Ombudsman says FOI is ‘inalienable right’
Sandy Hermiston
(CNS): The new supra-ombudsman has said that the freedom of information is a vital part of government openness and transparency. Sandy Hermiston arrived in Cayman last month to take over the helm of the newly combined and challenging office of public service complains, police complaints, whistle-blowing and data protection. On Cayman’s Right to Know Day, she said, “We are accountable to the electorate and regularly need to remind them as well as ourselves that this is an unalienable right and an indispensable part of a mature democracy.”
The event, which took place at the Government Administration Building last week, was coordinated by Deputy Ombudsman Jan Liebaers and also involved Deputy Governor Franz Manderson as part of the public outreach and awareness raising for FOI.
“The right to access information retained by the government, about ourselves, institutions and other individuals, is a fundamental freedom,” Manderson said in a release. “The civil service gets hundreds of requests a year, so we know that such access not only helps public involvement in helping shape social policy making but is also a very tangible sign of good governance.”
Category: Government oversight, Politics
Inalienable right? So its on par with the right to life etc?
I know your job is important but please stop with such statements.
” The new supra-ombudsman has said that the freedom of information is a vital part of government openness and transparency. Sandy Hermiston arrived in Cayman last month ”
It is very important that Sandy Hermiston understands the culture of secrecy within the Cayman Islands. To go about her business without a clear awareness of the history of secrets here will leave her vulnerable to attack. Politicians love to talk transparency for the voters but the real business is done in the dark.
politicians soon start at her! but it great to see she enthusiastic about getting truth out there…
Hopefully Ms. Hermiston doesn’t end up like Mr. Duguay before she gets out of the starting blocks. This is a thankless position and it’s going to take some serious cohones to weed out endemic corruption in our country. Best of luck Ms. Hermiston, keep up the good fight and hope you serve us proud for may years to come.
And it still doesn’t work. Case and point – FOI request related to stamp duty approvals and denials which happened to exclude a few that met the criteria.
In an ideal society, with open government, you wouldn’t need FOI.
True dat. What was the pay off for the CIO? Who messed up necessitating it?