The Chairman of the National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED), Mr. Joseph Munda Bindi, who doubles as Open Government Partnership (OGP) point of contact (POC)-Sierra Leone, has engaged over five Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and MDAs in the conference room of the Right to Access Information Commission’s office in Freetown.
In his statement, Chairman Bindi stated that the engagement aims to provide RAIC with attainable steps to achieve Commitment 6 of the OGP National Action Plan 5, as recommended in the 2025 Interim Reporting Mechanism (IRM) report. Bindi informed the members present that RAIC has the opportunity to review their commitment and milestones to support the achievement of the ambitious regulatory reforms, which will enhance citizens’ access to information. He encouraged all to participate meaningfully in the co-creation process, keeping in view the OGP principles and standards.
The Commissioner of the Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC), Dr. Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, stated that the work of the Commission since its formation has made conscious efforts to provide information to the public, emphasizing that it is a right.
However, Dr. Shaw noted the need to improve the reporting mechanisms so as to ensure that MDAs and other institutions function effectively and can account properly to the people of this country.
Dr. Shaw informed the gathering that RAIC’s commitment seeks to empower citizens to access information through review of the RAI law and enactment of data protection law. He solicited the support of CSOs and MDAs in setting up appropriate milestones that will help the achievement of their ambitious aim.
The co-creation work started immediately after the opening statements, discussion, and suggestions were made, and the team agreed on nine (9) milestones/activities that will be presented to the OGP global for approval and implementation.
One of the milestones set by RAIC is to popularize, in collaboration with CSOs, the RAIC law in 100 educational institutions, which, upon its completion, can be considered a testament to their goal to generalize the law.
