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The Coalition on the Right to Information (CRTI), Ghana, has expressed disappointment over yet another failure by Parliament to pass the Right to Information Bill into law despite promises made.

The guarantee was that it would be passed in the second and third sittings of the legislature this year.

In a statement issued by the CRTI, the secretariat expressed dismay given the turn of events and the progressive steps taken within the last month by the Attorney-General (AG) and the Parliamentary Select Committee to ensure that the Bill was passed in this sitting.

"Following series of engagements with the leadership of Parliament and the Attorney General, the AG took a bold step by incorporating all the proposed amendments into a new RTI Bill, and on 18th October, the AG withdrew the old Bill and tabled the revised Bill (RTI BILL 2016) for consideration by Parliament.

She specifically wrote to Parliament requesting that the Bill be considered under a Certificate of Urgency,’’ the statement said.

It said the Bill was immediately referred to the select committee on constitutional, legal and parliamentary affairs for review and report, affirming that the review process by the committee was within a day, October 23, and submitted to parliament on October 25.

"In Parliament, the consideration of the new Bill progressed speedily as the Bill saw 48 clauses considered in one day, October 31.

"However, the momentum could not be sustained as the minority members of Parliament raised issues, including the lack of quorum, but the Coalition’s monitoring of the consideration process indicated that some other Bills including loan agreements were passed despite the lack of quorum,’’ it said.

The statement wondered “how come Parliament had the numbers to pass the Local Government Act and the Aids Commission’s Act but lacked the numbers to enable the passage of the RTI Bill?’’.

It said the NDC could have used its majority to pass the bill, if, indeed, they were committed on passing the law.

It bemoaned the failure of the passage of the Bill into law despite efforts to incorporate all amendment into one document and believes that “the forces that are against the passage of the law are much more than the Coalition had thought.

“We have noted with concern and indeed it is very worrying that anytime there is a need to put in place laws that will enhance citizens’ right to hold their leaders accountable, governments both past and present are often very reluctant to pass or even initiate such legislation.’’

It said this affirmed that “civil society organisations would have to campaign, petition, protest, and sometimes coerce government for such laws to be enacted’’.

The Coalition called on Ghanaians to consider that if for than 13 years’ advocacy and failed promises by both the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress administration politicians could be trusted.

A Bill that managed to weather the storm under the ruling government and finally got to the final stages of Parliamentary processes twice, could not be passed due to the lack of political will by Parliament to prioritise the consideration of the Bill.

“The Coalition is completely disappointed over the non-passage of the Bill, which was expected to be passed before the elections in December.

“We would like to reiterate that the failure to pass the RTI law by the current Parliament is a missed opportunity for all Ghanaians, for the ruling government and the country at large. It is an indelible indictment on Parliament.

“We believe that this government still has an opportunity to redeem itself and the country’s ratings on international platforms - which government has noted is retrogressing due to the non-passage of the RTI law - by passing the RTI Bill before Parliament lapses in January 2017’’, it concluded.