A former Supreme Court Judge, Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe has been given fresh mandate to sample opinions and repackage the much awaited Freedom Information Bill. Affirming the government’s commitment to the bill in the midst of public outcry against its delayed passage, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey hinted at some challenges which Justice Crabbe was to take board. The Attorney General said the 83 year old former Supreme Court judge was assigned the responsibility following recommendations made by a three-member team which visited the United Kingdom early this year to study British laws on freedom of information. Mr Ghartey said despite the challenges, the government was committed to the passage of the bill because of its respect for human rights and access to information. He cited the repeal of the Criminal Libel and Seditious Law as testimony of the desire by the government to expand the frontiers of freedom and human rights in the country. He said there was no doubt that there was freedom under the current democratic dispensation and explained that what the freedom of information law sought to achieve was just to provide the legal frame work within which access to information could be exercised. Mr Ghartey conceded that the current schedule of the 1992 Constitution, which required Ministers of State and some government appointees, to swear the oath of secrecy, was a limitation on the level of disclosure by public officials but indicated that the nation could rise above such challenges with a bi-partisan approach to the debate. He said one of the lessons which the visit brought to the fore was the fact that even in Britain the implementation of the provisions of the law on freedom of information was delayed for five years after the promulgation of the law. He said it was also pointed out to the team that it was important for Ghana to apply itself to the financial implications involved in the implementation of the law on freedom of information. Ghana's Freedom of Information Bill, perceived as very vital to the workings of democracy in the country was first drafted in 1999 and has since been revised in 2005. When passed, the Freedom of Information Act will give Ghanaian journalists, media houses, as well as members of the public, the right to obtain information on issues on national affairs. More than 60 countries, including Chile, Albania and Uganda, now have freedom of information legislation in place, many of them passed in the last few years. Speakers at a regional conference in Accra last Monday called for the adoption of a freedom of information legislation by African countries. That, according to them was key to ensuring accountability, good governance and transparency on the continent. In a newspaper editorial yesterday, it said there was no justification in delaying further the passage of a freedom of information law outside the current session of Parliament, which ends at the beginning of next year. Last May, President J.A. Kufuor, while receiving a delegation from the African Commission on Human and People's Rights at the Castle affirmed the government's commitment to the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill and explained that it was working diligently towards the passage of the bill because it wanted the process to be handled with care and well managed to prevent any problems that could occasion its promulgation. Source: Daily Graphic