By Lamin Njie
Five–day training on roles and responsibilities of executives and Information Officers on Gambia’s Access to Information concluded on Friday, June 17th at the Managing Development Institute in Kanifing.
Organised by MDI, the training targeted government Information Officers and Public Relations Officers of state run enterprises. The programme was designed to harness the opportunities and to preview the challenges in the implementation of the Act; especially for custodians of public information.
The participants were exposed to the legal frameworks around access to information- general principles and practice, importance of access to information, introduction to access to information law in The Gambia – historical background and legal and ethical consideration in data sharing.
They were also exposed to means of accessing of information of public bodies, the exemptions, the powers and duties of the information commission, appeal processes and financial provisions of the commission.
It is envisaged that once the Act is fully implemented, difficulties in accessing public information would be a thing of the past.
President Barrow signed the Access to Information Act on August 25 2021 after it was passed by parliament in July 2021. Gambia was one of few countries within the sub-region that did not have access to information law.
