‘$40M for silence’ – Govt. allocates millions for unresponsive office of commissioner of information 

Feb 10, 2026 News

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– $33.5M to pay his salary, other benefits 

By Davina Bagot

(Kaieteur News) – For more than a decade, Guyana’s Office of the Commissioner of Information has failed to deliver the very transparency it was created to guarantee. There has been no annual reports, no meaningful engagement with the media and little to no response to citizens or civil society seeking access to public information.

Yet, despite this prolonged institutional dormancy, the government has allocated $40 million in this year’s national budget to an office that many observers say exists largely in name, raising uncomfortable questions about accountability, value for money, and the State’s true commitment to openness. The $40M allocation was brought under the microscope on Monday afternoon during Day One of the consideration of Budgetary Estimates for 2026.

Questioning the allocation was lead Parliamentarian for the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Dr. Terrence Campbell, who asked about actions that will be taken against the Commissioner, Charles Ramson SC, for failing to operate in accordance with the Act. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira responded to the query which falls under allocations for the Office of the President. She told the Committee of Supply that the Commissioner, as a former Judge, is aware of his functions and is expected to produce the necessary reports.

“What action are you thinking of Mr. Terrence Campbell? The Commissioner himself is a former Judge, I’m sure he is aware of the Act. I can’t right now say exactly what the Act says but that I’m sure he is aware of it and he is expected to produce a report.”

In response, MP Campbell pointed out that Ramson has failed to deliver a single Annual Report to the National Assembly, outlining the functionality of the Office at the end of each year. Ramson was appointed to the office since 2013 however there are no records to show he ever submitted an Annual Report. Moreover, citizens have publicly shared their failed attempts to access information from the Commissioner who refuses. In fact, a group of citizens, including media practitioners, lawyers, politicians and other civil society organizations and individuals protested the Commissioner’s East Street, Georgetown office for weeks last year due to his failure to carry out prescribed functions.

To this end, Campbell said, “The government has the excellent advice of the Attorney General who I am sure could provide guidance as to how this situation can be addressed but I think it’s ridiculous for us to come year after year here to Parliament and budget $40M for this office with no visible output.”

This year, $33.5M of the $40M will go toward salary and vacation allowance, chauffeur, gratuity and NIS of the Commissioner. Some $6.4M is budgeted for the secretariat of the commission that has one staff.

Following up on the allocation, another APNU MP, Ganesh Mahipaul asked Minister Teixeira whether she would support reducing the allocation to a humble $1, since the office has failed to meet its statutory requirements. In short, she said she would not, as she does not support budgetary cuts to any office. “Having experienced when the budget was cut by $90B in 2012 by our colleagues who were in opposition when we were a minority government, I would hate to cut anybody’s budget and therefore I would not support you in any way of cutting the Commissioner of Information Budget to $1.”

Additionally, the minister pointed out that the Commission is governed by the Access to Information Act which clearly stipulates his role, and what persons can do, and ask from what they cannot.  “I have seen a lot in the media…but the number one rule is once information is publicly available on any site, the Commissioner of Information doesn’t have to do anything about it. It’s available, in fact you are really not supposed to ask,” she added.

On average, the minister said she was informed that the Commissioner of Information receives about six requests per month, all of which were addressed.  Notably, a follow-up question by Mahipaul, seeking to hold the minister to account was tempered by the Speaker, Manzoor Nadir. The MP specifically asked Teixeira to say what measure she would use to ensure the Commissioner delivers at least the most recent Annual Report for the year 2025, since she does not support a reduction in allocation to the Office.

The Speaker cautioned, “Just be careful how you are linking because…once you start down that road minister is free now to give a long essay in response and your time will run.” Teixeira publicly committed to writing the Commissioner to ensure he meets the requirements.

Manifesto promise

In its 2025 elections manifesto the PPP/C had promised to fully enforce the Access to Information Act if reelected. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that there will be some improvement in this area if his party was reelected to government after the September 1, General and Regional Elections. The party won the election, but there has been no notable changes.

Kaieteur News last year had pointed out to Jagdeo that Ramson had been reluctant to do his job, with activists raising concerns that he might be squatting in the office. In response Jagdeo said: “As I said before the President will examine this but the job based on that commitment we made, the job does not belong to an individual so we will have to examine that.” Led by Attorney-at-law and chartered accountant, Christopher Ram, Guyanese, civil society and even journalists last year protested against the reluctance of Ramson Snr. to release key information on several matters, including documents that can provide some clarity to the signing of the lopsided 2016 oil deal with ExxonMobil Guyana for the lucrative Stabroek oil block. Ram had noted the information is not critical for transparency only but could help shape polices for Guyana that can benefit the citizens. The protesters started their demonstration outside of Ramson’s office but later moved to the Office of President. The protestors argued that the president has the power to not only release the information they are seeking but also take action against Ramson since he is collecting a salary for doing nothing. To date, the government is yet to release the information or take any action.

In their pre-election statement, the Carter Center had touched on the issue, not confining its observations on elections, but the general lack of access to public information. The center said that access to information is a critical means of ensuring informed public participation, and transparency and accountability in the electoral process. The center said elections conducted in the absence of adequate public access to information, including on key election-related matters, harm the electoral process. “A well-informed electorate is essential to any electoral process and is an essential building block of a meaningful democracy,” the statement read.

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• Charles Ramson, Commissioner of Information, millions, salary

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