By Omar Bah
The Gambia Moral Congress has commended the government for finally passing the Access to Information Bill. The bill was assented to by President Adama Barrow on Wednesday.
The GMC leader Mai Ahmad Fatty said: “Gambian democracy has been further consolidated with the passage into law an FOI Act. This is a significant milestone in facilitating administrative accountability and transparency in governance.”
“I want to commend the Government for the enactment of this law, and I hope citizens will take advantage of this legislation, particularly the media. Enacting the law is one thing but its efficacy is in implementation. This will require the cooperation of all MDAs and strong political will from the State. It is an important step in the right direction,” Fatty said.
The signing of the Bill is a climax of a five-year long process in which various stakeholders led by the Gambia Press Union through the CSO Coalition on ATI campaigned for legislation on access to information.
The signing of ATI Bill 2021 into law makes it the first time in the history of The Gambia for right of access to information to be legally recognized as a human right.
The law is aimed at proactive and organised dissemination of public records and information to the people.
