Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG) Executive Director Matt Aubry said yesterday that a “dedicated effort” is required to fully implement Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
His comments came after Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said that while the matter is still in the plans for this term, it’s not his government’s priority at the moment.
In an interview with The Nassau Guardian, Aubry noted that much effort and resources has already gone into creating the FOIA office, appointing an information commissioner and training staff in the departments that are to be part of a pilot program.
“If it’s going to happen, it’s going to require dedicated effort and that’s on everybody’s part,” Aubry said.
“Government needs to continue to push forward and pass the regulations that have been put forward, and needs to ensure that the budgets are in place so that the technology is there.
“Those folks that were trained last year, if you don’t do this in a period of time, you can lose the training, and they’ll have to be retrained.
“So, long term would cost us more if we don’t push forward in the short term.”
Aubry, however, said the budget allocations for the implementation of FOIA indicated that it was not a priority.
“If you look at the budget that was allocated for freedom of information, it was not sufficient to be able to make happen what was being talked about,” he said.
Information Commissioner Keith Thompson has said his office has done all it needs to do to get the Freedom of Information pilot program to a place where it is ready to be launched, but is awaiting regulations and the technology that is needed to facilitate requests for information from the public.
Though the full enactment of FOIA was a campaign promise, Davis, when asked on Tuesday for an update on the matter, said while he remains committed to full enactment this term, it is not a priority at this time.
Aubry said citizens and the private sector need to be vocal about their demand for a fully implemented FOIA.
“It’s also going to require that citizens and private sector business owners are calling for this and letting folks know, particularly leading up to this budget, that we want to see that this is a priority,” he said.
“We want to see if you say that it’s going to happen in two to three years, then how is that going to happen, what’s the implementation plan? Is the budget going to reflect enough money to make sure that this thing comes to light?”
Thompson was appointed commissioner in May 2021.
Then Attorney General Carl Bethel said at the time that it would be another three to six months before the office would offer services.
In its “Our Blueprint for Change”, ahead of the 2021 election, the PLP promised to “fully implement” the law.
Under the act, the public is granted a general right of access to records held by a public authority, subject to exemptions.
Aubry noted that this latest update on FOIA hasn’t happened in a vacuum when it comes to transparency and accountability legislation.
“I think this is an interesting time, because when freedom of information is sitting not enacted, we also see that portions of the Procurement Act are not fully developed,” he said.
“We’re seeing that things like the Fiscal Responsibility Council, is not, you know, there’s not a lot of clarity on it. And all of these mechanisms are in place for transparency and accountability.”
