Information commissioner's office nears operational status
The Office of the Information Commissioner is set to become operational within the year, subject to the regulations guiding that office being gazetted, information minister Emma Theofelus said recently.The Office of the Information Commissioner will be tasked with safeguarding and promoting the right of the public to access information.
According to Theofelus, while the Access to Information Act pertaining to the information commissioner has been tabled, the regulations guiding the Act have not been tabled as yet.
“We have passed the Access to Information Law, but it is not yet operational because the regulations have not yet been tabled in parliament. We are finalising the regulations because the regulations are for the information commissioner to start operating,” Theofelus said.
The minister gave her commitment that the regulations would be tabled before 21 March.
“We will not go past Independence without me tabling the regulations. We are at an advanced stage, and we have also implored the finance minister to include that in his 2024/2025 budget so that when that legislative process is done, the regulations have been accepted, and I have gazetted the regulations as having been signed off, the information commissioner office can start,” Theofelus said.
The information ministry previously stated that the establishment of the independent Office of the Information Commission will pave the way for the appointment of the information commissioner and the deputy information commissioner.
Once the office becomes operational, the law also compels public entities to prepare and publish annual reports, whereas private entities are required to provide information if “the information held may assist in the exercise or protection of any fundamental human right."
Once the Access to Information Act becomes operational, the period to provide or decline to provide information is 21 days.