The signs for approval of a freedom of information law in the Seychelles are positive, according to an article about a recent symposium on the topic that was attended by President James Michel.
“Political will at the highest level” exists in support of a FOI law, according to Maxwell Kadiri from the Open Society Justice Initiative, quoted by the Seychelles News Agency.
African Union’s Special Rapporteur on Expression and Access to Information in Africa, Pansy Tlakula, gave the keynote address at the symposium organized by the Seychelles Media Commission. The country of Seychelles is a 115-island archipelago of 90,000 people. The African model FOI law was discussed during the sessions.
Tlakula said she was “extremely pleased” that the process had begun with a broad-based consultation, urged a focus on marginalized persons and a long-term plan for capacity-building and public awareness.
“By equipping these groups with the necessary tools to strategically utilise access to information as a tool for addressing the most pressing challenges they face in their everyday lives, possibilities abound for access to information to play a transformative role in the lives of these people,” she said.
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