In today’s column, we discuss a recent experience in trying to obtain information under the Access to Information Act that the National Assembly passed the Act in September 2011 to provide citizens with reasonable access to information on government programmes and activities. We compare this experience with a recent court case in Trinidad and Tobago and offer some concluding remarks.
Access to Information Act
In November 2006, the Speaker of the Assembly, then an Opposition Member of Parliament, tabled draft legislation on access to information. However, the draft languished in the Assembly for five years, and it was not until June 2011 that the Government came up with its own version of the legislation. Because of certain concerns the Opposition had at the time,
