Governor His Excellency John Rankin has given assent to the Register of Interests (Amendment) Act which he believes still limits the public in how they can access information on House of Assembly members.
The governor confirmed his assent to the legislation in a statement published on Monday, where he stated that the decision took much contemplation following the passing of the bill in the House of Assembly in July.
He said, “After much consideration, I have decided to assent to the Act as passed by the House of Assembly. I do so in the hope that members of the public will make such proper use of the information contained in the Register as they can, and with a clear expectation that the House of Assembly will return to this subject within 1 year to design a new system for registration of interests.”
Governor Rankin also highlighted the areas of the legislation which he believes need to be revisited, stating that they run counter to the principle of transparency and the intent underlying the commitment made by the government in their Framework for Implementation of the Commission of Inquiry Report.
“In my Review I also noted, however, that when passing the Act the House of Assembly made several amendments which severely restrain the degree of public access to the Register of Interests. Anyone wishing to view the Register must make a written application and pay a fee for each member whose record is inspected. The Registrar must verify the identity of the person inspecting the Register and keep a record of every person inspecting it. In addition, a person who is inspecting the Register must do so in the presence of the Registrar and, most restrictively, cannot make any kind of copy or, it would seem, even notes of the content of the Register,” he stated.
The governor said he will be holding the National Unity Government accountable to their commitment outlined in their Framework, giving them a 1-year period to have a new Register of Interest Act brought before the House of Assembly.
“My assent to the Act is therefore being made together with my clear expectation that the House of Assembly will return to this subject within 1 year. That is because of the commitment in the Framework Document on the design and development of a new system for registration of interests to cover both elected and public officials. This system should be based on international best practices, accompanied by an implementation plan inclusive of costing for the introduction and maintenance of the new system. It is vital that the commitments made under the Framework Document are adhered to,” he explained.