Posts Tagged ‘rti legislation’
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23 August 2012
Minister in Botswana Promises FOI Proposal
A top minister in Botswana has pledged that the government will offer its own freedom of information bill next year after having killed FOI proposals for several years. The Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mokgweetsi Masisi, told The Gazette in an interview that it will not be tabled in the November session of […]
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17 August 2012
Egyptian Minister Says Legislation on FOI Ready
The Egyptian Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry has developed a draft freedom of information bill, according to a media report. “Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Hany Mahmoud said his ministry has prepared a freedom of information bill and plans to open it to public debate after the holy Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, which […]
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13 August 2012
Botswana FOI Bill Again Defeated by Ruling Party
The ruling party in Botswana again appears to have doomed the chances of a freedom of information bill passing parliament. Supporters were optimistic last week after the General Assembly had voted Aug. 1 to bring the measure to the floor of the parliament. But president’s chief communications officer persuaded the ruling party’s backbenchers to renege […]
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13 August 2012
Somalia Includes Access Right in Constitution
The Somalian National Constituent Assembly on Aug. 1, made up of 825 prominent Somalis, approved a constitution that among other things guarantees access to information. The approval sets the stage for presidential elections and the establishment of a parliament. A Provisional Constitution Review and Implementation Oversight Committee will review the constitution, which received largely positive […]
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10 August 2012
Sri Lanka Media Groups Object to Official Excuse
Sri Lanka’s Secretary to the Ministry of Media and Information Charitha Herath July 27 said concerns about national security will keep freedom of information legislation from coming before parliament any time soon. After his remarks at a meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC ) in Colombo, four leading media rights organizations […]
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6 August 2012
Rep. Evardone Targeted for Blocking Philippine FOI Bill
Advocates for passage of a freedom of information law in the Philippines have begun an advertising blitz targeting a key House committee chairman, Rep. Ben Evardone, who is widely viewed as the major impediment to passing the bill. A cartoon shows a tensely smiling Evardone dribbling a basketball labeled “Freedom of Information.” A caption says: […]
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3 August 2012
Spanish Cabinet OKs Access Law, Releases Text
The Spanish Cabinet on July 27 approved an access bill and several days later released the long-awaited text of the bill (in Spanish). With the action by the Spanish Council of Ministers, the bill on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance, (proyecto de Ley de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información Pública y Buen Gobierno) […]
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3 August 2012
Timing for Passage of Philippines FOI Bill Slipping
Philippines Deputy House Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III said Aug. 3 that he is optimistic that the controversial Freedom of Information bill will passed by December, but the bill still is bottled up in a House committee. The bill remains in the House committee on public information chaired by Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone, who […]
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3 August 2012
Who Opposes the FOI Bill in the Philippines?
By Nepo Malaluan Malaluan is a Trustee at the Action for Economic Reforms and Co-Director of the Institute for Freedom of Information. He is also Co-Convenor of the Right to Know. Right Now! Coalition, a network of more than 150 organizations from various sectors that have long been campaigning for the passage of the Freedom […]
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27 July 2012
Access to Information in Colombia: 124 Years Later
By Natalia Torres Torres is Senior Researcher at the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) in Argentina, and regular FreedomInfo.org contributor. See this article Spanish. If one were to set out to make a genealogy of the right to know movement in Latin America, the story begins with Policy […]
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26 July 2012
UK Committee Supports Modest Changes to FOI Law
A committee of the British Parliament July 26 concluded that the UK’s Freedom of Information Act “is serving the nation well” and declined to recommend higher access fees or other restrictions. “Supporters of freedom of information will be relieved, but many of its critics will be disappointed,” wrote Martin Rosenbaum for BBC. The unanimous report […]
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23 July 2012
Aquino Doesn’t Mention FOI in State of the Nation Speech
Philippines President Benigno Aquino did not mention the Freedom of Information bill in his annual State of the Nation address July 23, disheartening FOI supporters. The pro-FOI coalition had urged him to draw attention to the legislation, which has passed the Senate but seems to be stalled in a House committee. “The committee’s chairperson, Rep. […]
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20 July 2012
Two Weeks Remain for Action on RTI Bill in Ghana
Despite promises of action in July on a right to information bill for Ghana, few signs of progress exist. The chairman of the Joint Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Communication of Parliament, Emmanuel Kwasi Bandua, recently said the panel is waiting for input from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), […]
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13 July 2012
Moody’s Says Secrecy Bill Could Affect SA Credit
A top official for Moody’s has cautioned that passage of the South African secrecy bill could affect the country’s credit rating. The comments were made in an interview by Kristin Lindow, Moody’s senior vice-president and regional credit officer for Europe and Africa and subsequently confirmed for FreedomInfo.org by a Moody’s official. Although South Africa’s current […]
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2 July 2012
Argentina: Lights and Shadows in a New Provincial Law
By Natalia Torres Torres is Senior Researcher for the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) in Argentina. See this article Spanish. In a recognized paper, Pollitt and Bouckaert laid out in words and evidence a fact that has been obvious for analysts of public policy: “All other things being […]
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2 July 2012
Argentina: claroscuros de una nueva ley provincial
Por Natalia Torres, Investigadora Principal del CELE En un célebre trabajo, Pollitt y Bouckaert le pusieron palabras y evidencia a un hecho bastante obvio para los que analizamos políticas públicas: “Todo el resto de las variables constantes, las reformas en los estados descentralizados –ya sean unitarios o federales- tienden a tener menos alcance y a […]
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29 June 2012
Bhutan Council Nixes Action on RTI Legislation
The Bhutan National Council June 27 rejected a proposal to take up a right to information bill as an “urgent bill,” according to a BBS news report. The proposal by member Sangay Khandu did not pass after receiving nine votes. Eight members abstained from voting and six voted “No,” according to BBS. The Council, however, […]
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25 June 2012
Zambian Government Delays Offering Access Legislation
The Zambia government on June 25 postponed a planned June 26 unveiling of a freedom of information bill, according to media reports and emails to FreedomInfo.org. A bill has been developed by a task force of government and non-government representatives, but the delay was attributed to a desire by the Attorney General, who was out of […]
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21 June 2012
South Africa Again Delays Work on Secrecy Bill
Approval of the controversial South African secrecy bill has been postponed again. With Parliament heading into recess, the National Council of Provinces extended until the end of September the reporting deadline of the committee examining the bill. Recently,, state security officials have objected not only to the bill, but to amendments proposed by members of […]
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21 June 2012
Efforts to Revise Access Rules in EU Pronounced Dead
By Staffan Dahllöf This article appeared June 14 in Wobbing Europe with headline “Game Over, Nobody Won.” When EU-ministers meet in Luxembourg June 26 for General Affairs Council there will be no recast of access rules for documents to discuss, let alone to decide upon. After more than a week of internal deliberations the Danish […]