The Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Tuesday held talks with Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson to seek clarity on the work of the body which will facilitate Guyana’s Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.
According to a statement by Ramson’s office, he was able to establish that the Access to Information Act 2011 created a statutory partnership with the various organs of the State and its agencies, conferring upon members of the public, including non-governmental agencies, such as the PSC, the right of access to information generated after July 2, 2013 when the act became operational.
He said his office was made the “clearing house” for access to information where public authorities did not meet with the minimum of their obligations imposed on them to provide adequate responses to request for information. Upon conclusion of the fruitful meeting, Justice Ramson undertook to participate in outreach engagements to sensitise the public about their rights and operations of his office.
In a recent interview with this newspaper, Ramson, a retired Appeal Court judge, said they have been making a lot of progress, but it takes time, because it is such a new dispensation. He said no request for information has yet been received by his office. The commissioner said nothing like this existed before and the ministries are not prevented from giving information to the public. Rather, the FOI Act, which was passed in September 2011, has added a next tier, where the commission is responsible for ensuring that those agencies deal fairly with requests from members of the public.
Statutory partnership
Justice Ramson told Guyana Times International he is of the belief that persons responsible for supplying the commission with information are not aware of the statutory partnership created by the act. He explained that the President has the power to remove him from office based on the same laws that govern the removal of a judge from his seat. Basically, he can only be removed from office for wrongdoing or a legal conviction.
It was further noted that the commission only received, a few days ago, a copy of an electronic disk for work to be done. However, this information was requested since August. Asked about whether there are provisions for educating the public about the work of the commission, Justice Ramson said the process has started and is likely to expand.
