Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer

State minister in charge of local government, Robert 'Bobby' Montague, says Jamaica is leaps and bounds ahead of some Caribbean nations in terms of the level of citizen access to official documents. - File

WESTERN BUREAU:

A culture of silence within the Caribbean's government system continues to be one of the roadblocks in moving towards a customer-based approach in the public service sector and enhancing local governance.

This view was proffered by lecturer on local government at the University of Guyana and member of the Technical Work Group in the Caribbean Forum of Local Government Ministers, Vincent Alexander, during day three of the Regional Local Government Consultation and Conference in Montego Bay.

During his presentation on 'Customer-Oriented Approach to Public Service Delivery', Alexander argued, "We don't have a culture of providing information to people. There seems to be a feeling that information belongs to the establishment and people are nosy when they ask for information. In fact, good governance requires that information should be easily accessed."

More info needed

He suggested that in order to get the public involved in local governance within the region, there needs to be cultural transformation in the way administrators treat their job.

"(Government agencies should) make more information available to the public so that they can understand the basis on which decisions are being made," Alexander emphasised.

However, minister of state with responsibility for local government, Robert Montague, confirmed that Jamaica, unlike some Caribbean countries, had made significant strides in granting public access to state files.

"We have the Access to Information Act, where by law the public has the right of access to official government information. Even if civil servants want to withhold information, they will still have to make it known within a prescribed period," the minister said.

Montague conceded, however, that while Jamaica was at an advanced stage of local government reform in comparison to other Caribbean countries, there was still a compelling need to improve on existing systems.

The Access to Information Act was passed in 2002 during the reign of the People's National Party administration.