The Coalition on the Right to Information in Ghana at the weekend urged President John Agyekum Kufuor to ensure the passage of the bill to serve as a farewell legacy to round off the eight year administration of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). “Democracy thrives on transparency; therefore, open governance must be supported and extended at a practical level as an absolute priority, passing the right to information bill and implementing an effective access to information regime is a simple, but extremely useful, step towards entrenching good governance,” the RTI Coalition stated at a maiden National Advocacy Training Conference at Apraku, near Accra. The Coalition also urges government to remove legislative and bureaucratic practices in the bill that would hinder the implementation of the right to information bill when passed into law. The RTI Coalition noted that Ghana stands to benefit tremendously from the passage of the RTI bill as it would lead to open governance, with its associated anti-corruption focus, would make the country more attractive to outside investors. Open government and information sharing also contributes to national stability. Serious implementation of the right to information bill will also immediately set new standards for bureaucratic and parliamentary accountability. Public officials will be forced to recognise that, they work for the people's interest and that the people have the right to scrutinise their activities, the Coalition noted. The Coalition membership includes; Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Ghana Journalists Association, (GJA), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives, Media Foundation for West Africa, Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Public Archives Administration and Records Department, and Third World Network. Others are; Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Ghana News Agency, (GNA), Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition, Amnesty International Ghana Section, Institute for Information and Development, Ghana Integrity International and Bawku Literary Initiatives. The Coalition debunked the notion that RTI would be used by Journalists to pursue public officials unduly, noting that in participatory democracy, the right to information is particularly relevant and essential to ensure good governance. “It is only when those who are to participate in governance are well informed that they can contribute meaningfully to governance…this can only be achieved if they have access to the relevant information,” the Coalition noted. The Coalition explained that importance of the right to information and the desire to ensure that there is transparency in governance, constitute the foundation for empowering the citizenry to contribute to the good governance for rapid development and progress of the nation. In apparent responses to the demand of the Coalition Members, Mrs Chinery Hesse, President’s Chief Special Advisor said Government is currently working fervently to get the RTI bill passed. She explained that passing the Right to Information law would redefine the relationships between the people and the government at the local and national levels, and help strengthen the social contract that exists between citizens and the government. She said Government recognizes that passing the RTI bill into law backed by the Whistleblower law would empower the people to meet their civic responsibilities to the state by reporting criminal and unethical acts that might jeopardize the promotion of democracy and human rights in Ghana. “We understand that government exists to serve the people’s interest and runs on the taxes paid by people. Citizens therefore have a right to know how their money is being used and how the country’s affairs are being run. “It follows logically that passing the RTI bill into law by parliament will promote good governance, and contribute toward checking systemic corruption and abuse of power, which negatively impact our democracy and national development. “Its passage may be taking longer than expected, but I believe you agree with me that it is better to put the bill to scrutiny before passing it into law,” Mrs Chinery Hesse stated in a paper delivered on her behalf by Dr Nick Fobih a Policy Advisor at the Office of the President. She commended civil society organizations for the important role they play in democracy and national development…“sometimes we tend to ignore this fact and only perceive civic organizations as struggling with the state for political space and hegemony. The world has been shaped into a tri-polar system with governments, businesses and civil society, contributing to democracy and development in their respective unique ways. This tri-polar system has promoted checks and balances in public policy, resulting in increased transparency and accountability in governments’ institutional framework and fiscal policy. Mrs Chinery Hesse said, providing the right to information to citizens was a step in the right direction as Ghana’s democracy has been touted as a model in Africa, and the developing world, so we should all work towards moving Ghana forward on the right path towards democratic consolidation. Source: GNA