The dignitaries in a group photograph after the programme
The leadership of parliament yesterday indicated its resolve to have the Right to Information (RTI) Bill passed before the end of the 7th Parliament of the Fourth Republic.
According to the leadership, the Bill has gone through almost all the stages in the previous parliament and will be reintroduced in the current parliament, depending on the prerogative of the introducers (government).
Deputy majority leader of the House, Sarah Adwoa Safo, announced this during the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day in Accra yesterday.
Ms Safo, together with the minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, who represented the leadership of parliament, joined Ghanaian journalists and media practitioners to celebrate free Ghanaian press under the theme, “Ghana still in search of the Right to Information Law and Broadcasting Law: Is Parliament in a Dilemma?”
Addressing participants at the Ghana International Press Centre, Ms Adwoa Safo said parliament was not in a dilemma over the passage of the RTI Bill.
She said the leadership of the 7th parliament was keen on its passage and indicated, “The Right Hon. Speaker since his assumption of office, has indicated severally the determination of the seventh parliament to pass the Right To Information Bill into law once and for all.
“This clearly indicates that parliament is not in a dilemma and it’s committed to the passage of the Right to Information Bill.”
Information Minister Mustapha Hamid, also gave the assurance that the RTI would be passed by July this year.
According to him, the President Akufo-Addo government will soon re-lay the Bill before parliament, “and so to assure you that per the calendar that we have sent to parliament, it is in there that in the May to July session of this parliament, the RTI shall be before them for debate and for passage; that is a given, it is non-negotiable,” he said.
The RTI has been before the house since 2013. It is one of the oldest bills before the house. The Mahama administration promised to pass it before the expiration of its tenure but it failed to do so.
The RTI Bill is expected to be reintroduced during the second meeting, taking into account all the work done on it already.
Media Ranking
Ghana Journalists’ Association, (GJA) President, Affail Monney, touching on the freedom of the media in the country, said press freedom is the essence of the journalism profession.
He said the latest press freedom ranking by the advocacy group – Reporters Without Borders – placed Ghana at the 26th position on the league table of media systems in the world, with the same score of 17.95 the country garnered in 2016.
“Once again, our media have been adjudged freer than France, which came 39 th; UK, 40th and USA, 43rd. On the continent level, we moved from 3rd to second, the first being Namibia. In West Africa we are number one, as compared to Cot d’Ivoire which placed 81st and Nigeria 122nd” he said.
Journalistic Standards
Mr. Monney indicated that the GJA had observed with joy the increased professional standards in a section of the media with the introduction of fact-checked journalism.
“This, when replicated across the media spectrum, will hopefully provide an effective cure for the perpetration of inflated rhetoric and the spread of pure lies by public figures, especially politicians who are inclined to take the ordinary Ghanaian for a ride,” he noted.
He urged the media to continue to criticize to build and not destroy, in line with their constitutional mandate to hold the authorities to account.
The GJA president later expressed worry over the growing interference of bosses with the editorial independence of reporters and editors.
“Their attitude is gradually eroding the freedom we fought for and won. Press freedom in all its forms must be upheld and not undermined,” he added.
Anti-Galamsey
Mr Affail Monney observed that while the Ghanaian media maintain their anti-galamsey momentum, they should direct their guns against filth as well.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri & Abigail Owiredu Boateng