At the Government Weekly Press Briefing, held at the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, October 15th, 2024, the Chairman and Information Commissioner of Right to Access Information (RAIC), Dr. Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, expressed that they have made a lot of progress in terms of building the institution.
He further mentioned that the institution is responsible for promoting access to information to promote transparency and accountability.
To build a strong institution, he urged his staff to speed up their efforts.
Dr. Shaw stated that the first thing they did was to create a website for the Commission, as they did not previously have one.
He emphasized the importance of having a website in order to properly disclose information to the public.
He mentioned that they have used two approaches to structure the institution, namely the carrot and stick approach. The carrot approach involves popularizing the law, organizing workshops, and engaging public officers and other stakeholders to increase awareness and compliance.
Dr. Shaw noted that they have seen an increase in compliance rates as a result of their efforts.
He provided a breakdown of the number of FOYM (Freedom of Information Year Monitor) requests they have received over the years.
In the first year of monitoring in 2019, there were 112 cases, which increased to 144 in 2020 with 122 being successful.
In 2021, the Commission recorded 269 FOYM requests, with 245 being successful.
The introduction of the Annual Compliance Report (ACR) in 2022 led to a significant increase in requests, with 13,107 FOYM requests and a success rate of 10,237.
In 2023, there were 19,426 FOYM requests with a 90% success rate.
Dr. Shaw also highlighted the international achievements of RAIC, including their participation in the International Conference of Solutions for Commissioners and their role in the African Network of Information Commissioners. He mentioned that Sierra Leone was one of the six countries that co-sponsored the declaration of Universal Access to Information Day on September 28th each year.
He addressed the challenges the Commission is facing, such as the culture of secrecy and the need for public servants to respond to information requests. Dr. Shaw mentioned their collaboration with HRMO and the Public Service Commission to review the Civil Service Code and emphasized the importance of journalists taking advantage of the law to request information.
Dr. Shaw stated that RAIC will penalize any public authority that refuses to provide information, as they have the power to do so under Section 7 of the Act.
He highlighted the actions and sanctions they have taken against non-compliant authorities and encouraged journalists to submit their questions in writing if an interview is denied.
In regards to public and private authorities, he firstly defined what the Act says about Public Authority. A Public Authority is defined as any institution, entity, body, or corporation that receives money on behalf of the people, whether in the form of funding or contracts – it is considered to be in the public interest.
Additionally, while it is not clear for private companies to release information, if it is in the public interest, they will be requested to provide the information.
He affirmed that they are working with the Ministry of Information and Civic Education to amend that part so that it will be clear for private companies to release requested information.
He clarified the issue of Lawyer Sorie Sengbeh Marrah, who requested the release of the 2023 election results.
He mentioned that they conducted a review of the refusal of the summary results by the Electoral Commission. As the 15 working days had elapsed without a response, they initiated a review and gave the Electoral Commission 7 working days to respond.
The Electoral Commission then cited Section 14 of the Act, stating that information already in the public domain does not have to be released again. They pointed out that the results were available on their website, which was verified by both the Commission and Lawyer Marrah. The Electoral Commission responded within the 7-day timeframe.
After requesting all the election results, the Electoral Commission explained that Section 92 of the Election Act only mandates the publication of summary results, not all results. Lawyer Sorie Marrah commended the efforts of the RAIC and mentioned that he planned to seek interpretation from the Supreme Court regarding Section 92.
Dr. Shaw clarified the case involving Lawyer Marrah, labeling it as one of the most difficult request cases they have encountered.
He concluded that there is a part of the Act that makes the RAIC weak in enforcing fines, and they have included proposed amendments to strengthen their enforcement capabilities. The Minister has assured them that these amendments will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval, which will help to strengthen the RAIC.
