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Africa FOI Centre Calls on
Liberian Government to
Expedite Passage of FOI Bill
The Africa Freedom of
Information Centre (AFIC) has welcome the steps taken by
Liberia to adopt a Freedom of Information law for the
country and called on the Liberian National Legislature to
expedite action in passing the Freedom of Information Bill
submitted to it last month by a coalition of ordinary
citizens, media and civil society organizations.
Rising from its meeting in
Kampala, Uganda, the Steering Committee of the Centre
commended the Liberian civil society movement for the
unprecedented manner in which it mobilized and demonstrated
public support for the concept of open and transparent
governance as the country strives to reposition itself for
post-conflict reconstruction.
Thousands of Liberian
citizens representing diverse interest groups marched
through the streets of Monrovia to the National Legislature
on April 17 with a petition calling on the parliamentarians
to review and pass a draft Freedom of Information law
“within the shortest period possible.” The draft Freedom of
Information Act was formally presented to the National
Legislature, along with two other draft laws – the
Independent Broadcasting Regulator Act and Liberia Public
Broadcasting Service Act.
The Africa Freedom of
Information Centre, in a statement, pledged to put its
resources at the disposal of the Liberian civil society, the
National Legislature and the Government of President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf to ensure a speedy consideration of the Bill
and the adoption of a Freedom of Information Act which meets
international standards.
Mr. Edetaen Ojo, Chair of
AFIC’s Steering Committee said: “We are pleased to see that
less than two weeks after the Freedom of Information Bill
was presented to the National Legislature of Liberia, it
went through the first reading on May 1, 2008 at the plenary
session of the House of Representatives, which has now
referred the draft Law to its Committee on Information and
Broadcasting with a two week timeframe to submit its report.
We commend that Legislature for these initial steps and
call on it to complete the entire process speedily.”
The Centre also recalls
that at an International
Conference on the Right to Public Information held in Atlanta,
Georgia, U.S.A., from February 27 to 29, 2008, at which
several members of AFIC’s Steering Committee were in
attendance, Liberia’s Information
Minister, Dr. Laurence Bropleh, made a commitment before the
international community that the Government of President
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, fully supports the draft Freedom of
Information Act and would ensure its passage into law.
Accordingly, the Centre called on the Liberian Government to
live up to this pledge by working with the Legislature to
ensure that Liberian citizens have a right of access to
information guaranteed by Law in the shortest time possible.
The Africa
Freedom of Information Centre was established in September
2006 by a network of Freedom of Information advocates in
Africa with a mandate to provide technical assistance to
civil society organizations in the region involved in
various stages of Freedom of Information work, including the
drafting of access to information bills, advocacy for their
passage into Law, implementation, litigation and monitoring
activities. The Centre is managed by the Africa Freedom of
Information Trust, a non-profit entity registered under
Nigerian Laws
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