development issues, generally, and where corruption and abuse are impeding progress in these areas then the media wants information to throw light on that.

"But principally, it is not to fight corruption or abuse," the MP stressed.