The Impact of the Access to Information Act on Records Management in Jamaica
The success of access to information (ATI) legislation is premised not only on a government’s commitment towards disclosure but fundamentally on an effective records and information management programme. In bureaucratic cultures, a culture synonymous with the Jamaican government’s, records are viewed to be the sole property of the organization and are privy only to a select group of civil servants who contribute to the transactions recorded on each file, or by virtue of their position, have access to the files on demand.