Liberian President signs RTI law
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Accra: October, 09, 2010: The Liberian President, Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has signed into law the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill passed by the House of Representatives and Senate.
A statement signed by the Presidential Press Secretary, Cyrus Wleh Badio, made available to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday, said the President, after signing law, submitted it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for it to be printed into a hand book.
Mr Badio described the signing as "good news" for the media, stressing: "The decision by the government to sign the bill into law is something that has been considered as progress by the African Editors' Forum, an organization that brings together Editors, Senior Editorial Executives and media trainers from across the continent, for which it has resolved to honour the Liberian leader."
Quoting the African Editors' Forum, the Presidential Press Secretary said the African Editors had decided to honour President Johnson Sirleaf for the government's work in opening spaces for the media, which had culminated in the passing and subsequent signing of the FOI law.
According to Mr Badio, President Johnson Sirleaf was expected to receive the award together with some former African leaders such as former South African President Nelson Mandela, Alpha Konare of Mali, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and John Agyekum Kufour of Ghana.
Earlier last month, the Liberian Senate concurred with a decision by the House of Representatives to enact the FOI Bill into law after it was passed by the House.
The initiative to draft the Bill was a task undertaken by the Press Union of Liberia, the Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa and other relevant partners including the civil society who felt there was a need for the public to have access to certain public information.
GNA
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