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Option Paper/Zero Draft

Option Paper/Zero Draft. Ghana’s Right to Information Bill. Concerns on the RTI Bill. Option Paper/Zero Draft Areas of Focus. Exemptions Private Bodies Fee Regime Independent information commission Appeal Process Declassification Chieftaincy. Exemptions.

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Option Paper/Zero Draft

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  1. Option Paper/Zero Draft Ghana’s Right to Information Bill

  2. Concerns on the RTI Bill

  3. Option Paper/Zero DraftAreas of Focus Exemptions Private Bodies Fee Regime Independent information commission Appeal Process Declassification Chieftaincy

  4. Exemptions The Current Bill sets out the provisions on exemptions right at the beginning of the document (Section 5 -18), therefore giving the impression that the Bill focuses more on the limitation than on the right and access to information. The Coalition therefore suggests the insertion of additional provisions.

  5. Exemptions • Refusal • Public Interest Override • Classified Information • Information From the Office of the President, Vice- President, and the Cabinet • Information Relating to Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and the Protection of Property, Security of the State, and Defense

  6. Private Bodies The Option Paper states that, any private organization that is engaged in public activities as well as those that are tapping the country’s natural resources is under an obligation to provide information to the people.

  7. Private Bodies Public Body /Agency Versus Private Body/Agency

  8. Private Bodies • Right of Access to Information in Custody of Private Bodies/Agencies The private body/agency shall, within twelve months from the date of the coming into force of the RTI Act, compile and publish in accordance with guidelines issued by the Information Commission an up-to-date manual; a description of the information of the agency which is available in accordance with any other legislation; as well as sufficient details to facilitate an application for access to information of the body.

  9. Fee Regime The Coalition has proposed that issues dealing with fees should be in one part instead of it being scattered throughout the current Bill, in some instances they appear to be inconsistent with each other.

  10. Fee Regime • Fees Chargeable by Public or Private Body/Agency • Fees Not Part of Consolidated Funds

  11. Independent Information Commission Instead of the office of the Attorney General headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General mandated to ensure the implementation of the RTI law as stated in the current Bill, the Coalition has proposed for an independent enforcement organ in the Option Paper.

  12. Appeal Process The current process as laid down in the Bill sets out that appeals be addressed to the Sector Minister and in the next level to the Supreme Court.

  13. Appeals Process • Appeals or Complaints to the Commission • Decision on Appeal or Complaint • Appeal from the Commission Decisions and Orders

  14. Declassification As laid out in the provisions on exemptions, the possibilities to categorize information as classified, which often mistakenly has been applied to information which was labeled as “for your eyes only” or “confidential”, shall be limited by the criteria set out in the proposed clause previously discussed.

  15. Chieftaincy The Chieftaincy institution is a political institution, and thus a public body and not a private body. According to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, stools and skins are accountable to the public in terms of income, public donations and other sources of income. Accordingly we proposed that they should be covered by the law.

  16. Additional Proposals by the Coalition • Timelines • Duty to Proactively Disclose Information • Duty on Record-Keeping by Public and Private Bodies/Agencies • Transitional Provisions

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