Amend the Access to Information Act (JM0003)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? The Access to Information (ATI) Act that was passed in 2002 and came into effect in 2004 is in need of review and amendment. A comprehensive review of the ATI Act was conducted in 2009-2011, and the Joint Select Committee (JSC) Report to Parliament was tabled in 2011, which made recommendations including the strengthening ATI Unit and extending the public interest test. However, there has been no action taken since 2011 to amend the ATI Act, or implement the recommendations in the JSC Report. The existing ATI system also has constraints including delays in responses to requests for information.

What is the commitment? To amend the Access to Information (ATI) Act and strengthen the ATI system in Jamaica.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? The commitment to amend the ATI Act, based on the JSC Report of 2011 and subsequent developments, and to strengthen the ATI system in Jamaica will improve the legal and regulatory framework and system for provision of information by the government to citizens, both proactively and in response to requests for information, in order to advance certain fundamental principles underlying the system of constitutional democracy, including governmental accountability, transparency, and public participation in decision-making. The actions to improve the existing ATI system, including capacity development and training for ATI officers, public education on the ATI system, improved guidelines for public bodies and ATI officers, strengthening of reporting mechanisms, and development of a proposal for the application of an online platform for making and tracking ATI requests, will improve the operation of the existing ATI system and reduce delays in response to ATI requests.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? The commitment to amend the ATI Act and strengthen the ATI system in Jamaica is relevant to the following OGP values: 1. Access to Information: The amendments to the ATI Act and strengthening of the ATI system will improve the legal and regulatory framework for ATI and the operation of the ATI system, resulting in improved access to public information for citizens. The commitment will also strengthen the relationship between the Access to Information system and the Open Data system. 2. Civic Participation: The process to amend the ATI Act and regulations will include stakeholder consultations. The re-establishment of the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee will expand and strengthen the representation and role of civil society in the ATI reform process. 3. Public Accountability: The increased access to information will enable more effective monitoring of performance of government entities, projects and programmes.

Additional information The commitment to amend the Access to Information (ATI) Act and strengthen the ATI system in Jamaica is aligned with:  The Government of Jamaica Open Data Policy (2021)  Data Protection Act (2020)  Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan – National Outcome No. 6 Effective Governance, including National Strategy 6-1 Strengthen the Process of Citizen Participation in Governance, National Strategy 6-5 Strengthen Public Institutions to Deliver Efficient and Effective Public Goods and Services, and National Strategy 6-7 Strengthen Accountability and Transparency Mechanisms; National Outcome No. 11 A Technology-Enabled Society, including National Strategy 11-1 Integrate Science and Technology into All Areas of Development  Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF) for the relevant three-year period  Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Target 16.10 Ensure public access to information; Access to Information is also seen as playing a cross- cutting role, contributing towards the achievement of all seventeen SDGs;  Inter-American Convention Against Corruption of which Jamaica is a party and the Committee of Experts that guides the Mechanism for Follow-Up on the implementation of the Convention („MESICIC‟)in which Jamaica participates;  Lima Commitment, OAS VIII Summit of the Americas (2018) - Democratic Governance Against Corruption.

Milestone Activity with a Verifiable Deliverable Start Date: End Date: Conduct stakeholder consultations for preparation of drafting instructions for amendment of Access to Information (ATI) Act and regulations April 2022 June 2022 Re-establishment of the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee, including confirmation of membership, approval of Terms of Reference (TOR), and endorsement of the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee by the relevant Minister January 2022 March 2022 Preparation of Draft Bill to amend the ATI Act and regulations April 2022 January 2023 Review of Draft Bill to amend the ATI Act and regulations by the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee February 2023 March 2023 Finalization of Bill to amend the ATI Act and regulations and tabling in Parliament April 2023 July 2023 Prepare improved guidelines for public bodies and ATI officers January 2022 June 2022 Undertake capacity development and training for ATI officers July 2022 September 2022 Conduct programme of public education on the ATI system and rights April 2022 March 2023 Strengthen reporting mechanisms for annual reports, and reporting for the SDGs and Lima Commitment July 2022 March 2023 Development of proposal for the application of technology for online platform for making and tracking ATI requests April 2022 March 2023

Action Plan Review

Commitment 3. Amend the ATI Act and Strengthen the ATI System in Jamaica

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Substantial

(Office of the Prime Minister, ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee)

For a complete description of this commitment see commitment 3 in the action plan.

Context and objectives

In 2021, civil society chose access to information as a priority thematic area for this action plan. Commitment 3 of this action plan proposes amending Jamaica’s 2002 ATI Act [8] and enhance public participation through stakeholder consultations and the re-establishment of a permanent ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee. This commitment also foresees the creation of an online platform intended to allow tracking of access to information requests.

As for the Act, two decades of social and technological changes have passed since its enactment in 2002—a long time in terms of technological capacities and possibilities for data reuse and the evolution of the very nature and value of data and information. In 2008, a Joint Select Committee was appointed to make recommendations to amend the Act, [9] but these recommendations were not implemented. The Global Right to Information Rating, which assesses the quality of access to information regulations, gives Jamaica a score of 89 out of 150 points. According to this assessment, one of the main problems of the ATI Act is the limited measures to promote public officials’ observance of the law. [10]

Potential for results: Substantial

Per this commitment, an updated ATI Act could take account of the new reality set by open data reuse in big data, civic tech, artificial intelligence (AI), and public innovation in general. In alignment with the recently enacted Open Data Policy, the new version of the ATI Act should establish an “open by default” provision for government data. Thus, the Open Data Portal could become an integral part of the Open Data Policy, which could foster the portal’s sustainability in time. Furthermore, the envisioned platform for making and tracking access-to-information requests (milestone 10) could contribute to making government institutions more accountable regarding the implementation of this law. According to the POC, a cabinet reshuffle in January 2022 shifted the responsibility for implementing this commitment from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information to the Office of the Prime Minister, [11] which could eventually lend the necessary political clout for its completion.

Opportunities, challenges and recommendations during implementation

The revised ATI Act should create a renewed legal framework to make access to information in Jamaica easier for the people and more aligned with their demands and needs. Defining what the actual role of civil society will be throughout as well as after the amendment process will be key to assessing whether this commitment delivers the results it envisions. To make this happen, the IRM makes the following recommendations:

• Expand the civic participation element in the amendment of the ATI Act: Although public participation is present in Commitment 3 for the amendment of the ATI Act, it is limited to generic “stakeholder consultations” and the re-establishment of the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee. Further consideration should be given to how these consultations will take place and how stakeholder input will be used to better shape the law. In addition, although Commitment 3 includes a review of the draft amended bill by the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee before sending the bill to Parliament, this review could be expanded to civil society at large through an open validation process.

• Include the judiciary in the new version of the ATI Act: The GOJ could seize this opportunity to make the amended ATI Act the cornerstone of an open state. The current version of the ATI Act establishes that, besides government agencies, governing bodies, and government-owned companies, every “body or organization which provides services of a public nature which are essential to the welfare of the Jamaican society” [12] can potentially become an obliged subject to this law. Beyond embedding the open-by-default philosophy in the new version of the law, which is essential for the deployment of the Open Data Policy, the new coding should therefore specifically include the judiciary among the obliged subjects under the Act. This change could help the Jamaican judiciary comply with the principle of open justice as well as adopt a more people-centred approach.

Results Report

Commitment 3. Strengthening Access to Information

Office of the Prime Minister

Context and objectives

This commitment responded to a priority identified by civil society and aimed to amend Jamaica's 2002 Access to Information (ATI) Act. [4] Specifically, the objective was to bolster public participation in ATI through stakeholder consultations and the reinstatement of a permanent ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee. The commitment included the development of an online platform for tracking ATI requests. The IRM assessed its potential for results to be substantial in the Action Plan Review [5] as it highlighted the need for an updated law in line with the country's 2021 Open Data Policy. It would enable the ATI framework to keep pace with recent developments, such as open data reuse, civic tech, artificial intelligence, and public innovation. The envisioned platform for tracking access to information requests was anticipated to enhance government accountability. The transfer of responsibility for the commitment from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information to the Office of the Prime Minister in January 2022 was viewed as signaling political support for its implementation, underscoring its vital role in advancing transparency, accountability, and public engagement in Jamaica.

Early results: Moderate

Overall, this commitment achieved a limited level of completion. While certain activities progressed, in particular preliminary stakeholder consultations and public education initiatives, delays in the establishment of the parliamentary joint select committee (JSC) and the reconstitution of the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee highlighted challenges that need to be addressed in order for the commitment to fully achieve its intended goals.

Milestone 8 recorded a substantial level of completion with regard to the development of a communication strategy and the initiation of planned mass media components for public education on the ATI system and rights, particularly through placing advertisements at sporting events and participation in government fairs. [6] The review of other existing ATI reporting mechanisms for annual reports, Sustainable Development Goals, and the Lima Commitment (Milestone 9) was also reportedly completed according to the government’s progress report. Meanwhile, the majority of other milestones were delayed, as was the case for the virtual workshops for capacity development and training of ATI officers (Milestone 7), the preparation of improved guidelines on ATI for public institutions and officials (Milestone 6), and the development of an online platform for tracking ATI requests (Milestone 10).

Milestone 1 achieved some progress in initiating the foreseen stakeholder and public consultations to inform the amendment of the ATI Act and regulations. A virtual stakeholder meeting with Hon. Robert Morgan, Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Information, took place to discuss the improvement of Jamaica's ATI regime within the context of the commitment. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister proposed the establishment of a new parliamentary JSC with the role of steering the reform process by receiving and reviewing submissions for amending the Act. However, this proposal was still being reviewed by the Attorney General’s Chambers by the end of the implementation period. While the establishment of this JSC should enhance wider stakeholder participation in the amendment of the Act, it also risks extending the process further beyond the timelines proposed in the action plan. [7]

The re-establishment of the ATI Advisory Stakeholder Committee (Milestone 2), which is intended to play a vital role in funneling public participation during the ATI Act amendment process, was also delayed. [8] However, once resumed, it is expected that the re-establishment of the committee will be informed by a review of expanded and more inclusive ATI stakeholder engagement committee models, which was conducted to inform future discussions and recommendations. As a consequence of the delays in these two key milestones, other subsequent activities showed no advancement to date, as is the case with the preparation of the draft amendment bill (Milestone 3), its review by the Advisory Stakeholder Committee (Milestone 4), and finalization (Milestone 5).

The limited level of implementation achieved in most of the milestones was largely attributed to circumstantial delays and to human resource challenges, in particular for recruiting or onboarding key personnel required to carry out some of the activities. These included the preparation of the improved guidelines for public bodies and ATI officers as well as the development of the proposal for the online platform for submitting and tracking ATI applications. The IRM researcher contacted all civil society members of the multistakeholder forum in November 2023 and January 2024 to gather their inputs on the implementation of this and other commitments of the action plan but received no response. [9]

The undertaken initiatives signal a positive shift towards revitalizing Jamaica's ATI landscape by improving policies and institutions, thus early results are coded as moderate. These early results will require close monitoring and further adjustments to the commitment as it was originally planned, in particular securing the necessary human resources to staff some of the planned activities, in order to achieve long-term results.

Looking ahead

The commitment sought to articulate the necessary amendments to the ATI Act and strengthen Jamaica’s ATI system. While initial results indicate a moderate shift towards revitalizing the ATI landscape, challenges remain particularly in the delayed establishment of key committees and slow progress in achieving implementation milestones. Looking ahead, the delays, which have been attributed primarily to circumstantial factors and human resource challenges, underscore the need for ongoing monitoring and adjustments to the initial implementation plan. Promptly addressing these delays, particularly under Milestones 1 and 2, will be crucial to pave the way for the subsequent stages of the ATI Law amendment. Future iteration of this commitment in subsequent action plans could include streamlining human resource processes, expediting the establishment of committees, and maintaining a focus on achievable milestones to ensure more meaningful progress. With these necessary adjustments, future efforts to deliver this commitment could yield substantial and transformative results in this critical policy area.