The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

“ABSOLUTELY nothing” - that’s what the upcoming budget for the Freedom of Information Unit will accomplish, according to Information Commissioner Keith Thompson.

He told The Tribune he was not disappointed because this was not the first time the government had budgeted so little for his department.

The $140,000 his department will receive in the next fiscal year is the same as last year, demonstrating the government’s lack of commitment to implementing a Freedom of Information system despite continuous pledges from successive administrations.

Earlier this month, the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) expressed disappointment in the budget, saying it is “insufficient for necessary technology, training within the government, and public education”.

Last May, Mr Thompson, a retired Supreme Court judge, told the press the public may be able to request information under the Freedom of Information Act by September or October.

However, the technology needed to facilitate this never arrived. Mr Thompson sought funding from the Office of the Attorney General for the technology, but has not been given it.

The last Ingraham administration passed an information act shortly before the 2012 general election, but gave no date for enactment.

The last Christie administration overhauled that legislation, but never implemented its provisions.

In May 2021, the Minnis administration made Mr Thompson the first Freedom of Information Commissioner. Shane Miller, a retired assistant director of legal affairs (ADLA), was appointed deputy.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has said the FOIA is not a priority of his administration.

In January, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell went further, saying the Progressive Liberal Party does not believe in such issues.