Posts Tagged ‘rti legislation’
-
24 November 2014
Philippines Committee Passes FOI Bill 10-3 With Dispute
A Philippines House committee on Nov. 24 voted 10-3 to approve a freedom of information bill. The bill is “almost toothless,” charged some emerging critics, the seven-person Makabayan Coalition, whose members voted against the bill. But other lawmakers who have supported the bill and influential, long-time FOI campaigners called the committee bill “genuine and strong.” […]
-
17 November 2014
NGOs in Myanmar Pledge Effort to Push RTI Cause
Almost a dozen nongovernment organizations in Myanmar have agreed to work collaboratively towards establishing and implementing a right to information RTI law. The joint statement resulted from a workshop in Yangon hosted by the Local Resource Centre and the Centre for Law and Democracy in collaboration with International Media Support. Issuing the statement were: the […]
-
17 November 2014
Professional Groups Endorse FOI Legislation in Ghana
Twenty-five groups, including the Ghana Bar Association, the Association of Ghana Industries and the Ghana Medical Association, have urged passage of a freedom of information law in Ghana. The groups called on the Attorney General and Minister for Justice to expedite the drafting of amendments to the bill, according to the Ghana News Agency. “We […]
-
17 November 2014
Charges Against Oil Officials Sent to Tanzanian Speaker
Two top officials at Tanzania’s state-owned oil agency, arrested Nov. 3 on charges of failing to give requested information to parliament, have been released without charges, according to journalist Kizoto Makoye. The two executives had declined to provide parliament with 26 oil and gas contracts the government signed with foreign and local investors, according to […]
-
6 November 2014
Mozambique Parliament Makes an Important Step on RTI
By Alfredo Libombo The author is Executive Director, ACREDITAR, Mozambique. This is a chapter in a recently issued State of Right to Information in Africa Report 2014 and is reprinted with permission. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The Republic of Mozambique has demonstrated political commitment to accountability on the basis of African treaties. The government has ratified five of the […]
-
23 October 2014
Kenya: Clear Need to Respect the Right of Access to Information
By Riva Jalipa The author is Legal Officer, ARTICLE 19–Eastern Africa. This is a chapter in a recently issued State of Right to Information in Africa Report 2014 and is reprinted with permission. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The violence that followed the 2007 general elections triggered wide–ranging debates and changes that form the basis of Kenya’s reform agenda today. […]
-
8 October 2014
DRC Civil Society Mobilizing to Demand ATI Law
By Longendja Isa Mboyo Henri Christin The author is the Executive Director of CODHOD, Executive Director of COLLECTIF 24. This is a chapter in a recently issued State of Right to Information in Africa Report 2014 and is reprinted with permission. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Apart from the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the […]
-
1 October 2014
Criticisms Mount Against South African Government
The Right2Know Campaign in South Africa Sept 28 called on President Zuma to refuse to sign the controversial “secrecy bill” that has been on his desk for 316 days and questioned the government’s leadership role in the Open Government Partnership. The Right2Know Campaign also urged Parliament to revoke the apartheid-era 1982 Protection of Information Act and to write a new classification […]
-
1 October 2014
Article 19 Criticizes Draft Moroccan RTI Legislation
The new Moroccan Draft Law No 31.13 on the Right of Access to Information “fails to adequately recognise the right to information and threatens free expression,” according to Article 19. “The new draft is significantly weaker than previous versions,” said the British freedom of expression group, which had reviewed the previous two drafts of the bill. […]
-
1 October 2014
New Paraguay FOI Law Culmination of Campaign
By Jonathon David Orta This report was published by the Knight Center for Journalism at the University of Texas and is reprinted with permission. On Sept. 18, Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes signed the country’s first freedom of information (FOI) law, making it the 100th country in the world to pass similar legislation. Officially titled the […]
-
25 September 2014
Tanzanian President Pledges FOI Law in February 2015
The president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, said Sept. 24 that a freedom of information bill would be approved in February, 2015. His commitment came at a meeting in New York commemorating the third anniversary of the Open Government Partnership (video link). In October 2013 at the OGP summit in London, he had pledged to pass a […]
-
25 September 2014
Malawi Government Delays Action on FOI Legislation
A freedom of information law for Malawi has been delayed. Minister of Information and Civic Education Kondwani Nankhumwa recently said that action will not be taken during the current session of Parliament. The bill remains under review by the Ministry of Justice, he said, according to a news report in the Malawi Nyasa Times. “We […]
-
25 September 2014
Kenyan Draft Law Faulted in Analyses by Two Groups
A draft freedom of information law for Kenya (text) has been critically reviewed critiqued by two international organizations. “Although the draft is relatively robust,” according to one analysis, “it is significantly weaker than the version which was proposed in 2012. The Attorney General submitted the draft bill, and the legislation remains under consideration in the […]
-
22 September 2014
No FOI Legislation Until 2016, Bahamas Minister Says
A freedom of information act for the Bahamas won’t be ready before spring of 2016, Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald said recently, disappointing FOI supporters. The was termed a “damn shame” by Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) Chairman Robert Myers, saying he was “very disappointed,” according to one news article. Fitzgerald said […]
-
18 September 2014
Reaching 100 FOI Laws, Movement Looks to Future
By Toby McIntosh This article also appeared Sept. 19 in The Guardian. Paraguay on Sept. 18 became the 100th country in the world to have freedom of information law, a milestone for Paraguay and for the transparency movement. A bedrock of government openness, FOI laws (also called right to know or access to information laws) […]
-
16 September 2014
Senate Judiciary Schedules Meeting on FOIA Legislation
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Sept. 18 meeting at which one agenda item is S.2520, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014. Under Senate rules, a matter may be “held over” to the next meeting at the request of any committee member, so there is a possibility that approval of the bill will be […]
-
11 September 2014
Ghana Parliamentary Panel Praised for Passing RTI Bill
A committee of Ghana’s Parliament has recommended a right to information bill, making changes that were welcomed by the RTI Coalition. The Coalition in a statement praised the “good work” of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, chaired by Nadowli West and in-coming Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin. They involved civil society […]
-
11 September 2014
New Moroccan Proposal Weaker Than Before
The latest version of Morocco’s draft right to information law (Draft Law No. 31.13) “is substantially weaker than the draft published in August 2013,” according to an analysis by the Centre for Law and Democracy. An assessment of the draft Law using the RTI Rating assessment tool (www.RTI-Rating.org) gives the latest draft 65 points out […]
-
4 September 2014
FOI Bill for Philippines Emerges From Subgroup
The Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Philippines House has adopted a consolidated version of a freedom of information bill (text). The movement by the TWG Sept. 2 clears the way for passage by the Public Information Committee, whose chairman, Rep. Jorge Almonte, said its report on the “consensus FOI bill” should be ready for submission […]
-
4 September 2014
Democratic Republic of Congo Considering ATI Bill
Senator Moise Nyarugabo in the Democratic Republic of Congo has introduced an access to information bill. Passage of the bill is being urged by Collectif 24, a nongovernmental organization that coordinated a civil society effort to draft the bill. Advocates are hoping for a Senate vote this month, according to Henri Christin Longendja of Collectif […]