The state-owned Graphic started the week on Monday with its lead story: "Cabinet okays info bill – It's now set for Parliament", a step that had gladdened the hearts of many people.
It said the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, had taken a major step towards fulfilling yet another key manifesto promise, with the approval of the Right to Information Bill by Cabinet.
The Graphic said Cabinet gave the approval at the last sitting, following a report submitted by its sub-committee that studied the draft memorandum.
With the approval, the bill is set to be submitted to Parliament for consideration.
The Minister of Information, Mrs. Zita Okaikoi said the "presentation of the bill to Parliament less than a year after coming into office, is the fulfilment of the National Democratic Congress' campaign pledge to pass the bill into law to facilitate access to official information."
Okaikoi said the move by the government was also an ample testimony of "our commitment to full disclosure."
When the bill is passed, it will give journalists and the public the right to obtain information from government officials and public institutions that otherwise would have been difficult to access.
The Graphic also carried a reaction on the approval by Cabinet, of the bill under the headline "Coalition commends government for decision to pass RTI Bill".
It said the Right to Information Coalition (RTI Coalition) on Monday commended government for its commitment to pass the bill into law by the end of the year.
Nana Oye Lithur, Convener, RTI Coalition of Ghana, said the clear time frame by government was an indication that Ghana would set the pace for other West African nations to emulate.
Nana Oye said people's right to access information had been widely recognised as an essential pre-requisite for effective and functional democracy.
According to Nana Oye, "This law places an obligation on public agencies and private bodies to provide to any person access to information and in response to a formal request received, in a timely, inexpensive and reasonable manner."
The Graphic carried a front-page story on an accident at a pit in the Western Region where illegal miners were mining gold.
“Galamsey (illegal mining) horror – 14 women among retrieved bodies,” was the headline in the Graphic.
It wrote: "Mass grief has gripped Dompoase, near Wassa Akropong in the Western Region, as a rescue team comprising the police and some "galamsey" (illegal miners) operators, continues to dig deep into the mud for more bodies following one of the biggest mining tragedies to hit Ghana."
It said out of the 18 bodies so far retrieved, 14 had been identified as women who were part of a team of about 30 in the pit last Tuesday afternoon when a landslide struck and buried them alive.
The Graphic said there was no idea of the actual number of people involved but there were fears of more bodies being buried under the massive deposits of clay in that soggy part of the Amenfi East District of the Western Region.
It quoted one of the few survivors, Gloria Nddzabah, 27, as saying some of them had come out of the pit before it caved in, trapping the others, together with the pit owner, whose name she gave as Ato.
The newspapers also highlighted the visit of a delegation of Niger to Ghana that delivered a special message from President Mamadou Tandja.
It said Mr. Ali Badjo Gamatie, Prime Minister of Niger, on an eight-nation West African tour, on Monday delivered a special message from Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja to President John Evans Atta Mills at the Osu Castle in Accra.
The content of the message was not disclosed.
However, it is believed to be a plea with leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lift sanctions on Niger, following the decision of Tandja to review the constitution to extend his term of office.
The newspapers also highlighted the orderly departure of the first batch of 266 Ghanaian Muslims on Tuesday for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on board an Egypt Air flight to perform this year's hajj.
The Graphic said the successful departure would be the first time in many years the pilgrimage has been organised in Ghana without hitches.
"Unlike previous occasions where pilgrims were left in the open at the airport for days before departure, this time the pilgrims were camped in air conditioned tents at the Hajj Village, where immigration and customs officials checked their travel documents and screened their luggage. The airport health officials also checked the health status of the pilgrims," the newspaper said.
The version of the Ghanaian Times had the heading “Batch one pilgrims off”.
According to the Times, "It was the first time in many years that the organisation of the holy pilgrimage to Mecca had been without a hitch unlike previous ones which were fraught with delayed departure, poor accommodation and loss of luggage."
Accra - 14/11/2009
Pana
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