Ms Pansy Tlakula, African Union (AU) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information has held an interactive session on Ghana�s �Right to Information� (RTI) Bill.
The seminar on the theme �The AU Model Law on Right to Information: Breaking Barriers to Access Information,� under the auspices of Ghana�s Coalition for RTI was attended by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), media practitioners, political parties, and the academia.
Ms Tlakula, who is also the Chairman of South Africa's Electoral Commission, gave an overview of Access to Information in Africa � AU Model Law.
She said the Model Law would promote freedom of expression and access to information and also serve as a guide to member states of the AU in drafting their own RTI, adding that, the implementation and monitoring of an RTI law should be placed in the hands of an independent arbiter, to safeguard it.
The AU Special Rapporteur said so far, 13 African countries - South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Liberia, Niger, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cote d�Ivoire, had passed the RTI.
Ms Tlakula said she had received assurances from the leadership of Ghana�s Parliament and government officials that the RTI Bill would be passed into law before the end of the tenure of the current Parliament.
She urged the Coalition to think outside the box on how to continue to engage with authorities in the country, adding that, they must identify who championed their cause and use silent diplomacy to present their case.
Professor Kwame Karikari, Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana and former Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, said the advocacy for the passage of the RTI Bill had taken 13 years, however, "there is light at the end of the tunnel."
Prof Frans Viljoen, Director of the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, said South Africa was the first African country to pass the RTI Bill into law, and urged other countries to emulate.
Ms Mina Mensah, Regional Coordinator of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and member of the Coalition, said Parliament had referred the Bill to the Attorney General for further amendment to make it more vibrant.
Mr Chibuzo Ekwekwuo, A&E Law Partnership - Nigeria, encouraged the Coalition not to give up, but rather take lesson from Nigeria, which took 18 years of advocacy before the passage of the RTI.
Mr Maxwell Kadiri, Legal Officer of the Africa Open Society Justice Initiative, said for the RTI Coalition to be in existence for the past 13 years was a plus for Ghana.
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