The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE implementation of the government’s Freedom of Information legislation will “not be a quick process,” State Minister of Legal Affairs Damian Gomez said yesterday, adding that the government anticipates incurring “significant costs” to implement it.

While not giving a rough estimate of costs, Mr Gomez said its passing will “initiate a sea of change in attitudes and approaches of public officials to the provision of information to the public.”

He added that in order for the legislation to be successful, the management of public records needs to be addressed.

Mr Gomez said a FOIA will serve as an “anti-corruption” tool by “strengthening government transparency and accountability.”

“We learn from other jurisdictions, such as the (United Kingdom), of the ‘chilling effect’ that the Freedom of Information legislation can have upon frank and open communication within public authorities, as well as the full and accurate recording of that communication,” he said. “The ‘chilling effect’ is known as the desire to record less information for fear of having to disclose that information.

“The passage of this new legislation in the Bahamas will initiate a sea of change in attitudes and approaches of public officials to the provision of information to the public. As a result, extensive training is scheduled to be provided for public officials, and in particular the information managers.”

He added: “Implementation of this legislation will not be a quick process. We anticipate it will take significant costs with respect to resources, training, and education as it relates to the usage and legal implications of the Act and also its relationship with the Data Protection Act, Official Secrets Act and impending whistleblowing legislation.”

The Freedom of Information Act, 2012 was passed by the Ingraham government months before the last general election.

However, there was no date for enactment.

When the PLP assumed office that year, the government said the legislation needed significant tweaking before it could be enforced.

The new draft legislation was recently made public.

The new legislation, Mr Gomez said, has been “benchmarked against pioneering countries’ legislation, and international best practices”.

Yesterday, Mr Gomez identified five fundamental changes that differentiate the 2012 legislation from the latest draft. One such change he said was the nullification of the respective minister’s veto powers.

Additionally, he said any decision taken by the information commissioner is subject to external review by the courts.

He also highlighted the utilisation of a public interest test, a three-part test enshrined within the draft legislation that seeks to determine whether a record is in the public interest by first determining “whether the public interest would, on balance, be better served by disclosure than by non-disclosure,” according to the Bill.

However, Mr Gomez said some items are exempt from the test, such as records “affecting security, defence, or international relations”.