The right to information is recognised as a fundamental human right under the International Convention on Human Rights.   When Ghana, for instance, passes its Bill, initiated more than a decade ago, it  will give substance to Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution, which states that: “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary for a democratic society”.

Mr Buba Khan, Africa Advocacy Advisor of ActionAid International, addressing the media at the Consortium’s engagements meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said the RTI was one of the key ingredients that would ensure good governance, as enshrined in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG).

With support from the European Commission, Members of the Consortium are engaging with their respective ambassadors on the need to give prominence to the ratification and domestication of the provisions of the Charter); ahead of the Africa Union Summit, in January 2019.

The 14-member civil society Consortium comprise the Media Foundation for West Africa, East the Southern African Development Community (SADC), EACSOF, West Africa Civil Society Forum and the ActionAid of Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

ACDEG is a profound Charter whose implementation by the member states could lead to the realisation of the change envisaged by transforming the Organisation of African Unity to the African Union. It is also a prerequisite for the realisation of the vision of the AU’s Agenda 2063.

He urged the Governments to fast-track the signing, ratification, and implementation of the ACDEG and put up clear timelines for the fulfilment of the commitments. Mr Khan said, “While the continent has made progress, more than 60 per cent of the member states have not ratified and or domesticated the Charter. The lack of urgency in the implementation of the Charter contradicts the rhetoric of moving from an African Union of leaders to an African Union of the People”.

Mr Khan, therefore, entreated governments to collaborate with the Regional Economic Commission to harmonise and align the ACDEG with the regional level protocols, policies on democracy and good governance and incorporate standards that guarantee civic space in bilateral discussions.

He said the full realisation of the theme of the year 2018: “Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”, had a bearing on the implementation of ACDEG as there was a nexus between governance failures and corruption in the continent.

He referred to the 2016 African Governance Report IV, which he said indicates that Corruption in Africa is one of the major impediments to structural transformation on the continent.

 Mr Khan said the report identifies weak governance structures, systems and institutions as some of the main determinants of corruption on the continent and thus threatening prospects for positive outcomes of transformation. The implication, he noted, was the abject levels of poverty and deepening inequality among citizens.

 “This reality is a flagrant contradiction with the ideals espoused in ACDEG,” he noted. “The Charter is one of the critical instruments developed at the continental level for the purposes of improving the democratic dividends and ensuring the attainment of the AU Vision of Agenda 2063.

 "It outlines a roadmap for the promotion of good governance on the continent and enjoins State Parties to institutionalise good economic and corporate governance through the prevention and combating of corruption and related offenses, among other things.

By Yaw Ansah, GNA, Courtesy European Commission