Ghanaians react to passage of RTI bill

The Bill was finally passed after its third reading on Tuesday, March 26, 2019.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will give the bill a presidential assent to be fully recognized as law.

The RTI Bill had been in and out of parliament for almost two decades. Civil Society and the media have been very instrumental in the passed of the Bill into law.

READ MORE: Police block journalists from Parliament over RTI bill

The RTI law will provide for the operationalisation of the constitutional right to information held by the public and some private institutions, subject to exemptions that are necessary and consistent with the protection of public interest in a democratic society.

The was first drafted 22 years ago under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs, IEA.

The draft Executive Bill was subsequently reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007 but was never laid in Parliament until February 5, 2010.

It was subsequently withdrawn to review some clauses.

Since then, efforts by several advocacy groups to put pressure on the duty bearers to have the Bill passed have also not yielded any positive results until now.

READ MORE: Implementation of RTI will cost GH¢750m – Report

Observers have criticized successive governments for lacking the political will to pass the Bill.

Read below how Ghanaians reacted to the passage of the bill on social media: