OccupyGhana, a pressure group, has urged the government to revoke its response to a request for information regarding the progress of the proposed conduct of Public Officers Bill 2022.
OccupyGhana maintains that it is being caught by the government’s letter’s secret and confidential labelling.
OccupyGhana requested an update on the status of the relevant Bill in a letter to the Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Justice in August 2022.
It used the Right to Information law to request information about the actions being taken by the proper authorities in response to recent claims of conflict of interest “levelled against some government employees.”
After six months, the government’s reaction to the pressure has been classified as confidential.
However, OccupyGhana suspects this is a deliberate attempt by the government to trap it and requests that the response be immediately withdrawn.
“Our request to you in the exercise of our constitutional right to information was not confidential. We were certainly not seeking information that constituted a state secret. We just wanted to know the status of the Draft Bill, since we knew it had been submitted with a Memorandum for Cabinet’s approval. Cabinet’s decision, which would mean the Executive will or will not forward it to Parliament for debate and enactment into law, is not a matter that is confidential or a state secret.”
“Unfortunately, the ‘trap’ of those markings means that if we disclose this momentous and disappointing decision to the public, we could, arguably, be charged with offences under the State Secrets Act, 1962 (Act 101). Although we think any such prosecution would be wicked and would certainly fail, we do not want to go down that path”, the statement read in parts.
The draft Conduct of Public Officers Bill, 2022 proposes, among others, the removal of the unconstitutional extension of time given to public officers to declare assets and liabilities.
The draft Bill is however yet to obtain Cabinet approval for onward consideration and approval by Parliament.
OccupyGhana has in the past been pushing for the swift passage of the Bill.
Here is the full statement from OccupyGhana
RE: RIGHT TO INFORMATION REQUEST ON THE STATUS OF THE DRAFT CONDUCT OF PUBLIC OFFICERS BILL, 2022
We have received your letter dated 14 February 2023 (your ref: OPCA.3/3/140223), responding to our inquiries on the above-matter. You have finally communicated to us, six months after we first wrote to you, Cabinet’s decision on whether or not it would approve the above-mentioned Draft Memorandum and Bill for submission to Parliament. For the communication of such a momentous decision by the Executive, we are taken aback that your two-page final response to our Right to Information Request is boldly stamped ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ on the first page and marked ‘SECRET’ on the second page.
Our request to you in the exercise of our constitutional right to information was not confidential. We were certainly not seeking information that constituted a state secret. We just wanted to know the status of the Draft Bill, since we knew it had been submitted with a Memorandum for Cabinet’s approval. Cabinet’s decision, which would mean the Executive will or will not forward it to Parliament for debate and enactment into law, is not a matter that is confidential or a state secret.
Unfortunately, the ‘trap’ of those markings means that if we disclose this momentous and disappointing decision to the public, we could, arguably, be charged with offences under the State Secrets Act, 1962 (Act 101). Although we think any such prosecution would be wicked and would certainly fail, we do not want to go down that path. It is simply unthinkable and befuddling that Cabinet would take a decision to either approve or refuse approval of a Draft Bill that seeks to regulate the conduct of public officers, declaration of assets, etc, and which is already in the public domain, but would want its decision on the matter and the reasons for it to remain confidential and/or a state secret. We dare Cabinet to be bold and allow us to share your letter with Ghanaians, and not cower behind the State Secrets Act on a matter like this.
We therefore invite you to communicate to us in writing, your withdrawal of those markings, so that we may inform the people of Ghana of the Government’s interest or otherwise in working to ensure that the Draft Bill becomes law that will regulate the conduct of public officers, for the several reasons you state in that letter.
Kindly respond at your earliest convenience.
We will follow your lead and send copies of this letter to all the persons you copied your letter to. But we will also copy all press houses because our letters to you are neither confidential nor a state secret.
Yours in the service of God and Ghana
OccupyGhana
cc. Chief of Staff
Office of the President
Jubilee House
Accra
Secretary to the President
Office of the President
Jubilee House
Accra
Attorney-General & Minister for Justice
Office of the Attorney-General & Minister for Justice
Accra
Minister for Information
Ministry of Information
Accra
Press Houses
