Resumen de Access to information legislation as a means to achieve transparency in Ghanaian governance: Lessons from the Jamaican experience

Cletus D. Kuunifaa

• Access to information and transparency are considered a vaccine for ensuring good governance and countries must gear up for this vaccine to ensure accountability and prevent corruption. This paper probes the anticipated implementation challenges of the freedom-of-information (FOI) law in Jamaica, and the lessons Ghana stands to learn to improve on its FOI bill, currently at a deliberative stage. The lack of transparency in government or the public sector as a result of lack of access to governmental or public information will be tackled in this study. After describing the background, context, framework and methodology of the study, the paper presents findings, makes a comparative analysis, and provides recommendations especially for Ghana, which is still in the process of passing similar legislation.