The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Davis administration has again promised to fully implement the Freedom of Information Act, reviving a long-delayed transparency pledge after failing to deliver the reform during its first term.

Governor General Cynthia “Mother” Pratt outlined the promise during yesterday’s Speech from the Throne, as the administration set out its latest legislative agenda.

“My government will continue expanding and fully implementing the Freedom of Information Act, and ensure that public bodies maintain trained FOIA officers and disclosure systems,” she said.

The renewed pledge comes after successive administrations promised for years to implement freedom of information legislation but failed to bring the system fully into force, despite governance advocates warning that prolonged delays in anti-corruption reform amount to avoiding oversight.

Before the 2021 election, the PLP’s Blueprint for Change promised to fully enact the reform and introduce several other transparency measures, including an Ombudsman Bill, a Public Disclosure Act, an Anti-Corruption Act, campaign finance reform, a Code of Conduct, a Whistleblower Act, electoral reform and procurement reform.

Only electoral reform and procurement reform were implemented, though concerns about the procurement system persisted.

The Protected Disclosures Bill, which outlines protections for people reporting unlawful or unethical conduct, also passed Parliament last term. However, it is unclear whether the law has been brought into force.

None of the other promised transparency measures were included in yesterday’s agenda.

When fully implemented, the Freedom of Information Act would allow citizens to access information held by public authorities, improving government transparency and accountability.

More than 120 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Jamaica, have enacted freedom of information or access-to-information laws giving the public the legal right to request government records.

In June 2025, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said that fully funding the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and other anti-corruption mechanisms was not a priority for his administration.

The last Ingraham administration passed a Freedom of Information Act shortly before the 2012 general election, but did not set a date for its enactment.

The Christie administration later overhauled the legislation but never implemented its provisions.

In May 2021, the Minnis administration appointed the country’s first Freedom of Information commissioner, but the department has remained chronically underfunded.