In October 2011, the long-awaited and long-promised Freedom of Information (FOI) Act was tabled in the House of Assembly, years after it was promised. It was supposed to be enforced by July 1 the following year.
Parliament finally passed the FOIA near the end of the Ingraham administration’s term; however, the legislation did not have an enforcement date.
Nonetheless, we are still waiting.
Last month, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson said the government wants to bring the Freedom of Information Act into force “as soon as possible”, but the law is now under review to ensure that the “proper mechanisms are in place to support it”.
“There are some aspects of it that actually need to be addressed,” Maynard told the media. “We don’t want a situation where we have actually brought something into force and it can’t work. When you want to make an application to get something and anybody is holding up, you want to have some redress if you don’t get it.”
We are all for ensuring that the laws of the land work as efficiently and are as effective as possible, and we trust that Maynard-Gibson means what she says.
Despite how close we are to having our very own FOI Act, we are sadly still not there yet, lagging behind other countries in the region.
Many other countries in the region are either in the process of drafting or have already implemented Freedom of Information laws. Around the world, more than 60 countries have enacted FOI acts.
Freedom of information has long been recognized as a foundational human right ever since the United Nations General Assembly declared in 1946 that, “Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right and a touchstone of all freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.” Since then, the Organization of American States and the Commonwealth – The Bahamas being a member of both – have also endorsed minimum standards on the right of information.
A FOI law has the potential to promote greater transparency and accountability and also facilitates greater public participation in the government’s decision-making process. Empowering citizens with the legal right to access information of their government’s activities can strengthen democracy by making the government directly accountable to its citizens on a day-to-day basis rather than just at election time.
Legislation to provide more freedom or access to information is not an end in itself.
An outdated public service culture run by civil servants who would often prefer root canal surgery rather than press scrutiny will not quickly become more transparent because of the passage of a bill.
Moreover, a media culture that is often sloppy and lazy in its coverage of government and political affairs will also not suddenly become more enterprising. Still, such legislation is a means to various ends. It is a part of a framework of legislative tools that can help to promote a more accountable and transparent public service culture.
The enactment of and training in the details of such legislation may help spur politicians, civil servants and journalists to provide citizens with the freedom of information needed to make freer and more informed decisions.
Outlawing discrimination does not end prejudice. But it puts that prejudice on notice that discrimination is against the law. Legislation to ensure greater public access to information will not in itself ensure a more open public service culture. But it puts that culture on notice that such openness is an essential component in good and effective governance.
We trust that the government will live up to its word to enact the FOI act “as soon as possible”.
– Editorial from The Nassau Guardian
