Audio Attachment:Listen to Minister of Information, Zita Okaikoi, on the Right to Information Bill and her criticism of sections of the media for publications, she says, has the tendency to drag the profession in the "gutter". |
Minister of Information, Mrs. Zita Okaikoi, has chided sections of the Ghanaian media for what she calls deliberate spread of malicious and mischievous information regarding the presidents� comments in Kumasi.
On Friday, President Mills addressed supporters of the NDC at the forecourt of the Kumasi Central Mosque as part of his three-day tour of the Ashanti Region, where he responded to unfair criticisms that his government had not delivered, and said attempts to compare his 10 months tenure in office with the New Patriotic Party�s eight year rule was unmerited and out of place.
According to the Information Minister, media (JoyFm, Ghanaian Times and Daily Guide) reports suggesting President J.E.A. Mills said �Ghanaians Complain Too Much� were incorrect and fallacious.
��over the weekend, there was a news item about the president�the publication and the story differs greatly�some of the stories put across nowadays by some journalists are libelous. As a journalist you don�t mislead the public, because this is misinformation�if we don�t talk about it, your profession is being drawn into the gutter�,� Zita Okai-koi stated in an interview on PEACEFM�s �Kokrokoo�.
"Right To Information"
Touching on the Right to Information Bill (RTI) Mrs. Zita Okaikoi, confirmed to Peace FM that the RTI Bill has been prepared by Cabinet and submitted to Parliament for subsequent approval. She said when this Bill, aimed at spearheading transparency and accountable governance is passed, it would be ample testimony of the NDC�s commitment to full disclosure.
With this development, President John Evans Atta Mills, has thus taken a major step towards fulfilling yet another key manifesto promise, with the approval of the Right to Information Bill by the Cabinet.
Speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi, the Information Minister said the motive behind the introduction of the Bill is aimed at empowering Ghanaians to have access to every kind of information from government officials in conformity with Section (F) Clause (1) Act (21) of the 1992 Constitution.
However, she said, there are exemptions to the rule; stressing that in certain instances information would not be readily accessible.
��These exemptions include information bothering on national security, information which have not yet reached the office of the President and the Vice President�.information relating to law enforcement, police work,�information relating to trade secrets�information relating to lawyer/client privileges, doctor/patient� The bill tries as much as possible to protect national security matters and also cases involving third parties�,� she explained.
According to Madam Zita Okai-koi, either than the conditions stated above, �any other information outside the brackets of the exemptions would be provided, especially those not inured to national security�, for instance, under the Evidence Decree, there is the Privileged Information,� she added.
�Cabinet has finished with its work and now the onus lies on the honourable members in Parliament to pass the bill into law�in the National Democratic Congress�s (NDC�s) manifesto, page 26, we pledged to pass the Bill into law to facilitate access to official information if voted into power�that is what we have done,� she pointed out.
Source: Kwame Frimpong/peacefmonline
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