Former Attorney General and retired Appeal Court Judge, Charles Ramson Snr., has been reappointed as the Commissioner of Information, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira revealed this morning in the Committee of Supply during the consideration of Budget 2022 estimates.
She made the disclosure as she defended a $40M allocation to offset payment of salaries and the functioning of Ramson Snr.’s office.
Ramson, who is the father of the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jnr., was fired back in 2017 by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government.
Former Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo told the Committee of Supply back in November 2019, that Ramson was dismissed for rendering his office dysfunctional since he (Ramson) failed to submit an account of what he did since assuming the post in 2013.
The Access to Information Act 2011 makes provision for the appointment of a Commissioner of Information.
It says that “the President shall appoint a Commissioner of Information who shall be a person of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance”.
It further states that the Commissioner of Information shall be a “clearing house” for processing requests and shall be provided with requisite staffing and budgetary support in order to discharge his functions”.
