Government urged to pass RTI to fight corruption

Government has been urged to show more commitment to fight corruption and promote transparency by passing the Right to Information Bill (RTI) into law to empower citizens to demand information on activities of public institutions.

This formed the core of issues raised by stakeholders at a sensitization forum on RTI in Tamale to mobilize public support for the passage of RTI before the end of this year.

Participants were drawn from civil society organizations (CSOs), academia, religious institutions, traditional authorities, National Commission for Civic Education, district assemblies, and social groups.

Mr Mohammed Mumuni, Team Leader, Northern Region Networking Centre of SEND Ghana, said the passage of RTI into law would enhance citizens’ participation in the affairs of the state, which would keep duty-bearers on their toes thereby ensuring accountability and transparency.

Mr Mumuni said the passage of the RTI Bill into law would also ensure availability of information for CSOs’ active participation in the affairs of the state, because CSOs depended on information from public institutions to undertake their development work.

He said “If there is no law to ensure access to free and timely information, then there is no way the public can actively participate in the development process to hold duty-bearers accountable.”

Mr Adam Baani Natomah, an Anti-corruption Officer at the Northern Regional Office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administration Justice, said the passage of the RTI Bill into law would strengthen efforts to fight corruption in the country.

Mr Natomah said such a law would also enable the citizenry to track the performance of duty-bearers and ensure proper record keeping by institutions for effective administration.

Source: GNA