THE PARLIAMENTARY Committee reviewing the Access to Information (ATI), Act, may be looking at attaching criminal penalties for government institutions which flout the law.
This consideration was put forward by committee member, Senator Trevor Munroe after it was revealed by Susan Goffe, chairman of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) that the central bank had refused to hand over minutes of a particular board meeting requested by the organisation.
This was despite a ruling by the ATI Appeals Tribunal that the information be divulged.
" ... If the justification was the newness of the right being given statuary embodiment then as we proceed overtime, and as the authorities become more sensitised to the obligation then that justification recedes," Munroe said.
"And to that degree especially if we are hearing that public authorities are ... non-compliant we need to revisit that matter of criminalising that breach."
