The Right to Access Information (RAI) Act was enacted by the Sierra Leone Parliament on 29th October, 2013.
The Government of Sierra Leone established the Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC) with the appointment of the Chairman/Commissioner and four Regional Commissioners, were appointed by His Excellency, The President, on July, 2014, on the advice of the Minister of Information and Communications, and approved by the Sierra Leone Parliament as follows:
The RAIC was founded at the highest point of the Ebola disease outbreak in the country, following a sustained advocacy campaign by a coalition of national Civil Society Organizations, in collaboration with international partners.
This decision by Government is consistent with Article 9 of the African Charter on Human Rights which provides for the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, through various media channels, regardless of borders, in tandem with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with the appropriate internationally accepted exemptions to protect individual privacy, safeguard national security, defence, customs and traditions, among others.
The novel action under difficult circumstances promotes Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance, which lays a solid foundation for sustained socio-economic development.
