AFRICAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS
(AUCC)
RE- ENGINEERING THE POTENTIAL IMPORTANCE OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION BILL ON THE SOCIO- POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA
BY
MARY AKWELEY ANKRAH
THIS LONG ESSAY IS SUBMITTED TO THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUCC, AS PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN COMMUNICATION STUDIES.
JULY 2011
DECLARATION
I declare that except for the use of other people’s work which I have duly acknowledged in my references, the research work is as a result of my effort on the field in gathering all the information deserve for the project and not that of any other person.
Mary Akweley Ankrah
Signature: …………………………… (Student) Date: …………………….
Mr. Osei Piesie-Anto
Signature: ………………………… (Supervisor) Date: …………………….
CERTIFICATION
I certify that the research work presented by Mary Akweley Ankrah has been thoroughly read through and approved for submission to the African University College of Communications, AUCC, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies.
Signature ………………………… Signature ………………………........
Internal supervisor External supervisor
Date ……………………………… Date ………………………………
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to the Glory of God Almighty who made all things possible for me to succeed in this level of my education.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgements i
List of tables ii
List of figures iii
List of abbreviations and acronyms iv
CHAPTER 1: Executive Summary 1
CHAPTER 2: Introduction 2
2.0 Introductory remarks 2
2.1 Background 2
2.2 Problem statement 3
2.3 Objectives of the study 4
2.4 Significance of the study 5
2.5 Literature review 6
2.5.1 Right to information 6
2.5.2 Socio-political concerns 11
2.5.3 Profile of Ghana 13
CHAPTER 3: Methodology 15
3.0 Introduction 15
3.1 Research design 15
3.2 Sampling design. 15
3.3 Data collection procedure 17
3.4 Data analysis 18
3.5 Limitations of the study 19
CHAPTER 4: Data Analysis and Presentation 21
4.0 Introduction 21
4.1.0 Descriptive analysis of the causes 21
4.1.1 Reasons for lack of good information system 21
4.1.2 Reasons for lack of funds 25
4.1.3 Reasons for lack of political will 28
4.2.0 Descriptive analysis of the effects 31
4.2.1: Negative effects of rise in corruption 31
4.2.2: Negative effects of suppress flow of information 33
4.2.3: Negative effects of retard true democracy 36
4.3 Descriptive analysis of the solutions 38
4.3.1 Solutions for civil societies mounting pressure on government 38
4.3.2: Solutions for lobbying of parliamentarians 40
4.3.3: Solutions for intensification of awareness 43
CHAPTER 5: Conclusion 46
5.0 Introduction 46
5.1 Summaries 46
5.2 Findings 47
5.3 Recommendations 48
5.4 Areas for further research 50
BIBLIOGRAPHY 51
APPENDIXES 52
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I express my profound gratitude to the Almighty Father who has made this work possible. I am also grateful to all those who in diverse ways provided valuable assistance towards the successful completion of this work. Prominent among these are the Commonwealth Human Right Initiative, Africa office, Accra and Mr. Akoto Ampaw, a member of the Ghana Right to Information coalition team.
I also acknowledge the contributions of Graphic Communication Company Limited (GCCL), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Ghana News Agency, TV3, S. K. Boafo & Co. Assoc Legal Firm and the 50 respondents whose comments provided valuable insight for the study.
Again, I am grateful to my supervisor, Mr. Osei Piesie-Anto for his supervision, comments and suggestions, which helped a great deal in getting the study successfully completed.
Finally, I appreciate my parents and all my tutors for their encouragement and moral support throughout my course of studying.
LIST OF TABLES
Table page
4.1: Reasons for lack of good information system 23
4.2: Reasons for lack of funds 24
4.3: Reasons for lack of political will 29
4.4: Negative effects of rise in corruption 32
4.5: Negative effects of suppress flow of information 34
4.6: Negative effects of retard true democracy 36
4.7: Solutions for civil societies mounting pressure on government 39
4.8: Solutions for lobbying of parliamentarians 41
4.9: Solutions for intensification of awareness 44
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. page
4.1: Reasons for lack of good information system 24
4.2: Reasons for lack of funds 27
4.3: Reasons for lack of political will 29
4.4.: Negative effects of rise in corruption 32
4.5: Negative effects of suppress flow of information 35
4.6: Negative effects of retard true democracy 37
4.7: Solution for civil societies mounting pressure on government 39
4.8: Solutions for lobbying of parliamentarians 42
4.9: Solutions for intensification of awareness 44
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AU African Union
UN United Nations
MP’s Ministers of Parliament
RTI Right to Information
GNA Ghana News Agency
NPP National Patriotic Party
NDC National Democratic Congress
GBC Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation
GJA Ghana Journalists Asssociation
NGO Non-Governmental Organizations
FOI Freedom of Information
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights
CHRI Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
AUCC African University College of Communications
NCCE National Commission for Civic Education
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
CHAPTER 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The right to information had helped a lot of countries in promoting good governance and principles of transparency and accountability that were the requisite in establishing a proper democracy. Ghana had reached the stage of introducing the right to information at the bill level; the concerns were however that it was taking too long to pass it in the wake of public outcry for such a facility. The study therefore sought to find out why the Right to Information (RTI) was delayed despite its obvious importance to the socio-political development of Ghana.
The research reviewed the concept of Right to Information, socio-political concerns, and the profile of Ghana.
The descriptive research design was employed and inferential statistical analysis was done which informed presentation of data. Simple random sampling technique was used to obtain views from fifty respondents. Both primary and secondary data collection methods were employed to gather the necessary research materials. The research findings revealed that, lack of good information system, lack of funds and fear of government the bill would have a chilling effects on its governance were factors; whilst the negative impacts were rise in corruption, Suppress flow of information and retard true democracy. It was recommended that, civil societies mounting pressure on government, lobbying of parliamentarians, and intensification of awareness would help solve the problem.
CHAPTER 2
INTRODUCTION
2.0 Introductory remarks
The chapter served as the background to the study and included background of the study, problem statement, research objectives, significance of the study and literature review.
2.1 Background
Information is vital in the society that we live and to be an active member of a society, one must always be abreast or arm with information about the things that goes on in the community in which he or she lives. Information equally creates a platform for debate on facts and truth about past performances, current priorities and future challenges to be able to restructure. However, without this knowledge base, people’s needs may not to be fulfilled; they cannot hold government accountable and make effective influence in decision process. More importantly, democratic society thrives when information maintain by its government is recognized as belonging to the people. An uninformed population is an easy prey for dictatorship, and gross exploitation and abuses.
In 2001, a civil society organization called the Institute of Economic Affairs comprised of media right specialists, religious societies and legal interest groups advocated for a legislative instrument for a proposed draft to the Right to Information (RTI) bill in Ghana. The Ghana Right to Information bill (RTI) was drafted by the Attorney General’s Department in 2002 to provide a legal framework to give effect to the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to information. The bill had gone through about eight reviews since 2003 and was finally laid before parliament on February 5, 2010.
The bill made provisions for access to official information, compilation and publication of manual on information of an agency, exempt information, procedure for access, amendment of personal records in custody of an agency, internal reviews and appeal and general and miscellaneous provisions.
2.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The Right to Information is a fundamental human right guaranteed in the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana and recognized by international conventions on human rights. It is quite interesting that there had not been any law passed to protect and facilitate the enjoyment of the right to information as guaranteed in the constitution. As a result, Ghanaians lacked critical information on the activities and performances of its government and agencies. As such, the Right to Information bill sought to serve that purpose.
Despite that Ghana had indisputably made great steps in establishing a vibrant democratic environment; it currently lacked the access to information regime. To that end, the dissertation provided evidence in support of the intention that Ghana as part of the global village is under the obligation to guarantee it citizens a right to access information. There is the need to pass Ghana right to information bill like other country that have obliged to the United Nations (UN) Declaration Act. It is for this reason that the core of the research involved investigating why information is crucial to the citizens and government and the importance of the Right to information bill in the socio-political development of Ghana.
Moreover, the lack of access to relevant information by citizens had however, disempowered the ordinary citizens as it encroaches on their sovereignty enshrine in the constitution as the premises of government. It had helped maintained the existing secrecy in state institutions and increased corruption in government.
2.3 OBJECTIVES
The research was aimed at the following objectives in order to achieve the purpose of the study:
• Investigating the factors that had delayed the passage in Ghana the Right to Information Bill
• Examining the negative effects of the absence of the right to information legislation in Ghana, and
• Looking out for possible solutions that would foster Right to Information law in Ghana.
In order to fulfill the purpose of the research objectives, the study was guided by the following questions;
• Why was access to information legislation delayed?
• What were the consequences of the absence of Right to Information Law?
• How workable would be the possible suggestions to re-engineer the passage of the Ghana Right to Information bill into law?
2.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study was conducted to create awareness about the right to information bill which is before parliament waiting to be passed into law. Since access to information is a vital role in ensuring a good democratic environment, the study was made to urge all leaders including government, state institutions, private organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and individuals to appreciate the need to have such legislation in Ghana.
Also, the study was geared to help readers and students to be well informed about the right to information law as a tool to reduce corruption and enhance political development in Ghana.
It was hoped that the study would motivate journalists and media houses to see the RTI law as an important means to their work since they are the vehicles through which information accessed on the activities of government would be disseminated to the public.
The dissertation was significant to petition the legislative body in Ghana to help strengthen the democratic governance and encourage positive changes in the political administrative system by enacting the right to information bill.
The study was to serve as a reference research work for students and people who want to carry out further studies on the subject of the study.
Finally, the research was intended to contribute immensely to knowledge for the benefit of an informative society.
2.5 LITERATURE REVIEW
The research reviewed the concept of Right to Information, socio-political concerns, and profile of Ghana.
2.5.1 Right to information
In making reference to Prof. Kofi Kumado, he noted that “the right to information is an integral part of freedom of expression” and so the freedom of expression enables people to participate in the processes and management of public affairs. Also, Andrew Amegatcher (1998) also called for the enactment of freedom of information Act in Ghana in his book, “The law of the press, a Ghanaian perspective”. He stated that Article 21 clause 1 (f) of the 1992 constitution opening paragraph fulfils partially the demand for a freedom of information Act. For this reason, there was the need to draw up the features of the right, regarding that the same constitution makes freedom of information a vital issue (pg. 138).
Citing the importance of the right to access information, a legal practitioner and human right activist, Miss. Nana Oye Lithur, in a paper presented during the National advocacy training conference for the coalition of the right to information in Ghana, highlighted the need for freedom of information in order to push forward developmental progress, to combat corruption, and to secure full and democratic governance. She mentioned that the government of Ghana has an obligation to allow its citizens knowledge of what actions and policies it is taking to enable citizen make informed choices in decision-making.
Importance of the Right to Information law
The importance of a Right to Information law in a country cannot be over emphasis due to the recognition it had received worldwide and the benefits it comes along with to both citizens and government as well.
For years now, right to information has gained an international recognition as a functional democratic tool that enables citizens to know government functioning and seek information, inspect government work and form a useful judgment about it. In view of the significant role of information, the United Nations passed a Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The declaration provided the freedom of information as the fundamental right of the people under Article 19, that “Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone of all the freedom to which the UN is consecrated”. The African Union’s Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa 2002 also recognized the vital role of freedom of information. Equally, the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Commonwealth had called for right to information in its member states. It therefore means that member states must adhered to the promotion of human rights and freedoms.
Also, Right to information law is primordial to the exercise of basic human right freedom of expression, giving citizens the ability to engage in public debate and hold their leaders accountable. It has significant implications on other citizens’ rights, such as the right to water, the right to adequate food, the right to health, the right to adequate housing, the right to education, women’s rights and children’s rights.
RTI law is important because it makes it legally binding for governments to share information with it citizens. This would help to enhance a constructive, healthy political culture which depends upon an open society, promotes transparency and accountability in governance, minimize corruption and inefficiency in public offices and ensures people’s participation in governance and decision-making. Commonwealth Law Ministers’ meeting report identified that “Freedom of information enhances accountability of the government, improves decision-making and provides a powerful aid in fighting against corruption” (Communiqué from Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Meeting, 1999).
Benefits of a Right to Information law to society and its development
The right to information law has a number of benefits to the social life of the people and development.
Enhances social service delivery and right
The RTI law is a means to ensure or access the delivery of social service and rights of people. It would respect the individual’s right to access information concerning governance in all areas such as food, shelter, clean water, health care, education and equitable distribution of the resources that are available.
Promotes Information Literacy
The RTI law would empower every citizen to seek information, gain ideas and acquire new knowledge to improve quality of life as well as to participate in the effective governance of the nation establishments. The promotion of information literacy among both educated and non-educated would enable citizens to decide what to ask for, how to ask and how to make good use of information, so that they can effectively participate in the process of development. This would help both citizens and government functionaries share the responsibility of speeding up developmental process. It would equally inform citizens about the whole range of government policies, decisions and activities needed to become more involved in the political and decision-making process.
Promote open Government
The RTI law would guarantee individuals, media houses and other organizations to request and receive information of any kind ranging from documents, contracts, records, memos, logbooks, circulars, press releases, opinions, advices and orders in any form of storage to promote open government. The openness of government would help reduce speculations, anxieties and falsehood that usually arise out of secrecy. It would therefore promote the good governance principles of transparency and accountability that are vital in a proper democracy. It would also instill trust between the people and government with the view of raising their satisfaction level.
Promote greater accountability
The RTI would provide people with the mechanism to access information which they can use to hold government to account or to seek explanation as to why decisions have been taken, by whom and with what consequences or outcomes. In addition, every public authority would be required to provide reasons for its administrative decisions. As a result, it is a major tool in checking corruption in high and low places of public departments and institutions.
Promotes citizen-government partnership and participation
The RTI law would promote citizen-government partnership in carrying out programmes for the welfare of the people. The principle of partnership here is derived from the fact that people are not only the ultimate beneficiaries of development, but also the agents of development. So, the disclosure of information would enable them to be effectively involved in the plan and execution of projects. Their participation would lead to better projects and more dynamic development; thus, access to information would empower them to make meaningful choices in development process.
Facilitates efficiency in public administration
The RTI law would promote and facilitate good record keeping in public institutions and departments in both urban and rural sector. It would compel every public authority to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and form which would ease access to information. Besides, it would help not only the citizens but government to retrieve any past or present records and documents. Hence, public institutions would be more effective and enhance government credibility with its citizens.
2.5.2 Socio-political concerns
In a democratic society, all rights are to some extent related to the right to information. This is because right to information encourages citizens’ participation and exercising of criticism which is necessary for other group of human rights. The review assessed a theoretical linkage in democracy and good governance.
Prominent African scholar, Goran Hyden, observed a symmetrical linkage between democracy and good governance. For Hyden, good governance refers to “the conscious management of regime structures with a view to enhancing the public realm” (Hyden, 1992: 7). He argued that there is a legitimate relation between the governors and the governed and this reinforce democratic norms and practices in one way or the other.
Along the same line, Gerry Stoker contended that governance is primarily concerned with ordered rule and collective action, but one in which political power must be seen to be legitimate, there must be self-governing “network” of actors and a balance between state and civil society (Stoker, 1998: 17-28). Stoker maintained that when this is achieved then there may be good governance and good governance is parallel to liberal democracy.
Also, James Madison, a key member in the formation of the American Republic and its constitution and the fourth President of the United States stated in 1822 that “A popular government without popular information or means of acquiring it is but a Prologue to Farce or a Tragedy; or perhaps both. A people who means to their own governor, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
According to Abid Hussain, (1995) special report on freedom of opinion and expression, “Freedom will be bereft of all effectiveness if the people have no access to information. Access to information is basic to the democratic way of life.” In this sense, Abid contended that democracy is the bedrock of good governance and information would help citizens to govern themselves.
Furthermore, the Commonwealth Law Ministers’ meeting report in 1980 on the right to know and the promotion of democracy and development, ministers expressed that public participation is meaningful when citizens have adequate access to official information. They also recognized that it was necessary to strike a balance between the individual’s rights to know against the government’s need, in the wider public interest to withhold certain information from disclosure.
Again, in 1999 the ministers’ built on the statement, regarding the importance of the right as an effective tool to fight against corruption and make government more accountable, empower citizens to make informed choices and better exercise their democratic rights, improve decision-making and enhances government credibility with it citizens.
2.5.3 Profile of Ghana
Ghana was the first black nation in the Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence from colonial rule and had also experienced dictatorship rule and military invasions. The constitutional amendments of 1960 gradually transformed Ghana into a one party dictatorship in which fundamental rights and political participation were restricted under Dr. Kwame Nkrumah administration.
In 1992, Ghana was ushered into democratic governance with the coming into force the 1992 Fourth Republican constitution. The constitution allowed the legislature, parliament, political parties and the local government (District Assembly) to see to the enactment of laws and policies for the development and wellbeing of the nation. It also offered a major turning point for media development and the general conditions for the freedom of expression have been quite liberal.
The freedom of expression and media freedom have helped promote lively and constructive political competition and have helped enhance presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions. The relative peace and tranquility being enjoyed in the country can also be attributed to the growing level of political maturity of Ghanaians who from time to time demonstrate their strong desire for peaceful coexistence.
The 1992 constitution equally guaranteed the right to information (RTI) which is entrenched under Article 21 clause 1 (f) of the constitution which provides that; “All persons have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society”, (Ghana, 1992).
Although the National Patriotic Party (NPP) government under Prof. J. A. Kuffour repealed the criminal libel provision of the 1960 Criminal Code (Act 29), there had been suggestions to the need to repeal the State Secret Act of 1962, Act 101, which imposes restrictions on public access to information held by public and civil service officials.
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The chapter presented the methodologies used to conduct the study. It comprised the research design, sampling design, data collection procedure, data analysis (editing, coding and entry) and limitations of the study. It equally presented the choices of the research method and its validity and reliability to the study.
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
The descriptive research design was employed and inferential statistical analysis was used to present the data. The two main research methods of data collection, namely, primary and secondary, were employed to gather the data. The primary method was conducted to collect quantitative data by means of sampling using probability sampling technique from which the results were generated whilst the secondary data collection method was employed under qualitative method to gather the necessary research materials.
3.2 SAMPLING DESIGN
The target population of 1,000 of the research was heterogeneous, since the groups involved were engaged in different lines of work. Two groups of people were derived from the population of interest, thus media practitioners from four media houses in Accra, specifically, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), TV3, Daily Graphic and Ghana News Agency (GNA), and legal practitioners from S. K. Boafo & Co Assoc. Legal Firm and Private Lawyers also in Accra.
The target population was grouped as follows:
Population of interest
Media practitioners 600
Legal practitioners 400
Total 1,000
In determining the sample size, the clustered proportional sampling technique was used in selecting considering the heterogeneity of the population. A sample of fifty (50) was considered reasonable from the target population of one thousand (1,000). GBC-10, TV3-5, GNA-5 and Daily Graphic-10=30 whilst S. K. B. & Co Assoc.-10 and Private Lawyers-10 = 20
The proportional of the sample size was reflected as follows:
Sample size of the population of interest
Media practitioners 30
Legal practitioners 20
Total 50
3.3 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES
The research was carried out using mainly the primary and secondary data collection methods. The primary data collection technique used comprised questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire was self-administered to both media practitioners and legal practitioners at their various offices and collected at a convenient time and date of the researcher. The set of questionnaire had closed-ended questions backed by optional answers. One reason which necessitated the approach was that the respondents could read and write and could handle the questionnaire without any problem.
Secondly, face to face interviews were scheduled with resourceful people at their various offices, using interviews guide and the discussion was captured with a recorder and notes were taken. In order to get all the necessary information needed for the study, telephone interview was arranged for those who could not have time for the face to face interview. The interviews were used to equally confirm the data collected from the questionnaire and other sources of materials used. Pictures were also taken to prove the authenticity of the research conducted.
More so, the study make references to other secondary information such as research materials on the issue under study from books, journals and internet. It became necessary to use the secondary sources because they provided elaboration to the information received from other sources and added more information to the issue under study.
3.4 DATA ANALYSIS
The data analyzed was presented in three (3) segments which were made up of the causes, effects and solutions to the problem that had delayed the passage of the RTI bill in Ghana.
Before analysis, the data gathered were edited at two levels to detect errors and omissions, correct mistakes and certify that maximum data quality standard was achieved (Piesie-Anto, 2010). First, the data were field edited to ensure that special symbols, abbreviations and acronyms used to represent the data were corrected in order to report accurately what occurred in the field. Second, central editing was done at home by the research team to thoroughly review the field edited data to enhance accuracy as consistent with the objectives of the research.
The second stage of the data analysis involved coding of the largely quantitative responses obtained from the survey by assigning figures, letters and symbols to the responses, which were to be grouped into classes or categories.
The last stage which was data entry involved the descriptive statistical summaries of the data collected by primary and secondary methods to lead to an understanding of the data collected and analyzed (Piesie-Anto, 2010). The qualitative information from literature sources and in-depth interviews were also captured, verified, and edited and were uniformly categorized into relevant themes to present the data.
3.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The research was subjected to practical constraints that militated against near perfect outcomes. However, efforts were made to counteract the problems arising on the field during the study in order to ensure success. But some major setbacks were experienced in the following areas:
• Inadequate information available on right to information: Although many seminars and discussions had been held on the Right to Information worldwide and countrywide, there were less books and information on it in major library shelves in Accra, so it was difficult getting adequate materials for the study.
• Lack of awareness of the issue: Because there had been less awareness creation and publicity on the RTI bill, it was difficult getting respondents who had knowledge on the issue to answer the questionnaire. Even many media practitioners could not answer the questionnaire or talk on the issue because they had less or no knowledge about the RTI bill. It was a clear indication why the media had not been able to do much education and sensitization on their outlets on the subject.
• Difficulty in interview scheduling for resourceful people: It was difficult scheduling time with the resourceful people who had in-depth knowledge about the study due to time constrains on the side of the resource personnel. They fixed interview time but due to other commitments at office and elsewhere, it was difficult to honour it.
• Financial constraints: Another limitation to the research work was finance, because data collection and production of findings involved a lot of expenses. In gathering the information, there was the need to visit the research areas to distribute the questionnaire and schedules for interviews. Transportation fares were prohibitive and often became problematic since several visits to the research area and other places such as the library for information had to be undertaken.
• Time constraint: Time was another constrain since the research had to be conducted and submitted within a time frame, combining research with academic work was difficult and delayed in the gathering of information to be documented and presented on the deadline.
CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
4.0 Introduction
The chapter dealt with the analyses of the data collected from the questionnaire and interviews and analyzed to ascertain the causes, effects and solution to the delayed passage of the Ghana Right to Information bill (RTI).
4.1.0: Descriptive analysis of data on the factors that delayed the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) bill in Ghana
In examining the potential importance of the Right to Information bill to the socio-political development of Ghana, the research tried to analysis the factors that caused the delayed passage of the RTI bill in Ghana. The research findings revealed that, inadequacy of good information system; lack of funds and lack of political will on the part of government were the main factors that led to the problem.
4.1.1 Reasons for inadequacy of good information system
According to Wikipedia dictionary online, an information system refers to a data structure where people, groups and organizations utilize technologies to gather, process, use, store and disseminate information to the society. With regard to the study, inadequacy of good information system is whereby there are less than enough suitable structures and tools for processing, storing and disseminating information in an organization or society. The inadequacy of information system currently in both public and private establishments in Ghana had made it very chaotic for individuals; government and organizations to retrieve any information it wish to use or inquire.
The study revealed that inadequacy of good information system was one of the causes for the delayed passage of the RTI bill into law in Ghana. That was because government believed the RTI bill would not function well in an environment like Ghana which had a bad information structure to execute such law. And so, with the current deplorable information system of improper record keeping in the country, the passage of the RTI bill would be meaningless if those structures were not first put in place before the RTI becomes law to facilitate effective implementation.
The finding further related the problem of lack of good information system to the disorganized information keeping situation in most governmental institutions especially in the ministries where documents and file are piled on tables and floors with cobwebs all over them some of which had been destroyed by insect and harsh weather conditions.
Also, the study observed that although the Public Account Committee whose function would be massively assisted by an RTI regime was working vigorously to access records of public funding, the committee found it difficult to retrieve information it needed to do its work due to improper information system the country was facing. Not only that, individuals, organizations and even the incumbent government found it challenging to retrieve and use certain information about projects or dealings that happened previous years ago for developmental purpose. It was either such records or data was not found or do not exist.
Research findings revealed that the reasons for the inadequacy of good information system in the country were many but prominent among them were untrained information personnel, lack of infrastructure and bad record-keeping as depicted in Table 4.1 below.
Table 4.1: Reasons for inadequacy of good information system
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Untrained information personnel 24 48
2 Lack of infrastructure 17 34
3 Bad record-keeping 9 18
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Researcher’s field work (2011)
Table 4.1 is reflected in the pie-chart below.
Fig. 4.1: Reasons for inadequacy of good information system
Source: Table 4.1
From the above table, out of the 50 respondents who answered the questionaire, 24 of them (48%) cited that, untrained information personnel were a major underlying factor. Also, 17 respondents making 34% stated lack of infrastructure whilst 9 respondents of 18% said bad record keeping was the reasons for lack of good information system in Ghana.
From the field data, it was observed that untrained information personnel (48%) was the most important reason for the inadequacy of good information system, followed by lack of infrastructure (34%) and then bad record keeping (18%).
Furthermore, an interview with Mr. Ransford Tetteh, the President of the Ghana Journalist Asssociation (GJA) and Editor of the Daily Graphic at Accra, confirmed that despite other reasons, untrained information personnel was the key factor for the inadequacy of good information system in the country. Beside that some government officials said that because there were no trained personnel to properly manage the information system, many organizations had failed to keep accurate accounts of their dealings.
In conclusion, although there were other reasons such as lack of infrasturcture and bad record keeping, the most significant reason was untrained information personnel for the inadequacy of good information system which was one of the factors to the delayed passage of the Ghana Right to Information bill (RTI).
4.1.2 Reasons for lack of funds
Lack of funds refers to inadequate resources, finance or money. In the study, lack of funds means financial constraints by government to support the passage of the Right to Information bill. The lack of funds was cited by parliamentarians to conduct a nationwide hearing to solicit public input on the bill. Without funds to initiate consultations in regions, the public would not be able to voice their opinions and views to make a good right to information law which was intended to meet international standards and ensure true democracy in the country. It was observed that the totality of these views would enhance national participation and development.
From the findings, the lack of funds accounted for lack of action on the consultations to solicit public input since early 2010, delaying the legislative process of the bill.
In addition, the study found that lack of funds was a contributing factor to the delayed passage of the RTI bill into law was as a result of lack of budgetary allocation to support bill, inadequate money to sponsor national consultations and unwillingness of government to spend. This is depicted in Table 4.2 below.
Table 4.2: Reasons for lack of funds
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Lack of budgetary allocation to support bill 21 42
2 Inadequate money to sponsor national consultations 18 36
3 Unwillingness of government to spend 11 22
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Researcher’s Achieves (2011)
Table 4.2 is represented in the bar chart below.
Fig. 4.2: Reasons for lack of funds
Source: Table 4.2
From table 4.2 above, it was evident that out of the 50 respondents, 21 (42%) stated lack of budgetary allocation to support bill, 18 (36%) said inadequate money to sponsor national consultations and 11 (22%) chose unwillingness of government to spend as to the problem of lack of funds to get the bill passed into law.
From the field data, it was obtained that lack of budgetary allocation to support bill was the most significant reason for the lack of funds while inadequate money to sponsor national consultations and unwillingness of government to spend followed respectively. An observation made on the field during the research indicated that since 2002 when the RTI bill was drafted by the Attorney General’s Department, government had not made any budget to support its passage. It therefore certified that lack of budget allocation to support the bill was the key factor to lack of funds.
In summary, it was established that among the three factors to lack of funds to support the passage of the Ghana RTI bill, the most outstanding reason was lack of budget allocation to support bill and other factor included inadequate money to sponsor national consultations and unwillingness of government to spend.
4.1.3 Reasons for lack of political will
According to online definition, lack of political will is a term which describes a situation where speech or conduct is suppressed by fear of penalization at the interests of an individual or group. Therefore in relation to the study, lack of political will means that government was frightened to pass the bill into law because when the bill becomes law it would exposed some embarassing truth about its activities.
In an interview with some members of the RTI bill coalition team, the study revealed that the previous government under the leadership of President J. A. Kuffour, realizing the consequences the bill would have on its government and agencies did not passed the bill like any other bill such as the Whistlse Browers Act he passed during his tenure of office.
In addition, it was revealed that the lack of political will was because it would expose corruption at all levels of government dealings since the RTI law would place a legal obligation on all officials to open up their workings to public scrutiny. It also identified that, media would be more resourced to expose them and override the oath of secrecy. This is shown in the Table below.
Table 4.3: Reasons for lack of political will
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Expose corruption at all levels of government dealings 22 44
2 Media would be more resourced to expose them 18 36
3 Override the oath of secrecy 10 20
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Field note (2011)
The above table is illustrated in the pie-chart on the next page.
Fig. 4.3: Reasons for lack of political will
Source: Table 4.3
As seen in Table 4.1.3, among the 50 respondents, 22(44%) indicated that the reasons for lack of political will was because it would expose corruption at all levels of government dealings, 18 respondents making 36% also said the media would be more resourced to expose them and the remaining 10 (20%) stated that government fears the bill would override the oath of secrecy so it lack the political will to pass the bill.
From the reseach findings, it was found that the most outstanding reason for lack of political will was expose corruption at all levels of government dealings. However, media would be more resourced to expose them and override the oath of secrecy was mentioned as other reasons.
An interview with Mr. Akoto Ampaw, a legal practitioner and a member of the Ghana RTI bill coalition team, confirmed that despite other reasons, it would expose corruption at all levels of government dealings was the major reason for the lack of political will. Government upon realizing the chilling effect the passage of the RTI bill would have on its governance; it had failed for the past years to give attention to the bill.
In all, the research observed that with the frequent speculations on the media about government involvement in certain dealings that does not ulter well for the nation, the passage of the RTI bill would unearth more issues that may damage government reputation, therefore, despite other reason for its fear it would expose corruption at all levels of government dealings was the strongest reason for the lack of political will, as a result, delayed the passage of the RTI bill into law in Ghana.
4.2.0: Descriptive analysis of data on the negative effects of the delayed passage of the Right to Information Bill in Ghana
The research found that the negative effects of the delayed passage of the Ghana Right to Information were many, but prominent among them were rise in corruption, suppress flow of information and retard true democracy.
4.2.1: Negative effects of rise in corruption
Corruption as defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary is dishonesty or illegal behaviour, especially of people in authority. The operational definition of rise in corruption is the increase in the use of legislated powers by government officials, public institutions and individuals for illegitimate private gain at the expense of the public or establishment. These included bribery, theft, embezzlement and arbitrary use of power.
Recently, corruption had become a major worry in the society and most of the respondents believed that the absence of a right to information law had made it more difficult to scrutinize the workings of government and its agencies, besides; many officials use that advantage to commit corrupt practices in darkness. This is was because there hadn’t been any information to prove their illicit acts to threaten them of been voted out or removed out of office due to a misuse of public office as a deterrent.
Research findings revealed that the rise in corruption affects development and it negative impacts on the socio-political development were that it retards economic, social and political growth, increase poverty and destabilize country’s values. This is presented in the Table below.
Table 4.4: Negative effects of rise in corruption
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Retards economic, social and political growth 32 64
2 Increase poverty 13 26
3 Destabilize country’s values 5 10
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Field work (2011)
The above tabulated data is reflected in the bar chart below.
Fig. 4.4.: Negative effects of rise in corruption
Source: Table 4.4
The data showed that, 32 (64%) out of the 50 respondents cited that the rise in corruption retards economic, social and political growth. On the other hand, 13(26%) of them claimed increase poverty was another effect whilst 5 (10%) respondents stated that rise in corruption destabilize country’s value.
Findings from the data indicated that, despite other consequence such as increase poverty and destabilize country’s value; the leading consequence of the rise in corruption retards economic, social and political growth.
Furthermore, from the above discussion, it was concluded that the rise in corruption retards economic, social and political growth of the country.
4.2.2: Negative effects of suppress flow of information
The research findings indicated that suppress flow of information is a process by which people in authority had employed to prevent information from the public, making it exempt or illegal because it may have a disturbing effect to their reputation. Since information is extremely important and represented a means for ordinary Ghanaians to make informed decisions on matters that affect their lives, the study revealed that the delayed passage of the RTI bill into law continue to inhinder free flow of information.
Besides, in the cause of the research many media practitioners anticipated that due to lack of RTI law to facilitate access to official documents or information held by people in authority, it was difficult for one to effectively challenge the government on especially false budget analyses and expenditures the government incurred every year. These were because there are no penalties for hiding, delaying, or giving false information.
The survey revealed that the effects of suppress flow of information disempowered citizens to hold government accountable, citizens become ignorant of their own affairs, and citizens distrust government as indicated in the Table below.
Table 4.5: Negative effects of suppress flow of information
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Disempowered citizens to hold government accountable 22 44
2 Citizens become ignorant of their own affairs 18 36
3 Citizens distrust government 10 20
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Researcher’s field Report (2011)
The above tabulated analysis is presented in the Column chart below.
Fig. 4.5: Negative effects of suppress flow of information
Source: Table 4.5
From the above table, out of the 50 respondents who answered the questionnaire, 22 which recorded 44% claimed that the effect of suppress flow of information was that it disempowered citizens to hold government accountable. Also, 18 respondents making 36% mentioned that citizens become ignorant of their own affairs when information was curbed from them while 10 respondents of 20% said that it would make citizens distrust government since they are unwilling to disclose information about their dealings leaving room for ambiguity.
Findings from the data obtained from the field showed that disempowered citizens to hold government accountable was the chief effect of suppress flow of information.
It was concluded that, though there were other effects, disempowered citizens to hold government accountable was considered having the most pressing effect on suppress flow of information.
4.2.3: Negative effects of retard true democracy
Another negative effect of the delayed passage of the Right to Information on the socio-political development of Ghana was that it retards true democracy. Democracy is a system of government in which the necessary conditions are created to enable the people to take part in the decision process. In the same view, the study found that democracy entails dialogue, discussions and possible consensus among all members of the society to contribute to the decision process.
Again, the investigation pointed out that the delayed passage of the Right to Information retards true democracy and its negative impact were; promote political instability, promote dictatorship government and infringement of human rights. This is portrayed in Table 4.6.
Table 4.6: Negative effects of retard true democracy
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Promote political instability 27 54
2 Infringement of human right 14 28
3 Promote dictatorship government 9 18
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Researcher’s Achieves (2011)
The tabulated results are depicted in the pie chart below.
Fig. 4.6: Negative effects of retard true democracy
Source: Table 4.6
From the 50 respondents, 27 (54%) said retard true democracy promote political instability. Another 18 (36%) were of the view that infringement of human right was effect of retard true democracy while the remaining 10 (20%) contended that it promote dictatorship government.
The field work revealed that the majority of the respondents were of the view that retard true democracy promotes political instability and so it was the most serious effect among others.
Conclusively, promote political instability was found to be the major effect among all other effects of retard true democracy due to ineffective public participation in governance and lack of transparency and accountability. Also, the RTI bill which seeks to enhance this principle of democracy till date had not been passed into law since 2002.
4.3.0 Descriptive analysis of data on the solutions to re-engineering the right to information bill to be passed into law in Ghana
In finding pragmatic ways of dealing with the reasons for the delayed passage of the RTI bill in Ghana, various solutions were identified to persuade government in passing the bill into law. The research findings revealed that civil societies mounting pressure on government, lobbying of parliamentarians and intensification of awareness.
4.3.1: Solutions for civil societies mounting pressure on government
Civil societies mounting pressure on government was considered in the study as effective tool to commit government to pass the Ghana Right to Information bill into law. Most media and legal practitioners said that it was government’s responsibility to live up to the expectations of the people and so civil societies exist to communicate popular feelings and wishes to government.
In mounting pressure on government, it was indicated that the use of demonstrations, presentation of memoranda and pertitions to the legislative body and active participation in government policy programs would obtain government commitment to pass the RTI bill into law. This is illustrated in Table 4.7 below.
Table 4.7: Solutions for civil societies mounting pressure on government
No. VARIABLES SCORES ( %)
1 Use of demonstrations 28 56
2 Presentation of memoranda and petitions 13 26
3 Active participation in government policy programs 9 18
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Researcher’s notes (“2011)
Table 4.7 is presented in the bar chart below.
Fig. 4.7: Solution for civil societies mounting pressure on government
Source: Table 4.7
The data above showed that 28(56%) out of the 50 respondents stated that the use of demonstrations by civil society groups would make government see the seriousness and impatience of the general public to pass the Ghana RTI bill into law. Another 13(26%) said that presentation of memoranda and pertitions by civil societies to the legislative body would reawaken government to see the need to pass the bill into law whilst 9(18%) respondents agreed that the measure for civil societies mounting pressure on government was active participation in government policy programmes.
From the data gathered, presentation of memoranda and pertitions, and active participation in government policy programs, though mentioned as measures for civil societies mounting pressure on government, the use of demonstrations was considered the best measure solution as far as passing of the RTI bill is concerned.
In the end, among the measures suggested, the use of demonstrations was considered the most effective tool civil societies could employ in mounting pressure on government to pass the Ghana RTI bill into law.
4.3.2: Solutions for lobbying of parliamentarians
In passing a bill in Ghana, the bill goes through many processes for parliamentarians to vote for its acceptance to enable the President approve its passage and same with the RTI bill which had been in the first stage of the process since February 2010 after several years of reviews. The research findings revealed that in order to seek parliamentarians’ votes to support the passage of the bill, there was the need to establish a cordial rapport with them.
The study found that the best ways of lobbying parliamentarians were for coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions individually and collectively, pressure groups persuading MP’s to support bill and engaging MP’s in RTI law workshops. Also, some interviewees cited that the outcome of such lobbying could as well culminate the proposition of a number of amendments to the bill. This is shown in Table 4.8 below.
Table 4.8: Solutions for lobbying of parliamentarians
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions 22 44
2 Pressure groups persuading MP’s to support bill 14 28
3 Engaging MP’s in RTI law workshops 10 20
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Field notes (2011)
This is represented in the column chart below.
Fig. 4.8: Solutions for lobbying of parliamentarians
Source: Table 4.8
The data above indicated that out of the 50 respondents, 22(44%) suggested that coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions, 14(28%) respondents opted for pressure groups persuading MP’s to support bill and 10 (10%) indicated that engaging MP’s in RTI law workshops go a long way to lobby parliamentarians.
From the field data, it was explained that the coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions was the most excellent approach of lobbing parliamentarians to solicit their votes to support the Ghana RTI bill when it would be presented to parliament for second and third reading before sent to the President for approval. In a phone interview with Dr. Nicolas Amponsah, a Political Analyst, it was confirmed that the coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions would allure MP’s to support the bill and RTI legislation and implementation would be achieved.
Finally, it was approved although the two other approaches were good enough to influence MP’s loyalty to supports the passage of the bill into law, the coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions individually and collectively was considered to be the most excellent approach.
4.3.3: Solutions for intensification of awareness
During the study, it was observed that majority of the population was not aware about the bill which had been drafted since 2002. Even most media men and women do not know the content neither do they report on it. The study found that in order to galvanize public awareness about the Ghana RTI bill, the coalition first need to take the act down to the grassroots, beyond just the provincial capitals. In that way ordinary Ghanaians would understand how the act will affect their lives in demanding better governance and holding leaders accountable.
In finding solutions for intensification of awareness about the RTI bill and to advocate for its passage into law, it was explained that wide media reportage and programs, NCCE sensitization of the public and grassroots advocacy within communities were good means to inform, sensitize and educate the general public. This is shown in the table below.
Table 4.9: Solutions for intensification of awareness
No. VARIABLES SCORES (%)
1 Wide media reportage and programs 20 40
2 Grassroots advocacy within communities 18 36
3 NCCE sensitization of the public 12 24
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Researcher’s field notes (2011)
The above table is represented in the column chart in fig 4.9 below.
Fig. 4.9: Solutions for intensification of awareness
Source: Table4.9
From the table above, out of the 50 respondents, 20(40%) cited that wide media reportage and programs was the solution for intensification of awareness about the RTI bill. Further, 18 (36%) proposed grassroots advocacy within communities and 12(22%) respondents stated NCCE sensitization of the public.
Research findings revealed that wide media reportage and programs was the most outstanding mechanism for intensification of awareness, followed by grassroots advocacy within communities and then NCCE sensitization of the public.
In conclusion, wide media reportage and programs was graded the most outstanding means for enlightening the public on the content and importance of the bill to enhance public contributions in getting the bill to be pass into law. Others were also recognized to project the same cause.
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
5.0 INTRODUCTION
The chapter provided the summaries, findings and recommendations of the research as well as an area for further study.
5.1 SUMMARIES
The summaries of the study covered the causes, effects and solutions to the problem of the delayed passage of the Right to Information bill (RTI Bill) in Ghana.
The research revealed that, lack of good information system, lack of funds and lack of political will were the main causes for the delayed passage of the Right to Information bill (RTI) in Ghana.
The study identified that the major negative impact of the delayed passage of the RTI bill on the socio-political development of Ghana were rise in corruption, suppress flow of information and retard true democracy. It further analyzed that the effect of the rise in corruption retards economic, social and political growth, increase poverty and destabilize country’s values. It established that the effects of suppress flow of information disempowered citizens to hold government accountable, citizens become ignorant of their own affairs, and citizens distrust government whilst retard true democracy promote political instability, promote dictatorship government and infringement of human rights.
Based on the findings, it was suggested that, civil societies mounting pressure on government, lobbying of parliamentarians and intensification of awareness would help solve the problem and hastened government commitment to pass the RTI bill into law. It was mentioned that the use of demonstrations, presentation of memoranda and pertitions and active participation in government policy programs were appropriate means for mounting pressure on government. Also, among the solution to the lobbying of parliamentarians were coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions, pressure groups persuading MP’s to support bill and engaging MP’s in RTI law workshops. On the other hand, wide media reportage and programs, NCCE sensitization of the public and grassroots advocacy within communities were measures for intensification of awareness.
5.2 FINDINGS
The research discovered the findings considering the causes, effects and solutions to the delayed passage of the Right to Information bill in Ghana.
It was confirmed that despite other reasons, untrained information personnel was the key factor for the lack of good information system in the country. However, lack of budgetary allocation to support bill was the most significant reason for the lack of funds whilst the most outstanding reason for lack political will was expose corruption at all levels of government dealings. It was well established in the research that the leading consequence of the rise in corruption retards economic, social and political growth. The data concluded that disempowered citizens to hold government accountable was the most pressing effect of suppress flow of information while the most serious effect of retard true democracy promotes political instability.
Based on the findings, it was obvious that the way forward in re-engineering the right to information bill to be passed into law in Ghana was civil societies mounting pressure on government, lobbying of parliamentarians and intensification of awareness. As such, the most effective tool for civil societies mounting pressure on government was the use of demonstrations. Secondly, the study found that the best way of lobbying parliamentarians to support the passage of the bill into law was coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions. Lastly, wide media reportage and programs was the most outstanding mechanism for intensification of awareness.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the summaries and findings, the following recommendations were made in ensuring that RTI legislation succeeds in supporting the people’s ability to access information:
• Ensuring a comprehensive information management system, that would enhance all organizations and public services with facilities to cope with the demand for sharing of information. Procedures should be formulated for sorting and maintaining information so that it would be accessed and published easily.
• In order to properly manage the demand for information, concert effort could be made to create mass awareness to the public to promote information literacy. Besides, they should be educated as to how to make best use of information for effective participation in economic and political processes.
• Public relations officers all over the country would need to be retrained to analyze information requests, recognize which agency would be best to deal with, and should be made to use request tracking software. In areas and departments without civil servants who would be responsible for making information available, new ones should be hired and trained.
• The government should create a system to proactively publish information, and create guidelines to identify which information may be released. Structures for monitoring and enforcing access to information could be established.
• In order to meet all of these needs, the government would need the expertise of civil society, the media, useful business contacts, and right to information experts to develop a plan for implementation.
• Efforts could be made by the Government, NGOs and media to create mass awareness among the people, particularly to educate them about the right to information.
• Mass media like radio and television channels utilized; that would reach the heterogeneous population.
• The role of pressure groups and civil societies was critical in respect of both to constantly exerting pressure for speedy passage of the Ghana RTI bill into law.
AREA FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
For lack of time and resources not all areas could be researched, therefore, the area that needed further research was how to streamline the information systems in Ghana in order to ensure and enhance effective implementation of the RTI law when been passed into law.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amegatcher, A. O. (1998). The Law of the Press: A Ghanaian perspective. Accra: Omega (law) publishing.
Bratton, M., & Walle N. (1992). Toward Governance in Africa: Popular Demands and State Responses. In Hyden, G & Bratton, M. (Eds.). Governance and Politics in Africa. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
CHRI. (2008, June 19). National Advocacy Training Conference for the coalition on the Right to Information in Ghana. Retrieved June 17, 2011 from http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/rti/national_advocacy_training_conference_for_the_coalition_on_the_rti_in_ghana.pdf.
Commonwealth Expert Group. (1999). Promoting Open Government Commonwealth Principles And Guidelines On The Right To Know. Retrieved May 25, 2011 from http://www.commonwealt_expert_grp_on_the_rti_99-03-00.pdf.
Fireston, C. & Torye, R. (1995). Towards an Information Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute.
Hyden, G. (1992). Governance and the Study of Politics (p.7). In Hyden, G & Bratton, M. Governance and Politics in Africa. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
IFJ, Brussels et. (2004). Right to Information in West Africa. Ghana: The International Federation of Journalists
Mafeje, A. (1995). Theory of Democracy and the African Discourse: Breaking Bread with My Fellow-travelers (p.26). In Eshetu, C & Jibo, I. (Eds). Democratization Processes in Africa: Problems and Prospects. Dakar: Codesria.
Stoker G, (1998). Governance as Theory: Five Propositions. International Social Science
Journal. No. 155. March.
Mitchell W. Pearlman, The importance of freedom of information at the sub-national level. Retrieved July 11, 2011 from http://www.state.ct.us/foi/Articles/Sun National_Artic.htm.
Piesie-Anto, O. (2010). Notes on Communication Research. Accra: Piesie-Anto.
The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: BIO DATA OF RESPONDENTS
Table 1: Gender of respondents
No. SEX SCORES (%)
1 Males 28 56
2 Females 22 44
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Research’s field work (2011)
The above data showed that, out of 50 respondents, 28(56%) were males whilst 22(44%) were females. It was therefore concluded that, majority of the respondents were males.
Table 2: Age group of respondents
No. AGE GROUP SCORES (%)
1 20-40 32 64
2 41-60 15 30
3 61+ 3 6
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Research’s field work (2011)
The above data depicts that 32(64%) of the respondents were between the ages of 20 and 40. 15(30%) were between the ages of 41 and 60 whilst 3(6%) of them were the ages above 60. The highest age group of the respondents was between the ages of 20 and 40.
Table 3: Occupation of respondents
No. OCCUPATION SCORES (%)
1 Private 16 32
2 Civil/Public 31 62
3 Freelance 3 6
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Research’s field work (2011)
The above table indicated that, 16 of the respondents were private work which represented 32%; 31(62%) of the respondents were civil servants and 3(6%) were freelance. It was therefore revealed that majority of the respondents were civil or public servants.
Table 4: Marital status of respondents
No. MARITAL STATUS SCORES (%)
1 Single 19 38
2 Married 29 58
3 Divorced/Widow 2 4
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Research’s field work (2011)
From the data above, it was evident that out of the 50 respondents, 19 (38%) were single, 29 (58%) of them were married. And 2 (4%) of the respondents were either divorced or widowed. It established that, majority of the respondents were married.
Table 5: Educational level of respondents
No. EDUCATIONAL LEVEL SCORES (%)
1 Basic 0 0
2 Secondary 6 12
3 Tertiary 44 88
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Research’s field work (2011)
As seen in the table above, none of the respondents recorded for basic education, 6 (12%) had up secondary level of education whilst 44 (88%) of the respondents also had up to tertiary level. The highest recorded level of education was tertiary.
Table 6: Profession of respondents
No. PROFESSION SCORES (%)
1 Media practitioner 30 60
2 Legal practitioner 20 40
3 Others 0 0
TOTAL 50 100
Source: Research’s field work (2011)
Out of the 50 respondents, 30 respondents representing 60% were media practitioners and 20 representing 40% of the population interest. It was obvious that the highest targeted population group were media practitioners.
APPENDIX 2: SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear respondent, I am a final year student of the African University College of Communications. The information given by respondents, answering this questionnaire, will help me to gather the desired data for my research work on the Title: “RE- ENGINEERING THE POTENTIAL IMPORTANCE OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION BILL ON THE SOCIO- POLITICAL DEVELOMENT OF GHANA” which is a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. Hence the information given will be confidential.
SECTION ONE: BIO- DATA
Please, tick the answer that you consider MOST appropriate
1. Sex : Male [ ] Female [ ]
2. Age group : 20-40 [ ] 41-60 [ ] 61+ [ ]
3. Educational Level : Basic [ ] Secondary [ ] Tertiary [ ]
4. Marital status : Single [ ] Married [ ] Divorced /Widow [ ]
5. Occupation: Private [ ] Civil/Public [ ] Freelance [ ]
6. Profession : Media practitioner [ ] Legal practitioner [ ] Others [ ]
SECTION TWO: QUESTIONAIRE
Please, tick the answer that you consider MOST appropriate
7. Which of the following is the major reason for the delayed passage of Right to Information (RTI) bill in Ghana?
(a) Inadequacy of good information system [ ]
(b) Lack of funds to get the bill passed [ ]
(c) Lack of political will [ ]
8. What are the causes of lack of good information system to facilitate effective RTI law implementation?
(a) Untrained information personnel [ ]
(b) Lack of infrastructure [ ]
(c) Bad record-keeping [ ]
9. Which of the following is the reason for the lack of funds to support the passage of the bill?
(a) Lack of budgetary allocation to support the bill [ ]
(b) Inadequate money to sponsor national consultations [ ]
(c) unwillingness of government to spend [ ]
10. Why does government lack political will to pass the RTI bill into law?
(a) It would expose corruption at all levels of government dealings [ ]
(b) Media would be more resourced to expose them [ ]
(c) Override the oath of secrecy [ ]
11. What is the major negative impact of the delayed passage of the RTI on the socio-political development of Ghana?
(a) Rise in corruption [ ]
(b) Suppress flow of information [ ]
(c) Retard true democracy [ ]
12. What impact does rise in corruption has on the socio-political development of Ghana?
(a) Retards economic, social and political growth [ ]
(b) Increase poverty [ ]
(c) Destabilize country’s values [ ]
13. What effect does suppress flow of information have on the public?
(a) Disempowered citizens to hold government accountable [ ]
(b) Citizens become ignorant of their own affairs [ ]
(c) Citizens distrust government [ ]
14. What effect does retard democracy have on the socio-political development of Ghana?
(a) Promote political instability [ ]
(b) Infringement of human rights [ ]
(c) Promote dictatorship government [ ]
15. What is the way forward in re-engineering the right to information bill to be passed into law in Ghana?
(a) Civil societies mount pressure on government [ ]
(b) Lobbying of parliamentarians [ ]
(c) Intensification of awareness [ ]
16. What measures should civil societies take to mount pressure on government to pass the RTI bill into law?
(a) Presentation of memoranda and pertitions [ ]
(b) Use of demonstrations [ ]
(c) participation in government policy programs [ ]
17. In what way can parliamentarians be lobbied to support the right to information bill to be passed?
(a) Coalition team engaging MP’s in discussions [ ]
(b) Civil society groups persuading MP’s to support bill [ ]
(c) Engaging MP’s in RTI law workshops [ ]
18. What do you think should be done to intensify awareness about the Ghana right to information bill to earn heavy public support for government to pass the bill into law?
(a) Wide media reportage and programs [ ]
(b) NCCE sensitization of the public [ ]
(c) Grassroots advocacy within communities [ ]
APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW FORMAT
1. Which of the following is the major reason for the delayed passage of Right to Information (RTI) bill in Ghana?
2. What is the main underlying factor to lack of good information system to facilitate effective implementation?
3. Why is funding a problem for the passage of Ghana Right to Information bill?
4. Why does government fear the passage of the bill would have a chilling effect on its governance?
5. What is the major negative impact of the delayed passage of the RTI on the socio-political development of Ghana?
6. What impact does rise in corruption has on the socio-political development of Ghana?
7. What effect does suppress flow of information have on the public?
8. What effect does retard democracy have on the socio-political development of Ghana?
9. What is the way forward in re-engineering the right to information bill to be passed into law in Ghana?
10. What measures should civil societies take to mount pressure on government to pass the RTI bill into law?
11. In what way can parliamentarians be lobby to re-engineer the right to information bill to be passed?
12. What do you think should be done to intensify awareness of the right to information?
APPENDIX 4: Interview with Mr. Akoto Ampaw, a lawyer
Source: Photo archive of author (2011)
APPENDIX 5: RTI coalition team meeting the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament
Source: Photo archive of author (2011)
APPENDIX 6: RTI coalition team meeting the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament
Source: Photo archive of author (2011)
APPENDIX 7
Source: Daily Graphic Newspaper
APPENDIX 8
Source: Daily Graphic Newspaper
APPENDIX 9: THE MAP O F GHANA
