The president of the Seychelles, James Michel, has pledged to develop freedom of information legislation.
His statement came during a visit by Pansy Tlakula, the Special Rapporteur of the African Union on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
Michel was quoted as saying that his government will begin consultations on FOI legislation based on the model law of the African Union (AU), which was adopted by the African Commission on Human Rights and Peoples in 2013. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
“We are trying to build a strong and functioning democracy. It is therefore important to improve our institutions and ensure that there is transparency and that everyone takes responsibility. This is the right way forward for Africa by choosing the ideals of freedom of expression and access to information, “he said.
The Seychelles Media Commission is expected to launch a national dialogue in the next six months on a law on access to information, according to an article by the Seychelles News Agency.
“The meeting was very fruitful, because we got a commitment from the President of your country that discussions will begin on this very important topic led by the Seychelles Media Commission. Seychelles is one of a few countries on the continent that has entrenched the Right of Information in its Constitution, because most countries don’t have, they simply have the Freedom of Expression in the Constitution…,” said Tlakula.?according to a post on the president’s blog.
A communiqué from State House said: “The President welcomes the visit of the rapporteur and her team, and expressed support for their plans to hold further consultations in Seychelles for the development of an access to information law based on an African Union model law.”
Tlakula said the Seychelles is one of the few countries in Africa that includes the right of access to information in its constitution.
The Republic of Seychelles is a 115 island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 1,500 kilometers east of mainland Southeast Africa with a population of 90,024.
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