The participants at the workshop in December. Photo: Malcolm Joseph/IMS

Transparency and participation in Liberia's governance lie at the heart of the hopes held for Liberia's new Freedom of Information Law - the first to be passed in West Africa. This transpired in a meeting organised in Monrovia in December

A special session organized by the Center for Media Studies & Peace Building (CEMESP) with support from International Media Support brought together nearly 100 civil society representatives, media, government relations officers and academics to raise awareness on the recently approved Freedom of Information Law in Liberia.

The awareness was meant to beef up popular understanding of the law, as well as to initiate activities that would make ordinary citizens take advantage of the law and seek out needed information.

The Liberian FoI Law is the first passed in West Africa, and its implementation is poised to stand as an example to be emulated in other countries.

Participants at the meeting acknowledged the FoI law as an important instrument for supporting transparency and participation in Liberian governance.

Participants also built up momentum towards the implementation of the law by proposing means to establish the automatic publication schemes at government agencies, as well as strategies to make the law effective. Such proposals included the use of online services and new media platforms to make information readily available to the public.

Recommendations, which were derived from the meeting included calls for the re-visitation of laws like the whistle blower act, which could strengthen the implementation of the Freedom of Information Laws.

Speakers at the meeting included Malcolm Joseph of CEMESP, and leader of the Liberia Coalition for Freedom of Information; Norris Tweah – Deputy Minister of Information; Negbalee Warner Freedom of Information Consultant; Archie Bawo from the Center for Transparency and Accountability,  Alphonsus Zeon from the Carter Center, among others.

Among government ministries and agencies in attendance were Justice, Labour, Posts & Telecommunications, Transport, the Legislature, Defense, Commerce, Elections Commission, National Police, Finance, Anti Corruption, among others.

The process leading to the passage of the Freedom of Information Law in Liberia has existed since 2003 with the post war Liberia Media Law and Policy Reform process supported by media development and freedom of expression groups under the banner of the Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa,  led by the International Media Support and inclusive of UNESCO,  Article XIX, Media Foundation for west Africa , Media  Rights Agenda, International Federation of Journalists among others.