The Executive Secretary of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Sulemana Braimah, has said the failure by the Akufo-Addo government to pass the Right To Information (RTI) Bill into law, has been a major blot on its performance.

According to him, the failure betrays the government’s disinterest in transparency and accountability.

Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia promised that the government will facilitate the passage of the RTI Bill this year when he spoke at Transparency International’s Regional Meeting in Accra earlier in the year.

He said the NPP government was committed to enhancing accountability and dealing with corruption in the country.

“Our government has already made it clear that we will be passing the Right to Information Act. We will make sure a special prosecutor’s office is set up to prosecute corruption and we will amend the criminal code to move the corruption from a misdemeanor to a felony. These are just some of the actions we intend to implement this year,” Dr Bawumia said.

But in a Facebook post on Friday, 15 December titled: 'NPP's biggest failure in year-one is non-passage of RTI bill', Mr Braimah said: “It's such a shame how the NPP government has also advertised it's lack of committed to transparent and accountable governance. What does it take to pass a RTI law. Just a commitment to transparency and accountability in governance, that's all. What is the NPP government afraid of? Without the passage of the RTI law, any so-called commitment to fighting corruption is a mere rhetoric. A fight against corruption begins with a commitment to transparency and accountability in governance. One in which the people are empowered to seek and receive information of their choice, not information a government wants to share with the people. We can't have a Ghana Beyond Aid without genuine commitment by a government to offer transparent and accountable governance. No, it won't and can't happen.

“But how long will it take for our MPs and government officials to feel embarrassed about their unfulfilled promises of deadlines for the passage of this single piece of law that is so central to our democracy. It's such a shame. It's either they see we, the people, as too gullible or they just don't feel embarrassed when they promise and fail.

“Well, it's also because we, as a people, have been too timid and nice about demanding and asserting our right to access information. It is our right to have information about how we are governed and how our resources are being used. We have just not demanded it enough. Let's fight for it.”

Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com