The Bahamas House of Assembly on Feb. 20 is scheduled to begin debating a freedom of information bill, changes for which were recently proposed by Attorney-General John Delaney.
A copy of the latest bill is here.
The latest amendments would restrict use of the law to Bahamian citizens and permanent residents and provide for the appointment of an information commissioner, who will also act as data protection commissioner – a post created by another law that was passed in 2003.
Delaney’s amendment also confirm that the Official Secrets Act will still apply “to the grant of official documents in contravention of (the freedom of information) act.”
“Presumably, this means that everything in government is officially top secret, unless the information commissioner authorizes its release,” Bahamian journalist Larry Smith wrote FreedomInfo.org.
“So far as I am aware, no consultative process ever took place for this Bill. The Tribune never officially received a draft and was never asked for input, so I think it is fair to assume that no other media group was consulted. However, the Bill is a close copy of the Cayman Islands law – which was years in the making,” according to Smith.
Once passed by both houses of parliament, the law can be implemented whenever the government decides to Gazette it, and different provisions can come into force at different times. The original bill had a specific timetable, calling for implementation on July 1, 2012.
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