The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel says it’s unlikely the Freedom of Information Act will be fully enacted this year. In fact he told radio hosts of the Morning Blend talk show yesterday the government was hoping for a timeline of early May 2020.

According to Mr Bethel, the hold up has been the need to appoint an Information Commissioner and also the need for widespread training across government ministries and departments.

“We certainly would like to have this done by the end of the year,” said Mr Bethel. “There is no question of that. We want to have an information commissioner in place and begin the focused effort to fully train and equip all agencies with the necessary skills etcetera so we are able to bring this act fully into force hopefully in the foreseeable future. That is our hope. That by this time next year it will be fully enforced.”

However he was quick to ask not be held to his own timeline.

“You can’t hold me on a hope. I can only do my best. I am doing my best to move it forward and I am expressing the timeline that I have. There are all sorts of imponderables and so please don’t tie me down.

“I know the press loves to say the minister said it therefore its gospel, but unfortunately ministers are only human beings and only human.”

Regarding the search for an information commissioner, Mr Bethel said the appointee will have to be independent of the political directorate. This raises the question of how the budget for this office would be handled. “It is a question of putting out feelers and assessing and of course persons can indicate their interest.”

The government allocated just over $1m to assist in defraying the cost of bringing FOIA into effect, Mr Bethel announced last year. The funds were presented as a budgetary line item in a list of allocations for the Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs, as a part of the 2018-2019 budget.

In his announcement at the time, the attorney general said despite the reduction of more than $350,000 in the allocation for permanent and pensionable salaries; and another $300,000 for contract workers, reflecting a more than $600,000 drop in the total allocation for personal emoluments and salaries; his office received a “slight increase” in other contractual services, particularly development contracts.

Among those other contractual services, Mr Bethel said just over $1m is earmarked for widespread training exercises, the appointment of a national information commissioner and the outfitting and staffing of that office - all associated with the continued implementation of FOIA.

A FOIA was passed by the last Ingraham administration however the legislation was never enforced. The Christie administration passed a revamped version of the legislation shortly before the 2017 general election, however the law has not been fully enacted, despite repeated calls from activists and civil society groups.