Munroe, Gomes and Campbell
ONE of the last vestiges of colonialism in Jamaica, the 95-year-old Official Secrets Act, which has left a legacy of secrecy in the Government service, will be repealed, according to Information Minister Colin Campbell.
The issue was raised on Thursday by Government Senator Professor Trevor Munroe at an Access to Information seminar hosted by the United States-based Carter Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Development and local stakeholders.
According to Professor Munroe, four years after the Access to Information Act received the nod from Parliament, the Official Secrets Act of 1911 still remains on the books.
"How can you have in one jurisdiction, a law which says you and I have a fundamental right to information and another law which says there is an obligation to hold official secrets? It makes no sense," he said. "(The) Official Secrets Act must be repealed now, not one day after the next meeting of the Parliament."
The Information Minister explained that the Gordon Wells Report of 1994 had identified an inherent conflict with the Officials Secrets Act and the then proposed Access to Information Act.
He said there was a culture of secrecy in the civil service and the Access to Information legislation is an attempt to create more openness in the public service.
CLOUD OF SECRECY
But four years after this law was introduced, a cloud of secrecy still pervades a number of Government ministries and departments.
Dr. Carolyn Gomes, executive director of Jamaicans for Justice, one of the panellists at the seminar, revealed that two years after the Access to Information Act took effect, just under 50 per cent of the 900 requests for information were granted either full or partial access.
At the next meeting of the Senate, a joint select committee will be renamed to review the Access to Information Act. According to Mr. Campbell a proposal to repeal the Official Secrets Act will be made as part of the process.
