Private legal practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini has said the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Bill into Law will bring an end to the culture of media speculations in the country.
This, he said is because the RTI Bill enjoins public officials to supply journalists and the public information requested of them.
“Your ethics that say that you should be fair and deal with the fact will be upheld because you will get the fact. You will not be speculating. You will not be running rumours on media every morning in the name of morning show,” he said at a Seminar organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) – Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) chapter.
“They are bound by law to supply you the contract and every information so as a journalist, you will be dealing with facts and figures that the law compels the public officials to give to you,” he added.
Information minister, Mustapha Hamid, disclosed that the RTI Bill will be passed into law by close of year 2018.
Government came under massive pressure to get the bill laid following fears that the government was deliberately delaying the process.
It was finally laid before Parliament by the Deputy Attorney General Joseph Kpemka Dindiok Friday March 23. It comes after Cabinet on Thursday March 22, approved the bill paving the way for it to be laid before the lawmakers.
It has been 22 years since the first Right to Information (RTI) Bill was drafted under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs, IEA.
Also, it is 16 years since the Executive arm of government in 2002 drafted the first RTI Bill. The draft Executive Bill was subsequently reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007 but was never laid in Parliament until February 5, 2010.
In his speech at the seminar themed, “The importance of the Right of Information Bill to the Journalist” Mr. Anyenini debunked the assertion that the bill when passed into law will apply to only public officials.
“Don’t believe the lie that this law does not apply to other entities but government people only. Take it from me, it’s a big lie .Don’t believe it,” he pointed out.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
