Fines Imposed on Bank of Sierra Leone And Ministry of Health For Failure to Disclose Information

The Right to Access Information Commission’s Western Region Commission disclosed that fines of NLe70,000 each have been imposed on the Central Bank and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. Both institutions faced these fines for their failure to provide requested information.

Commissioner Mohamed Sesay made this revelation during Sierra Leone’s observance of the International Day of Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) at the Family Kingdom, Aberdeen. The event, in partnership with UNESCO, bore the theme “The Importance of the Online Space for Access to Information.”

Since 2018, the commission has fielded over 14,000 information requests, with the majority being resolved in-house.

Delving into the history of the commission, Sesay noted its inception in 2013 after being signed into law by the then-president, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma. The body’s primary mandate is to foster transparency by urging public authorities to share information with any requesting citizen.

As part of the IDUAI celebrations, events were concurrently held in three other regions: Makeni, Kenema, and Bo. These events saw participation from various radio stations and featured press conferences spearheaded by respective regional commissioners.