A proposal which is closely tied to the Cayman Islands first Freedom of Information Bill was unanimously passed by the Legislative Assembly last week.
The National Archive and Public Records Law sets out how public agencies will maintain, store and dispose of both paper and electronic records.
The legislation applies to all branches of government including the Cabinet, LA, Ministries, portfolios, departments, courts or tribunals, and companies in which the government has a controlling interest.
However, some members of the opposition party have noted that not all government records are created equal under the archive law.
Any record held by the Cayman Islands Governor which relates to the service of the Crown in respect to the UK government is excluded from the application of the law.
‘We have no problem with the bill and its intentions,’ said Leader of the opposition McKeeva Bush. ‘While I know it can easily be said the government has information that cannot be made public, in this day and age it would seem you would want all your documents to be held through this new function.’
Acting Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks said he appreciated Mr. Bush’s point, but noted that the Archive and Public Records Law is not the same as the proposed Freedom of Information legislation.
‘This isn’t….the legislation which will be the determinant in the issue of access to information from the governor’s office,’ Mr. Ebanks said. ‘It’s a differentiation between records created in the administration of these islands, and records created by the governor’s office and the office to which it reports in the UK.’
‘We feel this is the extent to which we can regulate the records as it relates to the governor’s office.’
Earlier this year, Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said an updated archive and records law would need to be in place if the government took up FOI legislation.
FOI laws generally allow members of the public to request certain information from government agencies. The Cayman Islands do not have any requirements which allow for the release of such records upon request.
The FOI proposal is expected to be debated in the current meeting of the Legislative Assembly.
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