The Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC) has in a public notice acknowledged the elapse of 1st February, 2024 as deadline for completion and submission of the 2023 Annual Compliance Report templates by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), noting that, inasmuch as some pubic authorities complied within the stipulated time, the Commission notes that some other public authorities failed to honor their obligation.
“The Commission has therefore resolved to extend the deadline to Thursday 22nd February, 2024 to give time to those that have not submitted the same. RAIC also draws the attention of Public Authorities to Section 8 (2) of the Right to Access Information Act 2013, which states that “every public authority shall adopt and disseminate widely, including on its website, a publication scheme which has been approved by the Commission, within six months of the coming into operation of this Act, or its approval, whichever comes later Also, Section 41(3) states that every public authority shall report annually to the Commission on the steps it has taken to implement this Act, including a report on the requests for information it has received and how these have been dealt with,” the public notice explained.
The RAIC emphasized that the due date for MDAs to either update or complete the process to submit their PDI schemes is Thursday 22nd February, 2024.
The Commission noted that its secretariat situated at 58 Kroo Town Road, Freetown, is open to public authorities who may have questions or seek further clarification(s) on the Annual Compliance Report templates or call +23278407847/+23277903838/+2327823542