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You Are Here: Home » General News » World Bank enhances transparency with new access to information policy
The World Bank Group has taken a bold step to enhance transparency in its operations and dealings with the rest of the world by announcing what the Bretton Woods Institution describes as a “land mark policy on access to information.”
In a press statement copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the Bank announced that the Board of Directors on November 17, 2009 approved the Bank’s new policy on access to information which positions the Bank as a transparency leader among international institutions.
According to the statement, the policy was informed by extensive external and internal consultations held in 33 countries and through the Bank’s external website. It reflects the views of member countries, civil society organizations, academia, parliamentarians, media, the private sector, international organizations, donor agencies, and Bank staff.
By instituting this policy, the Bank makes a fundamental shift in its approach to disclosure of information. This new policy makes the Bank to move away from an approach that spells out what documents it can disclose to one under which the Bank will disclose any information in its possession that is not on a list of exceptions. The policy statement will however, be finalized in December 2009 and become effective on July 1, 2010, after which a progress report will be presented to the Board by the end of 2011.
The new policy the statement said includes clear procedures for responding to requests for information, as well as an appeals mechanism for requesters who believe that the Bank has unreasonably denied access to information that should be publicly available. This appeals mechanism includes review by an independent body consisting of international experts.
Commenting, World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick said, “This paradigm shift underscores the Bank’s commitment to transparency and accountability and recognizes their fundamental importance to development and to achieving the Bank’s mission of overcoming poverty and improving development effectiveness.”
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
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