RTI Law will be passed this year – Mustapha Hamid assures

The Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid has given the strongest assurance yet that the Right to Information (RTI) bill will be passed into law within this year.

The Bill, proposed over fifteen years ago, will give citizens access to information held by state agencies on demand.

In spite of many promises by successive government, the bill has yet to see the light of day. It was stalled at the consideration stage of the last parliament and attempts by the then NDC majority to pass it days before the expiration of parliament’s tenure were vehemently resisted by the then NPP minority.

This angered many Ghanaians who felt those in charge were not really committed to seeing the bill passed into law.

Mr Hamid during his ministerial vetting in January said he was committed to ensuring that the RTI bill is passed into law by parliament as soon as practicable.

Speaking at a public lecture organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to mark this year’s Word Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, the Minister of Information reiterated the commitment, promising he will steer the process, which has to start afresh in the new parliament to a successful end.

According to him, the bill will be reintroduced in the May to July session of parliament, stressing it would be passed this year, that is non-negotiable

Mr Hamid however cautioned the passage of the bill into law would come with the need for responsible journalism from the media.