Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative excited with progress of RTI Bill at consideration stage -But very cautious with expectations
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has expressed satisfaction with the progress parliament is making on the Right To Information (RTI) Bill at the consideration stage.
The RTI Bill was among the Bills that were arranged in the Business of the House for last week when parliament resumed sittings for the Second Meeting; and has been advertise in all the Order Papers throughout the week, and debated on accordingly by members.
It was the only Bill that earned the Speaker’s mentioning during his welcome address to members for the Second Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic. The Speaker, Rt. Hon Edward Doe Adjaho, entreated members of the need to “give priority to the consideration of the Right to Information Bill.”
According to Mina Mensah, Regional Coordinator, Africa Office, CHRI, so far proceedings have gone on very well. “Generally it has gone well. I guess there is the need for MPs to really acquaint themselves with the proposals that the committee made. Most of the amendments have been justified in the Committee’s report. So if members read that report and then brainstorm on it, I think it will make the process very smooth. So far so good. What we hope for is that they will move at a faster pace. Because if the pace is faster I am sure by the end of June it may pass,” Ms Mensah said.
However, on whether she is confident that the Bill will be passed this year, the CHRI Boss pointed out that she is not in a position to say so, indicating that, “I am not a parliamentarian. I will not say that I am confident because I am not a parliamentarian. At the end of the day there are so many amendments that have to be done. I cannot stand here and say because of what I have seen in the last few days I am sticking out my neck and say definitely it is going to pass. History has taught me a lot of lessons and one of them is not to jump to conclusion when it comes to parliament”.
She noted that largely the amendments that have been suggested are things mostly from the Committee’s report. There are very few amendments and a lot of them it is just a question of semantics and placements that are different. The RTI Bill, 2013, has 56 amendments proposed. So far the amendments that have generated concerns during the consideration stage have been deferred to the Attorney General and the Committee to have a look at it again.
The consideration of the RTI Bill continues today.
The bill which was ushered into its consideration stage on Wednesday is expected to be discussed clause by clause with all concerns debated and voted upon. The rationale for the Bill is to give right and access to official information held by public institutions, private entities which perform public functions with public funds.
The right to information is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution and recognized as a right under International Conventions on Human rights. The purpose of the Right to Information Bill is to give substance to Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution which states that “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society”.
The Members of Parliament on first day of the consideration stage focused on Clauses 1 and 2 of the bill which provides for access to official information held by a government agency except for information specified as exempt and maximum disclosure in relation to governance respectively. The information classified as exempt under clause 1 of the bill include information concerning an individual’s physical or mental health, marriage or employment record, business or trade secrets of commercial value to the individual or professional, commercial or financial affairs, among others.
Maximum disclosure in relation to governance provided for in Clause 2 of the bill requires the government to make non-exempt information on governance available to the public without the need of an application and this is meant to ensure transparency in government and to contribute meaningfully to national development. The Clause states that “in addition to the requirements of Article 67 of the Constitution, and subject to this Act, the government shall make available to the people general information on their governance without application from a specific person”.
However after extensive debate on the Bill the legislators deleted the portion “in addition to the requirements of Article 67 of the Constitution and subject to this Act” from the Clause. The Bill was first drafted in 1999 and reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007 but was not presented to Parliament. The first attempt at enacting the law on the right to information was made when the Bill was presented to Parliament on February 5, 2010.
The RTI Bill was among the Bills that were arranged in the Business of the House for last week when parliament resumed sittings for the Second Meeting; and has been advertise in all the Order Papers throughout the week, and debated on accordingly by members.
It was the only Bill that earned the Speaker’s mentioning during his welcome address to members for the Second Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic. The Speaker, Rt. Hon Edward Doe Adjaho, entreated members of the need to “give priority to the consideration of the Right to Information Bill.”
According to Mina Mensah, Regional Coordinator, Africa Office, CHRI, so far proceedings have gone on very well. “Generally it has gone well. I guess there is the need for MPs to really acquaint themselves with the proposals that the committee made. Most of the amendments have been justified in the Committee’s report. So if members read that report and then brainstorm on it, I think it will make the process very smooth. So far so good. What we hope for is that they will move at a faster pace. Because if the pace is faster I am sure by the end of June it may pass,” Ms Mensah said.
However, on whether she is confident that the Bill will be passed this year, the CHRI Boss pointed out that she is not in a position to say so, indicating that, “I am not a parliamentarian. I will not say that I am confident because I am not a parliamentarian. At the end of the day there are so many amendments that have to be done. I cannot stand here and say because of what I have seen in the last few days I am sticking out my neck and say definitely it is going to pass. History has taught me a lot of lessons and one of them is not to jump to conclusion when it comes to parliament”.
She noted that largely the amendments that have been suggested are things mostly from the Committee’s report. There are very few amendments and a lot of them it is just a question of semantics and placements that are different. The RTI Bill, 2013, has 56 amendments proposed. So far the amendments that have generated concerns during the consideration stage have been deferred to the Attorney General and the Committee to have a look at it again.
The consideration of the RTI Bill continues today.
The bill which was ushered into its consideration stage on Wednesday is expected to be discussed clause by clause with all concerns debated and voted upon. The rationale for the Bill is to give right and access to official information held by public institutions, private entities which perform public functions with public funds.
The right to information is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution and recognized as a right under International Conventions on Human rights. The purpose of the Right to Information Bill is to give substance to Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution which states that “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society”.
The Members of Parliament on first day of the consideration stage focused on Clauses 1 and 2 of the bill which provides for access to official information held by a government agency except for information specified as exempt and maximum disclosure in relation to governance respectively. The information classified as exempt under clause 1 of the bill include information concerning an individual’s physical or mental health, marriage or employment record, business or trade secrets of commercial value to the individual or professional, commercial or financial affairs, among others.
Maximum disclosure in relation to governance provided for in Clause 2 of the bill requires the government to make non-exempt information on governance available to the public without the need of an application and this is meant to ensure transparency in government and to contribute meaningfully to national development. The Clause states that “in addition to the requirements of Article 67 of the Constitution, and subject to this Act, the government shall make available to the people general information on their governance without application from a specific person”.
However after extensive debate on the Bill the legislators deleted the portion “in addition to the requirements of Article 67 of the Constitution and subject to this Act” from the Clause. The Bill was first drafted in 1999 and reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007 but was not presented to Parliament. The first attempt at enacting the law on the right to information was made when the Bill was presented to Parliament on February 5, 2010.
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