The Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC) and the Institute for Development (IfD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday 3rd November 2026 at the RAIC National Secretariat in Freetown to promote the culture of proactive disclosure of information and digital access to public documents, especially national legislations, policies, strategies and other related documents.
Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony, Dr Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, the Chairman and Information Commissioner of RAIC underscored the importance of the partnership, noting that it is a significant milestone in promoting an open and inclusive society through timely access to information for all.
“The roles of RAIC and IfD are complementary as the two institutions are committed to ensuring quick and reliable flow of information for enlightenment and informed decision making for all walks of life,” he said.
The RAIC boss expressed optimism that the MOU would help to build synergy as both institutions would leverage the expertise of each other to ensure that public documents are proactively disclosed for public consumption.
He said: “publication of public documents, including laws, policies and strategies, is part of promoting proactive disclosure of information, something that is integral to the work of the RAIC.”
Dr Shaw described the SABI SALONE platform of IfD as a one-stop shop to access important legal public documents which are often challenging to access in a single database, noting that such a platform can minimize the many requests for information for certain public documents as people can easily get them through the IfD platform, thus the need to have all legal public documents uploaded therein.
The RAIC Chairman mentioned that many public institutions do not have user-friendly functional websites, thereby constraining proactive information disclosure and access.
“I hope to see all legal public documents from all government institutions on the SABI SALONE platform as that would be a landmark milestone in the country’s access to information journey,” he noted.
In her statement, Madam Regina Mamidy Yillah, the Founder and Director of the Institute for Development (IfD) praised the leadership of RAIC for its seriousness and commitment in finalizing the MOU.
She stated that the MOU is mutually beneficial for both institutions as it speaks to their work.
“The MOU is important for both institutions and the nation as a whole. When people and institutions have timely and seamless access to reliably credible information, they become better informed in their choices and decision-making,” she said.
She emphasized the need to have a truly inclusive society where people of all walks of life can have equal opportunity to access information.
She expressed a big vision for IfD to enable people ask for documents in Krio via the Sabi Salone platform, so as to empower those who cannot speak, read and write in English, but may want to access public documents speedily.
The IfD boss expressed confidence that the full implementation of the MOU will build a solid foundation to access public documents like national laws, policies, strategies effortlessly for all.
The 4-page MOU is comprehensive and encompassing. It speaks to the collaboration between the RAIC and IfD to ensure that legal and policy documents are collected from public institutions and uploaded on the IfD’s SABI SALONE platform for access by all. The MOU also speaks to joint awareness raising and project implementation efforts, among others.
The MOU signing ceremony was moderated by Mrs. Fanta Morgan, the Records and Open Data Manager of RAIC. The declaration of purpose was done by Mr. Amara Thoronka, the Public Information and Communications Officer of RAIC while Mr David Patrick Kamara, Manager of Public Information and Communication of RAIC gave the vote of thanks acknowledging the leaderships of RAIC and IfD for cementing the partnership.
For more information, contact;
Amara Thoronka
Public Information and Communications Officer
RAIC's National Secretariat
+232 88 283632 / +232 78 231949
