Letter of the Day | Losing ground: Access to Information Act

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The enacting of Jamaica’s Access to Information (ATI) Act in 2002 marked significant progress towards transparency in government and facilitating citizen access to matters of public interest. For the first time, ordinary people had a legal right to information held by state agencies. Yes, there were exemptions and sanctions for non-compliance were absent, but the ATI Act marked a sea change for civil-society groups and individuals wanting information on issues that concerned them.

The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) made good use of the ATI Act from the outset. The ATI Act stipulates that individuals are entitled to receive a response within 30 days upon submitting an initial request, and outlines a structured process if a response is not received within the specified time frame. In cases where no response is received, despite efforts to follow the established procedure, individuals may be forced to seek legal assistance to file an appeal. We observed that the response from state agencies improved the more the act was used. It was never perfect, but the ATI Act did increase access to a wide range of pieces of important information for the public.

The obstacles, however, have been escalating recently. Since March of this year, JET has submitted five ATI requests to the National Environment and Planning Agency, all have been acknowledged. Four of the five requests, however, have passed the 30 days and no information has been received. Four requests for internal reviews were then submitted to Chief Executive Officer Peter Knight, and not one of these has received a response, almost four months later.

JET has long advocated for the proactive release of public information on the websites of the respective regulatory authorities. Routine environmental monitoring data and reports, environmental assessments (not just environmental impact assessments), Terms of References, environmental permits and discharge licences should all be available to the public without the need for an ATI request. Surely this would reduce the number of ATI requests made to understaffed government departments? Why has this not been done?

MULTIPLE CALLS

Over the years, there have been multiple calls to amend the act. JET understands that a review of the ATI Act is now ‘underway’, the last review was done in 2011. Given our recent experience, we fear that support for transparency in government and public participation in national life is under threat. We call on Minister Robert Morgan, minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for information, to update Jamaicans on the review of the ATI Act. We hope he will reiterate the Government of Jamaica’s often-stated commitment to this important law and the requirement for state agencies to comply with it.

JAMAICA ENVIRONMENT

TRUST