List of public authorities finally published in compliance with FOI Act

Anil Nandlall

A list of public authorities required to be made public under the Freedom of Information Act has finally been published more than two years after the passage of the Act.

The list was published over the weekend in the Guyana Chronicle. Earlier this month, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall said that no person or organisation has yet made use of the Access to Information Act though he neglected to mention that up to February, a list of public authorities as well as procedures to be followed to request documents had not been published in the Official Gazette as required by law.

Nandlall had made the comment in response to remarks by US ambassador Brent Hardt at a reception hosted by the diplomat at his residence in observance of World Press Freedom Day. The US envoy had endorsed the findings of a report by the International Press Institute (IPI) that investigated the media landscape in Guyana last year, which, among other things, said that journalists in Guyana view the difficulty of obtaining information from the government as one of the primary obstacles to doing their job well.

“Guyana did take a positive step toward greater transparency in 2011 with the passage of the Access to Information Act, but there have unfortunately been delays in implementation. While the appointment of an Information Commissioner is welcome, IPI pointed out that, to be effective, transparent, and independent,