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20 months later…PM knows nothing about work done by Commissioner of Information
– Says his status, performance now under scrutiny
After 20 months of being in office, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo says he remains unaware of what exactly Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson Sr. is doing. As such, the Commissioner’s status and
performance are now under scrutiny.
Nagamootoo confirmed that four years after his appointment to the post, Ramson is still to submit a report, as stipulated by the law, regarding the workings of his office and the application of the Access to Information Act.
According to the Act governing Ramson’s office, the responsible Minister should “as soon as practicable but not later than nine months, after the end of each year lay a report on the operation of this (Access to Information) Act in the National Assembly”.
The Act also states that the said report should include the number of requests made to the Commissioner of Information; the number of applications for judicial review of decisions and the outcome of those applications; the number of complaints made to the Commissioner of Information with respect to the operation of the Act and the nature of those complaints; the number of notices served upon the Commissioner of Information and the number of decisions by the Commissioner which were adverse to the person’s claim.
Nagamootoo said, “The Commissioner never submitted any report to me or to anyone else. I am not aware that he is working, nor am I aware if he has an office…Indeed there was an allocation in the 2017 budget for him, but as I said, he is a statutory appointee so he has to be paid.”
The Prime Minister added, “He had made a call for gratuities, and that is only paid on a recommendation that someone has worked satisfactorily. But I am not aware that this guy has worked, much less satisfactorily. But I am looking at his performance and his status.”
While Parliament is left in the dark about the work of the Commissioner of Information, Ramson Sr. continues to draw a salary of approximately $1.2M a month.
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