That on the basis of this supposition, access to information is an important constituent of the democratisation process that seeks to promote the critical enablers and the impeccable foundations for transparency, accountability and quality in public service delivery.
Queen Jammeh made these remarks yesterday at a symposium marking the commemoration of the International Day of Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) 2022 held at the Metzy Residence Hotel in Kotu, organised by the Gambia Press Union in collaboration with UNESCO. It was under the theme “The State of Preparedness for the Implementation of the Access to Information Act, 2022.”
In delivering his key note address, he said being conscious of the inherent role of the information value chain in socioeconomic empowerment and transformation processes, that the Gambia sees information as public good; that is readily sought, generated, analysed and disseminated to enhance knowledge and evidence-based decision-making by individuals, communities and other constituents.
It is from that perspective, he said, that the government through an unprecedented collaboration with non-state actors enacted the Access to information Act in July 2021.
He further noted that as a clear testimony of the executive commitment to realise the underlying objectives of universal access to information, President Adama Barrow delayed no time to assent the landmark piece of legislation into law on 25 August 2021, with the president’s bare and clear commitment and his government as a sign of the readiness of the political establishment to open-up to public scrutiny on a scale never seen before.
Thus, Jammeh highlighted that the information value chain has a critical role in the democratisation process and the Access to Information Act (ATI 021) was the result of their collective resolve to entrench and elevate the democratic credentials of The Gambia to an enviable height.
For her part, the Gambia Press Union Vice President Isatou Keita, said that in October 2019, the 74th General Assembly of the United Nations declared 28th September as the International Day for Universal Access to Information, in support of an earlier proclamation by the UNESCO General Conference in 2015.
She added that this year’s theme “Artificial Intelligence, e-Governance and Access to Information” which discussed Access to Information and Artificial Intelligence, looked at both the benefits and risks against good governance principles.
She stated that in The Gambia, public interest in Access to Information has grown in recent years following an unprecedented five-year CSO-led right-to-know campaign leading to an Access to Information Bill unanimously adopted by the National Assembly in July 2021 and signed into law by the President of the Republic a month later.
