Dear Editor,
I read your sharp editorial on the Access to Information Act with personal and professional interest. I edited a book a decade ago on FOI – Ten years on so know a little. FOI (Freedom of Information) is not always a panacea, too often it is a crutch and an excuse for lazy journalism. ‘Bunging in an FOI’ is used too readily. The standard ‘story’ revealed is about car parking charges in NHS hospitals. FOI does result in the odd scoop but there is no alternative to good old fashioned journalistic shoe and brain leather. Find the contacts, make and keep em sweet and use their info for your pieces. Guyana and its government are very leaky so it just needs effort and luck.
The Access to Information Act does need amending and strengthening and the Commissioner given more resources to furnish better his office.
Full disclosure. I went to Sacred Heart School and sat next to ‘Bonnie’ Ramson the long serving Information Commissioner for five years. He is still a friend 65 years later.
I keep him sweet.
Yours sincerely,
John ‘Bill Cotton/Reform’ Mair
Editor’s note: The Access to Information Act envisages use by the general public not only journalists.