New Oriental Cleaners employees proudly display
their support for Freedom of Information. The company
is one of several key businesses helping keep the
campaign for greater openness in government at the
center of the national conversation.
|
Nassau, The Bahamas - The impact of June’s groundbreaking Freedom of
Information (FOI) rally in Rawson Square is still being felt across the country
as key businesses, numerous NGOs and scores of concerned citizens continue to show their ardent support for increased transparency and
accountability in government.
The drumbeat for
greater openness also continues to reverberate through the airwaves thanks to
dozens of sympathetic TV and radio hosts, talk show guests and callers.
“We
could not be more pleased with how the call for Freedom of Information has
caught hold of the public imagination,” said Lindsey McCoy, CEO of Save The
Bays, the fast-growing social and environmental advocacy group that organized
the rally.
“One
of the most encouraging signs is the durability of our message, as seen in the
number of companies that continue to sport FOI t-shirts distributed at the
rally during business hours on a regular basis.
“Many
have vowed to continue doing so until the government lives up to its promise to
enact a Freedom of Information Act that would allow members of the public to
access information that affects their interest and livelihoods.”
New Oriental Cleaners
owner Lana Lee said her company continues to wear the t-shirts because FOI
remains an significant issue for The Bahamas, especially in the face of
several worrying developments, the details of which continue to be kept from
the public.
“We
have got VAT (Value Added Tax) coming and we need to know where the money
raised will go,” she said. “We also have this energy reform issue, where
Stellar Energy was offered a deal and we still don
’t know what was behind that. We need
transparency.”
Employees of Furniture Plus Ltd. also sport the t-shirts once a
week as a way of demonstrating to customers that the company supports for the
swift enactment of the Act.
Krystynia Lee Darville, vice president of sales, marketing and
organizational development, said: “Furniture Plus believes that the Freedom of Information
Act is a relevant process to all countries and looks forward to The Bahamas
continuing in its transparency efforts in collaboration with the private and
public sector and the government,” she said.
FOI legislation
exists in 100 countries around the world, including the overwhelming majority
of parliamentary democracies. Outlining a process by which journalists, NGOs
and regular citizens can gain access to government documents and records, it is
widely considered a hallmark of good governance and an essential requirement to
a fair and just society.
McCoy said the rally
was just the first in a series of FOI events that STB and its growing coalition
of partners intend to host. The next will be a street party on Charlotte Street
south, scheduled for October 25.
STB declared the
rally a huge success, as more than 20 groups and organizations, collectively
representing more than 60,000 people took part. These included human rights and
environmental advocates, opposition political parties, civil society groups,
church leaders and representatives of the labor movement.
“We
are hoping for an even higher level of interest for our street party and other
upcoming events,” McCoy said. “We are very encouraged by the way the message is
already spreading like wildfire.
“Together,
we are determined to keep the momentum going and convince the government to
deliver on its promise – sooner rather than later.”
Minister
of Education Jerome Fitzgerald recently indicated that it would take the
Christie administration until 2016 to bring an FOI bill to Parliament – a delay
STB rejects as unacceptable.
McCoy
noted that during the run-up to the 2012 election, the PLP promised to take
swift action on the matter if successful, and already had a blueprint in place
in the form of the former FNM government’s FOI Act, passed just before the
government changed hands.
Founded
just over a year ago, Save The Bays has taken The Bahamas by storm. What began
as a grassroots environmental awareness campaign quickly mushroomed to cover a
variety of civic and social justice concerns and grievances as other advocacy
groups flocked to STB
’
s banner.
The movement now has more than 500 registered members, the
largest Facebook audience of any Bahamian NGO with 17,000 followers and over
6,000 signatures on its petition calling for a
Freedom of Information Act, an Environmental Protection Act and an end
to unregulated development in The Bahamas.
STB membership is free. To learn more or sign the petition,
visit: http://www.savethebays.bs