The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Jerome Fitzgerald said yesterday that there is “no date in mind” for the revised version of the Freedom of Information bill to be presented to Cabinet.

Mr Fitzgerald, the minister responsible for the legislation, was asked when it would be brought to Cabinet for review. While he could not specifically say when this would happen, he told The Tribune that once all details surrounding the bill have been finalised, Cabinet would discuss the “improved version”.

The Marathon MP indicated that the original legislation – which was passed by the Ingraham administration shortly before the 2012 general election but never enacted – has been reviewed and reworked by media professionals and governmental officials.

After assuming office in May 2012, the Christie administration said the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that was passed by the FNM needed a lot of revisions.

Despite being noncommittal on a timeline, Mr Fitzgerald said he has already determined the amount of money needed to implement a FOIA but refused to make those figures public, insisting that he preferred to discuss that matter with his colleagues first.

“I have received the numbers and I am putting them in the papers for my Cabinet colleagues to consider to include in the upcoming budget,” he said yesterday. “Until I have a chance to discuss it with my Cabinet colleagues, I don’t want to preempt that.”

Last September, Mr Fitzgerald said a revised version of the FOIA would not be presented to Parliament before Spring 2016.

That announcement was criticised by prominent lawyer and FOIA advocate Fred Smith, QC, who has said 2016 “is far too long for the public to wait for transparency and accountability in government.”

Mr Smith claimed this administration was following the “exact steps” of the last FNM administration.

“Again, just like the FNM, they are kicking the can down the road, pushing the matter to the end of their term so as to avoid increased public scrutiny of their own actions and make FOIA the problem of their successors,” Mr Smith had said earlier.

Mr Smith has said that without a FOIA, the country has been “run like a petty dictatorship” by successive governments.