Ensure members abide by RTI – Kufour tells GJA

John Agyekum Kufour, former President of the Republic of Ghana, has tasked the executives of the Ghana Journalists Association to ensure that members of the Association abide by the Right to Information Law.
The Right to Information Bill (RTI) was passed into law after 20 years of its inception.
The RTI Bill which was first drafted in 1999, was reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The bill was, however, presented to Parliament in 2010.
The bill was brought back to the Sixth Parliament but could not be passed till the expiration of that Parliament on January 6, 2016.
The implementation of the law would require the establishment of information units in all public offices, the recruitment and training of information officers to man those units. The implementation of the law will also require the establishment of the RTI Commission and the completion of various administrative protocols before the start of the next fiscal year.
The RTI law is to provide for the operationalization of the constitutional right to information held by the public and some private institutions, subject to exemptions that are necessary and consistent with the protection of public interest in a democratic society.
Speaking at the launch of the 70th anniversary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) at Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast in Accra, John Agyekum Kufour asked the association to ensure that its members do not take any portion of the RTI for granted to endanger and subvert the law.
“You must always remember that the abuse of the immense power of the media led to the Rwandan genocide through which almost a million people perished in the east African country in 1994,” he added.
He urged the GJA to monitor its members to ensure that the rights of individuals and members are not unduly violated. Kufour also encouraged that GJA to reprimand members who flout these laws
Commenting on misreporting and fake news, the former President urged Journalists to cultivate the habit of apologizing for misreporting, adding that apologizing for errors is the mark of professionalism and  credibility.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu Boatemaa