“…Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader in Parliament…said the Freedom (of) Information (FOI) Bill is like “oxygen to good governance” and where the bill does not exist, government operates in darkness…He said without the passage of the Right to Information Bill, legislations like the Whistle Blowers Bill becomes ineffective and pledged to support civil society organisations to put pressure on Government to pass the bill…,” (Alban Bagbin, 31 July, 2007, by E Ametepe, (ISD), http://www.ghana.gov.gh/ghana/government_committed_right_information_bill.jsp.

That was in 2007. Now, fast-forward to October, 2009!

With the Mabey and Johnson (M&B) bridge bribery saga somewhat en route to a proper “CHRAJ-investigative” course, we ought to now turn our attention to what needs to be done to strengthen those public institutions charged with investigating cases and enforcing laws. Reform of the Constitution is one avenue. However, Job One is enactment of the long over-due FOI bill.

Clearly, we cannot pretend that Prof Mills, even if he had a thousand Attorneys-General could investigate and prosecute Ghana out of the endemic corruption and abuse by public officials. Conflict of interest for one! After all, in the latest saga, it is former and current officials of the NDC who took bribes, opened British bank accounts, and travelled frequently to the UK to partake in the “loot,” in the 1990s. Many names have been dropped and we are not entirely convinced that Mr. Rawlings and Prof Mills are without culpability in this case: they were steering the Ship of State when the M&J people went shopping for crooked “agents.”

The UK SFO report shows that for approx £26,000,000 in bridge contracts, M&J paid as much as £750,000 in bribes to Ghanaian officials. The record shows that Baba Kamara, member of the “NDC Finance Committee…political overseer for the Ministry of Roads and Highways…(whose)…wife was secretary to…Jerry Rawlings…” was instrumental in the allocation of £5,800,000 (extra) for the ‘Priority Bridge Programme’.”

From a responsible leadership position, Mr. Rawlings and Prof Mills are culpable - they ought to apologize to Ghanaians, and then some! Contrary to what NDC apologists and sundry propagandists like Nana Biakoye, Ras Mubarak, Justice Kutsienyo, and NANA AMA ANSONG will tell us, it is elementary. We can infer that the UK SFO has nailed the problem on its head, at least 70% of the case, as far as Ghana goes. That office has provided information in a lawful court and we can expect that more details about the bank accounts and “travels to collect” will soon become public information, FOI-style!

Which brings us to the “then some” part – passage of the FOI bill and an event that that has thus far eluded Ghanaians since the ascendency of the NDC almost 12 months ago.

It is rather curious that Mr. Alban Bagbin, through all these months, through GT/Vodafone-Gate, through Tractor-Gate, through M&J-Gate, etc., has not seen it fit to put his money where his mouth was in 2007. A check at www.Ghana.gov.gh shows a remarkably-pompous and telling statement by Mr. Bagbin, then leader of the opposition. At the 2007 Africa Regional Conference on FOI, Mr. Bagbin was at his self-important best. His message was this: passage of the FOI bill by the then-NPP government was crucial to good governance, like oxygen; that good governance laws such as the Whistle-Blower law, the Procurement Act, and the Internal Audit Act were a waste of time unless Ghana had the FOI bill to bring teeth to those laws.

So what is Mr. Bagbin waiting for now that he’s been at the head of the table nearly a year?

Given the unsettling delay, we are today compelled to use our sacred electronic ink and paper to inform Mr. Bagbin that he needs to get out of his phony shell and do more, quickly, and transparently. Mr. Bagbin ought to do more than review his “pledge…to support civil society organisations to put pressure on Government to pass the bill.” After all, he did that while he was “conveniently outside government.” It is time for Mr. Bagbin to explain to “civil society organizations” why he refuses to strongly and accountable, push for immediate passage of the FOI bill. Fact is, one year without progress on the FOIB is a sad rather commentary on Mr. Bagbin given his numerous pompous anti-corruption postures.

Here is another Ghana-centered point. We hope that Mr. Bagbin will not cause, and the people at the Government’s Internet portal, will not remove the phony-Bagbin statement and record from that official government website. That would be a travesty. It would be tantamount to destruction of official records. Those statements ought to remain on the Peoples’ Website!

It ought to be obvious to Mr. Bagbin that to the extent the NDC administration cannot prosecute Ghana out of the morass of corruption and abuse of power, the next sensible and effective thing to do is to pass the FOI bill. That would empower the people to act as “investigators and reporters,” and would allow the media, CHRAJ, SFO, BNI, etc. to competently do the work they are obliged to do as lawfully constituted law enforcement agencies.

At this stage, it is evident that the NDC has a major problem as far as accountability and transparency. Funny thing is, it is the NPP that abrogated the infamous Criminal Libel Law. It is the NPP that enacted the Procurement Act and the Internal Audit Act. Further, the NPP left behind a so-called Right to Information bill!

What has Bagbin’s NDC done by way of institution-building? Specifically, what has Bagbin’s NDC done to strengthen legacy institutions such as CHRAJ and Ghana’s SFO, and the Procurement and Internal Audit Acts? Is Bagbin’s NDC swindling Ghanaians? Does he think that Ghanaians are fools, with the memory and insight of rats and cockroaches?

NOTES: 1. Read the Bagbin Statement at: http://www.ghana.gov.gh/ghana/government_committed_right_information_bill.jsp

2. A 9 Oct 09 report says that Mr. Bagbin is now an advocate of “…Legislative and Legal Services (in Parliament) to take care of minor legal and social issues confronting the House…” That is a most bizarre proposition. Our sense is, "adults" like Mr. Bagbin cannot handle issues even when they are at the head of the table. Therefore, Ghana's lawmakers must turn things over to “children.” What is the role of the justice, judicial, and quasi-administrative branches? What happened to the FOI bill, Mr. Bagbin, if we may ask, again? (We hope that Ghana’s civil society organizations will not support Bagbin’s end-run on the FOI bill. It is fraud and a “time-waster”).

2. Visit www.GhanaHero.com for more information. Listen to our protest songs and see our videos. FOIB – Are You Pickable, Mr. Politician?

Prof Lungu, © 13 Oct 09. Powered by www.GhanaHero.com. (Prof Lungu: Ghana-centered, Ghana-Proud. Always!).