ATI Act And Regulations Tabled In Senate For Debate

The Amendments to the Access to Information Act and the Access to Information Regulations 2003 were tabled in the Senate on Friday, October 17 for debate to begin on October 24.
Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Senator Burchell Whiteman in tabling the Amendments on Friday (Oct. 7), said, “we have now tabled Amendments to the Access to Information Act and the Access to Information Regulations 2003 and we would wish to take them next week”.
The Access to Information Act, which should have taken effect in seven Government agencies on October 1, was postponed because the Amendments and Regulations were not passed by the Upper House.
“While these Regulations have been tabled . we have reached a stage, which will allow us to move forward with the intention to make this important piece of legislation a reality”.
When the Act takes effect, the seven Government agencies and Ministries will be mandated to give information to the public. The seven are the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), National Works Agency (NWA), Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Ministry of Finance and Planning; the Ministry of Local Government, Community Development and Sport, Office of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Office.
All other Government agencies and Ministries are projected to come on stream by October 2004.