WHEN the Island abandoned the committee system of government and adopted the present ministerial structure, a number of promises were made.

Among them was the pledge that a new era of openness and governmental transparency would accompany the programme of reforms. In spite of all the fine words, that new era has yet to arrive. Indeed, the centralisation of power in the Council of Ministers has, if anything, led to government playing its cards even closer to its chest.

There is certainly little sign of the culture of secrecy, prevalent not only among certain politicians but also in States departments, fading, let alone dying. As most mature democracies have realised, one of the most potent means of combating unwarranted secrecy in the corridors of power is freedom of information legislation.

But although we have a voluntary code which is supposed to contribute to greater openness, a fully fledged and effective law has, year after year, remained tantalisingly beyond grasp. A great deal of effort has been expended on framing suitable legislation, but nothing has come to fruition – despite some Members’ passionate insistence that a vital law is missing from our statute book and that Islanders are being denied a basic right.

It now appears that, far from pressing on towards the enactment of a freedom of information law, the Council of Ministers intends to block further progress. Ostensibly, ministers are worried about the cost of gearing up for information requests backed by the force of a law, but they will not be surprised if they accused of being motivated by other factors.

Although it is widely recognised that a freedom of information law is close to the top of the list of checks and balances that are necessary to curb excessive executive power, it is easy to understand why those exercising power might like to avoid being compelled to share what they know. Ministers might, for instance, convince themselves that the virtues of transparency are outweighed by the way it might impede what they believe to be the imperatives of streamlined, efficient government.

The danger, of course, is that, in the absence of enforceable restraints, the ‘we know best’ culture runs away with itself and politicians making laws and spending our money are able to operate without the level of accountability that the general public has an absolute right to demand.