Jimmy Carter Leads RTI Conference

…Demonstrators march tomorrow

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will lead the African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information Feb. 7-9, in Accra, Ghana, hosted by The Carter Center and its partners in Africa.

Only five African countries currently have a statutory right to information and of these, some laws are being used repressively and others not implemented. Many obstacles continue to exist to passing and implementing further legislation, including a failure of political leadership, a culture of secrecy, low public awareness, and institutional barriers.

The conference will convene more than 100 participants representing regional and international institutions, government, civil society, media, academia, and the private sector from at least 15 countries in Africa. A regional action plan with specific guidance for African nations will be developed and function as an addendum to the 2008 Atlanta Declaration and Plan of Action for the Advancement of the Right of Access to Information.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people are expected to converge at the Kwame Nkurmah Circle on Wednesday January 27, 2010 in Accra, from where they will march to the offices of the country’s Attorney General to present a petition to the government on the status of the Right to Information Bill which was approved by cabinet in November 2009.

The march is being organized by the Right to Information Coalition-Ghana in collaboration with Publish What You Pay-Ghana and it is expected to be attended by people from all walks of life.

The march apart from raising awareness on the RTI Bill will also increase the passage of the Bill is also highlight the need for a thorough revision of the text of the current draft RTI Bill to ensure that it complies with international best practice standards before it is passed into law.

The Ghana Coalition on the Right to Information is made up of civil society and rights organizations which have since 2003 been at the forefront of the campaign for the passage of this Bill will make available citizens information held by public bodies and agencies.