Recent statements by several officials informing Ghanaians that the Mills administration will pass the access to information bill are getting a bit stale and confusing. It is a tad stale and confusing when some Mills administration officials, instead of calling the law the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, ignorantly refer to it as the Right to Information (RTI) bill. In fact, it is so confusing a recent report from GNA (Ghanaweb, 18 Mar) could not decide whether to call the law RTI or RIB. On that one, we will tell you that the only RIB we like to hear about is BBQ Rib.

But we digress!

A few days ago, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, the Attorney-General, added to the utter confusion and desolation when she attempted to lecture the FOI bill coalition in Accra. It sounded as if Betty wants to tell us she knows best when it comes to the public’s access to information held by the Government of Ghana in the name of the people in the first place.

We are here using our sacred electronic ink to convey to Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu to pipe down some, and listen. We are also here to humbly ask the Ghana FOI coalition to re-orient their effort to passage of a stronger “Freedom of Information” bill for Ghana. We all got to dance to the same tune and music, don’t we? And don’t we all prefer a “Freedom” dance, versus a “Right” dance?

Our position, stated more than once, is this: the access to information bill is a Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, period! In fact, we will venture that the reader will agree with us 101% of the time that Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu and Prof Mills will both select “Freedom” over a “Right” that a government can take away any time.

In strategic and Ghana-centered terms, we think that by directing the proposed law be called the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, the Mills administration would be setting themselves far apart from the deposed NPP crew. Remember that it is the NPP administration that failed to commit to, and begin institutionalize a more transparent and accountable government of the people. The NPP certainly talked a lot about the “access to information” law. But all they did was propose a Kilimanjaro-sized, loophole-laden dud of a draft RTI bill. (Is that what the NDC is up to?). Should we now start thinking that maybe, just maybe, the Mills administration and officials like Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu love to jive when it comes to the Freedom of Information bill, just like the NPP.

Consider how unfortunate it was to hear Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu talk and operate just like the like the NPP; (1) the so-called Right to Information bill “…came with a cost to the taxpayer…” and would be very expensive for Ghanaians, as it is for the UK, (2) the law will be administrated and controlled by our dear Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, the Attorney-General, herself; (3) the Attorney-General (our dear Betty) will determine who gets access to information held by government.

Say what, Prof Mills? Is this your plan for the FOI bill or is Betty just jiving?

ITEM: We think that it is illogical and silly for Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu to compare the Ghanaian situation to the UK’s without offering any data to back up her pet jive. How much does she estimate corruption and lack of access by Ghanaians to public information cost Ghanaians? Does Betty understand that anything worth constructing costs money? And if Betty likes to compare Ghana to the UK and the US, where does she get the idea that she, as the Attorney General, deserves to wield all the power to enforce the laws of Ghana, in addition to enforcing the FOI law, and deciding who in Ghana will get access to information controlled by a government that she is a member?

Goodness grief! Do Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu and the current crop of NDC officials want to listen to the people or do they prefer to lecture the people the way teachers they do in Ghana’s universities and secondary schools? (We hope not!).

Before we close, here are six (6) questions for Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu and Prof. Mills to chew on while Betty is in her jiving mood:

1. What is preventing you from posting on a dedicated website the NPP draft, the new NDC draft, and the final draft of the FOI bill proposed for the Parliament of Ghana? (Why must all of that be a secret, if you are for truly in favor of transparency?).

2. What is preventing you from asking the people to share their concerns, knowledge, and expertise on the FOI law?

3. Why is there currently a poverty of vision regarding funding of the FOI bill? Don’t you see it as a very special law that the people will gladly lend their full faith and credit to secure loans, grants, and even approve a dedicated tax? Have you sat down to think of how many countries, individuals, agencies, and organizations will contribute to the Ghana FOI law institution if your administration was sincere in what you are now yapping about, or is it all jive?

4. Why do you think that you are smarter than the British and the US who have a far better record on access to information laws? What makes you think that your legal minds are far superior, that you can improve on those world standards?

5. Relatedly, what is preventing you from publishing (posting on a dedicated webpage) all the signed NPP contracts and Memorandums of Agreements for oil, transportation, electricity, etc, if you are truly interested in governing transparently and accountably?

6. Why are you still hiding Chinenry Hesse Committee report on the ex-gratia awards considering you tell us every day that you are all for transparency and accountability?

ITEM: YES, we agree with Mr Akoto Ampaw when he tells the Mills administration to institute “an independent Commission to ensure enforcement of the law in line with international best practice standard.” We will also tell Prof Mills and Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu that there are no “two Ghana-ways” about that, unless they want a sham of an access to information bill. That would by a mighty shame and waste of our precious time.

3 NOTES:

1. www.GhanaHero.com is the only website dedicated to passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill for Ghana. Visit www.GhanaHero.com and read more about the Freedom of Information bill.

2. Visit www.GhanaHero.com and request you very own copy of “FOIB – Are You Pickable, Mr. Politician,” the highly danceable educational MP3 recording composed and performed by Prof Lungu to support passage of the FOIB in Ghana.

3. FOIB – Are You Pickable, Mr. Politician? (FOIB - Are Ghanaians lawyer’s articulated to this national requirement?).

© Prof Lungu, Okinawa, Japan, 25 March 2009.