The Western Region Commissioner of the Right to Access Information Commission, Pastor Mohamed Sesay, and his team on Thursday, 28th September, 2023 joined the National Secretariat of the Right to Access Information Commission and UNESCO and the rest of the world, to celebrate the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), which is commemorated worldwide.
The celebration took place at the Family Kingdom at Aberdeen on the theme: “The importance of the online space for access to information” and was chaired by the Executive Secretary, RAIC, Hon. Mustapha Braima.
The event was also commemorated in the other three regions, Makeni, Kenema and Bo, where various radio stations were engaged and press conferences held by the Commissioners.
At Family Kingdom, in the absence of the Chairman and Information Commissioner, Dr Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, who is currently at Oxford in the UK to observe the day as organised by UNESCO, Pastor Mohamed Sesay delivered his message to the audience which consisted of professionals from various fields which are connected with freedom of information.
The RAIC came into being in 2013 after the RAI Law was signed into law by former President Koroma. The Commission was formed in 2014.
The RAIC was created to encourage public authorities to disclose information required of them by any member of the public and since 2018 the Commission has received over 14,000 requests and most of those were settled by the Commission.
The Commission had also levelled fines of NLe70, 000 each on both the Central Bank and the Ministry of Health after both failed to disclose information as requested of them.
