Parliament yesterday (Friday March, 22, 19) concluded consideration of the Bill which has drawn resentment from Members of Parliament.
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Parliament to pass RTI Bill Tuesday
Parliament will on Tuesday March 26, 2019 pass the Right to Information Bill, after almost two decades.
Right to Information (RTI) bill
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After the adoption of the amendment, the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu indicated that the RTI Bill would be read the third time and passed next Tuesday.
He said: “The Minister [sponsoring the Bill] had indicated to me that it was going to pass it [RTI] through the second consideration stage and once you do that, the third reading will be done next week.
"So if it is possible, we will certainly take the second consideration on the RTI Bill today [Friday] and close the chapter on the consideration stage and pave the way for the third reading to be done next week Tuesday,” he added.
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The bill has spent nearly two decades before parliament. It was first drafted in 1999 under President Jerry John Rawlings.
Various advocacy groups emerged to press for the immediate passing of the bill into law in 2002, but it was reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has reaffirmed his commitment to the Bill during his 2019 State of the Nation address.
“I am happy to state that, as you know, Parliament has virtually completed its deliberations on the Right to Information Bill, and that, any moment from now, the nation will hear the news of its passage. I will, happily, give my assent to it as soon as it is brought to my table,” he said.
Financial implications
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The Research Department of Parliament has estimated that the implementation of the Right to Information in Ghana will cost GHC 750 million over five years.
The report which was compiled in 2017 indicated that the cost will revolve around the setting up of an RTI Commission.
The breakdown of costs included funds for boards, administrative expenses, district administrative expenses, district office facilities, and a head office.
In the report, it was indicated that the administrative staff cost at the head office in the first year was marked at GHC 651,968.22.
For all the districts, the staff cost was estimated to cost GHC 91 million. These figures reduce year to year from 2018 to 2021.
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When passed, the RTI Bill is expected to create 323 direct public sector jobs.
However, the figure for the cost for district administration is expected to increase since the number of districts in Ghana has risen from 254 to 260.
The report also noted as a fiscal impact statement, was “to help the government evaluate the affordability and enactment against the plan inscribed in the Bill.”
The report also noted that this fiscal impact statement of the Bill “is needed to support the budget process and provide estimates necessary to execute the proposal.”
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