The Access to Information Act was passed in June 2002
out of an initiative to provide the public with a greater
sense of the accountability and transparency of public
entities. The Act enables the public to access some official
information pertaining to these government entities, provided
that such access does not infringe on the rights of any
individual, and provided that the release of the information
does not prejudice the interest of national security and
other public interest.
The Act requires that Government
Bodies provide detailed information to the public
on their organizational structure, their functions, how
the entity relates to the public and how the public can
get involved in the work of the entity.
The
Act is being implemented on a phased basis, with the
Administrator-General’s Department coming on stream
in the third phase of implementation which began in
August 2004.
How
does the Act work?
Members of the public are able to access documents that
pertain to the functions of the Administrator-General’s
Department and are in the possession, custody or control
of the Department, but which were not created or held
earlier than thirty (30) years ago in so far as these
documents are not protected from being disclosed by
any of the exemptions provided
under the Act.
The
process
A member of the public may make a request for information
by telephone, by fax or in writing, giving as much information
about to document to the relevant officer in order to
facilitate its expeditious retrieval, and providing
the Officer with information on how to remain in contact
with you.
The
department will acknowledge receipt of your request
within seven (7) working days, respond to your request
in a timely manner and keep you informed of our progress.
We will inform you and provide access within thirty
(30) days of receipt of your request if access has been
granted to the requested document(s). In the event that
the requested document or information is protected from
disclosure, you will be informed of your right to appeal.
Where
access has been granted, the information may be conveyed
orally, through allowing the applicant to view and read
the information in a prescribed location or through
making copies of the information available on paper
or in electronic format. Reproduction of documents attracts
a fee which is borne by the applicant.
The Information Officer
at our department is Roxanne A. S. D’Aguilar.
She may be contacted at:
The Administrator-General’s Department
12 Ocean Boulevard
Kingston Mall
Kingston
Telephone:
922-1830-3; 922-0700-
Fax: 922-4201
admingen@cwjamaica.com
Application
Forms
View
the Complete Act
For more information on the Access to Information Act,
visit the website of the Access to Information Unit
at:
http://www.jard.gov.jm/ati/
GOVERNMENT BODIES
- Government
Ministries
-
Agencies and Departments
-
Statutory Bodies
-
Parish Councils
-
Wholly-owned Government Companies
-
Companies in which the Government has more than 50%
share interest
-
Publicly-funded educational institutions
EXEMPTIONS
The
following documents are exempted under the Act:
Documents
pertaining to:
-
Security, defence, international relations;
-
The Cabinet;
-
Law enforcement;
-
Legal privilege
-
The national economy
-
Government’s deliberative processes;
-
Business affairs of others (trade secrets, etc.)
-
Personal privacy
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