OBA Deputy: ‘Govt Should Be Embarrassed’
[Updated] “This Government should be embarrassed by the discovery it has no business case to justify charging to access public information,” Deputy Opposition Leader Jarion Richardson said.
Mr. Richardson said, “As the One Bermuda Alliance has previously stated, the Government’s grounds for introducing a fee for public access to information was based entirely on anecdotal information. A single information request, which the Government fought at every step, is apparently the only leg they have to stand on.
“Press freedoms are incredibly precious. They are enshrined in every stable democracy, thriving economy and secure society. But they are hard won and easily lost.
“It is slippery slope, and none too subtle, to curtail freedoms to information. What starts as a “nominal” fee can quickly become a confusing mess so dense and bureaucratic, that there’s no point even trying to get information.
“The state of our economy already threatens the free press, with fewer newspapers and news broadcasts every year.
“The introduction of the fee for access to information may be warranted. But given how difficult it already is to get access to public information, the fee will be yet another hurdle to holding the Government to account.”
Update May 5, 1.14pm: A Government spokesperson said, “Section 13 of the Public Access to Information Regulations 2014, introduced by the former Government, provides the framework for the charging of fees. The Government’s plans will in no way affect freedom of information or press freedom. It will encourage a level of responsibility on the part of those seeking information who likewise have an interest in the efficient running of public services. It is worth noting that in one instance, the complexity and sheer volume of the requests so impacted the policy work of one critical Ministry that an individual had to be engaged purely to manage PATI requests.
“In another, the backlog of requests could not be cleared with existing resources and again an individual has been engaged to address them. In other jurisdictions, the freedom of information regime is managed to ensure that it does not become a bar to delivering public services or become the core function of public officers who are meant to be focused on delivering those services for the benefit of the public.”
There’s a lot more they should be embarrassed and ashamed about before this……
Embarrassment and shame. Two characteristics you could never accuse the PLP of having.
Charging a fee for the failure of each ministry PATI officer’s incompetence is understandable. It is, after all, their job to be organized enough to find information in this information age, quickly collect it, and process it according to guidelines.
Speaking from my own experience, one gets the impression that you are bothering people whose jobs are to process your request. Easier to pull teeth from a shark than have a person do their job. PATI officers know how to delay and obfuscate a PATI request. When you request a review of the delay, their manager just rubberstamps the reasons that the ICO accepts.
I also fault the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for not providing a flowchart of the PATI process and a detailed checklist to follow. For example, the number of Government computer systems is limited (email is the biggest source of information that would be most often checked), so why not list data sources on a checklist, and the PATI officer must sign off that those systems were checked? Or not checked and the reason why.
The ICO also seems to believe a PATI officer’s excuses for not providing information in a timely manner. The PATI officer went on vacation. OK, who is the alternate PATI officer? Too many PATI requests. So? Get organized! It is, after all, YOUR JOB!!!!
No Mr. Richardson!
It’s you who should be embarrassed with the lack of planning. You really believe that your people will vote for the UBP aka Old Boys Abandoned party again?
Start another party and distance yourself from these CLOWNS that use you to appear diverse. Get out there and talk to the community. People will vote for change but they will never vote for the UBP again.
The oba claim its a big lie and still they don’t learn.The 25% of the population of brown Bermudians that are needed for a win will never flip again. LMAO
What are you on about. This has to do with PATI requests, why aren’t you berating the PLP for trying to discourage transparency, it’s our information, we pay for the government, that includes you paying, so why should the people paying have to pay twice.