Posts Tagged ‘rti legislation’
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19 July 2013
Steps Toward RTI in Pakistan Provinces Considered Inadequate
(The following article was prepared by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) and summarizes a longer report.) Rhetoric aside, the PML-N (the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz) and PTI (the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) are awkwardly alike in denying the public the right to information as their provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have […]
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15 July 2013
Zambian Government Again Delays Offering Access Bill
The Zambian government said July 12 that it will not offer an access to information bill until September, the latest in a string of delays dating back to an aborted unveiling June 26, 2012, and other delays before that. The Cabinet has not yet approved the bill, according to Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni, the Information and Broadcasting Services […]
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12 July 2013
Efforts Under Way to Pass FOI Laws in German States
Activists in German states are mounting efforts to pass freedom of information laws. There are initiatives in Nordrhine-Westphalia (NRW), Niedersachsen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Baden-Württemberg, and Bavaria, according to German activists. Most of the proposals are modeled on a law (in English) passed in Hamburg that stresses proactive publication. Nordrhine-Westphalia In Nordrhine-Westphalia, the largest state in Germany, a new proposal (in […]
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10 July 2013
Action Seen on RTI Seen on Several Fronts in Pakistan
The Cabinet of the Pakistan province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 9 approved a right to information bill, according to a report in The Nation. In the meantime, a committee in Punjab province is considering an RTI bill that observers had thought was nearly final. At the national level, a Senate subcommittee held a session […]
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10 July 2013
Sierra Leone Government Delays FOI Legislation
The Sierra Leone government is delaying action on freedom of information legislation because of “poor records management.” The open-ended postponement comes after months of more positive signals from other officials and prompted a strong retort from a leading FOI campaigner. “It is unfortunate that the Government of Sierra Leone continues to play games with this […]
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8 July 2013
FOIAnet Publishes Report Assessing RTI Globally
A comprehensive assessment of the right to information movement around the world was published July 8 by the Freedom of Information Advocates Network (FOIAnet). Chapters on seven regions combine historical overviews with evaluations the current situation. The 90-page report, written by veteran advocates, details the varied and similar experiences of civil society advocates, and sometimes includes recommendations for […]
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1 July 2013
Philippine Groups File Petition to Promote Passage of FOI
Utilizing an “indirect initiative provision,” 18 groups in the Philippines on July 1 filed a freedom of information bill with the House of Representatives. The “People’s Freedom of Information Act of 2013,” supported by 18 groups, was submitted on the first day of the 16th Congress. “We are invoking this right to send a strong […]
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1 July 2013
Key Parliamentarians Advance FOI Legislation in Cyprus
Two parliamentarians from the ruling party in Cyprus have introduced freedom of information legislation (in Greek). Nicos Tornaritis and Sotiris Sampson (the latter being the president of the Legal Committee) belong to DISY, the right-wing governing party. The FOI law was prepared and promoted by Politeia (a civil society organization) in cooperation with IKME and the […]
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24 June 2013
FOI Backers in Philippines Launch Petition Campaign
Trying a new tactic, supporters of freedom of information legislation in the Philippines are planning to file a petition with Congress proposing enactment of a FOI law. There have been no shortage of proposed laws in recent years, but their backers have been frustrated bitterly in the last two session of Congress. They have faced […]
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21 June 2013
Kurdish Region of Iraq Reaches Compromise on FOI
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is moving toward a law on right to information, according to a report by Abdel Hamid Zebari for Al-Monitor Iraq Pulse. The deal has taken three years to negotiate, Zebari write, but a consensus has been reached by the ruling bloc, comprised of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic […]
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21 June 2013
Critics Score Emerging Pakistani FOI Legislation
A developing Pakistani freedom of information law is getting poor initial reviews. A Senate subcommittee recently produced a long-awaiting national bill (text). (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Zahid Abdullah, Coordinator Coalition on Right to Information (CRTI), sharply criticized the bill in a statement. “There is a long negative list … and a small positive list of […]
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14 June 2013
Ghana Cabinet FOI Bill Not Yet Made Public
The Ghana government has not yet made public the text of its promised freedom of information law, according to local activists. The Cabinet approved a bill June 6. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The bill will be public once introduced in Parliament, which reconvened May 28. Transparency supporters are eager to see the bill in part […]
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10 June 2013
Guyana President Appoints Information Commissioner
The president of Guyana has appointed a former attorney general, Charles Ramson Sr., as the first Commissioner of Information under the 2011 Access to Information Act. The mid-May appointment by President Donald Ramotar would appear to be step toward putting the law into effect, although it remains unclear if that is the case. Under the […]
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7 June 2013
Ghana Cabinet Forwards RTI Legislation to Parliament
Ghana’s cabinet has approved a right to information bill and sent it to parliament, where previous bills supported by several former presidents have died in recent years. President John Mahama has said he will sign a bill and a top minister said the president “places a premium on the expeditious passage of the bill.” The Cabinet action […]
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29 May 2013
Kenyan Officials Say Lack of FOI Hampers Open Data
The lack of a freedom of information law in Kenya is stymieing efforts to post more government data online, according to two top officials, quoted in an article in the Daily Nation and another in Africa Review “The fact that the Freedom of Information Act is yet to go through Parliament is a major bottleneck because […]
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23 May 2013
Campaign for FOI Relaunched at Sierra Leone Conference
Sierra Leone Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Theo Nicol said May 13 that the political will exists to ensure a freedom of information bill is passed this time around and that the president will sign it. His remarks came at conference at which supporters of legislation relaunched a campaign for a FOI law. Efforts […]
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20 May 2013
Future of FOI Bill in Philippines Remains Up to Aquino
By Benjamin Diokno Diokno served as Secretary of Budget and Management from 1998 to 2001. He teaches Public Economics at the UP School of Economics. This article first appeared in the Malay Business Insight. Is President Aquino afraid of the Freedom of information (FOI) Act? During the 2010 presidential campaign, he said he fully supported […]
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17 May 2013
Colombian Law Approved by Court, With Exceptions
Colombia’s public information law has passed constitutional muster, subject to a few conditions. The Constitutional Court said the new law is now ready for presidential approval, according to articles here, here and here (in Spanish).. Text is available from the court. Type “acceso” in the browser to locate the text of the law and the comments by […]
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23 April 2013
Article 19 Criticizes Draft Moroccan Access Law
The proposed Moroccan access to information law has many good features but suffers from a “grossly overbroad” set of exceptions, according to a critique by the London-based freedom of expression group Article 19. The bill (in Arabic and in English) was recently put out for public comment. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Article 19’s analysis (in […]
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22 April 2013
Tonga to Consider Passing FOI Law, PM Vaipulu Says
Tonga will hold public consultations in July and August on a freedom of information bill, Acting Prime Minister Hon. Samiu Vaipulu said April 22. He was the keynote speaker at the opening of a three-day “Rights to Information in Tonga Workshop – Freedom of Information Policy Awareness.” Freedom of Information is a tool towards achieving the Millennium […]