Members of the private sector yesterday raised concern over how the Christie administration plans to fund the potential implementation of the Freedom of Information Bill, 2015 due to the lack of provisions within the 2015/2016 budget.
Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez yesterday told Guardian Business that while there was no specific provision for the future rollout of the bill within the budget, the government was "well on the way" to meeting digitization requirements to accommodate a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
"The reality is that it's not specifically highlighted in the budget but that doesn't mean that it can't be done during this budget cycle. It means that when they are ready to roll it out we will have to make special financial provisions for it and that's done pretty much as a routine matter," Gomez said following a Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) luncheon.
BCCEC CEO Edison Sumner later told Guardian Business that the private sector remained interested knowing the source of future FOIA funding, but noted that he would not be surprised if the government sought allocations from international development multilaterals.
"We didn't see the provision in this budget, at least not clearly defined, so we're going to continue to press them to find out how they expect to fund it. It's going to be a very expensive undertaking to implement a Freedom of Information Act looking at the whole transitions and transparency in government it's going to take some time," he said.
However, Sumner seriously questioned whether The Bahamas could expect the government to enact the 2015 bill during the current political administration given the monumental tasks of implementing the act, introducing an Information Commission, modernizing the country's reporting infrastructure, and training the requisite number of information officers. Regardless, Sumner urged the government and other stakeholders to focus now on establishing a firm foundation for a FOIA in the hopes of making it resilient to any potential change in government.
"Now we're at a point where it's come back into the public domain. The private sector's going to drive this and we're going to hold the government to account and hold their feet to the fire until this is fully enacted.
"We don't want to see this as another file sitting on the desk collecting dust... it's about holding the government to account but it's going to have some implications for the private sector as well," said Sumner.
The 2015 bill has received a mixed reception since it was unveiled last month, with many welcoming any advancement in the country's FOI legislation despite the new bill's perceived areas for improvement. Some of the more positively received reforms to the legislation over the 2012 act include the curbing of ministerial authority to block disclosure of information and a narrowing of exemptions across multiple governmental sectors. However, the appointment process for an independent Information Commissioner, which will no longer hold dual responsibilities as the Data Commissioner under the 2012 act, and the lingering uncertainty surrounding full whistleblower protection legislation have been causes for concern.
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