The Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill is still languishing in the National Assembly two years after it was first tabled as a private member’s bill by then PNCR MP Raphael Trotman.
Meanwhile, Freedom of Information and other media laws are on the agenda of the Annual Caribbean Media and Communication Conference set for May 1 to 3 in Georgetown.
The conference will coincide with World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
Trotman tabled the bill in May 2006 prior to the general and regional elections in August 2006 and then again as an AFC MP in November 2006. Since then the FOI Bill has been appearing on the parliamentary order paper though it has not come up for debate.
When Stabroek News asked Trotman why the FOI had not been debated he said he’d like a general consensus on it before it is debated and he’d like parliament to pass the bill.