Access to Information in the West Indies: Gradual Progression to Greater Openness

Abstract

Since the turn of the 21st century, the region formerly known as the British West Indies has begun to embark slowly on the implementation of information rights legislation including freedom of information (FOI) legislation. The historical trajectory of the region has had a profound impact on its current position on the sharing of information between public entities and citizens. One of the challenges affecting the success of the implementation of FOI legislation is the state of recordkeeping in the territories, which has resulted in difficulties with providing access to official records and information over time. This article, from the perspective of an archivist/records manager, explores whether the historical past of the West Indies has some bearing on the slow enactment of FOI in the region and how proper recordkeeping could enhance the chances of success in implementation of FOI. It focuses on two main concepts, ‘open government’ and ‘citizen engagement’, underpinning FOI to assess whether the region has fully embraced these ideas and thus paved the way for implementation. It examines the Jamaican experience with FOI to determine whether this can be viewed as an effective model for other territories of the region to provide access to information for the betterment of West Indian society at large.