By Ragan M. Conteh

At the weekly Government Press Briefing, held at the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, October 15th, 2024, the Chairman of Right to Access Infotmation Commissioner (RAIC), Dr. Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, has informed journalists that they had made a lot of progress in terms of building the institution. He further mentained that the institution is responsible for promoting access to information to promote transparency and accountability. To build a strong institution, they urged their 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 FOI (Freedom  of Information) 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 FOI 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 FOI requests and a success rate of 10,237. In 2023, there were 19,426 FOI 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 Civil 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.

Regarding public and private authorities, he firstly defined what the Act says about Public Authority.

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.