President Adama Barrow signed the right to information law on Wednesday and then declared he delivered on a campaign pledge.
Gambians particularly members of the media have been pushing for a law that would make it compulsory for public officials to make information accessible to citizens when they want it.
Parliament last month passed the law after years of campaign by civil society advocates.
The president said on Wednesday: “Today, I delivered on a campaign pledge. The Right to Information Bill was signed into law. My Government is devoted to transparency and accountability, and I believe that every citizen has the right to information.”
The Civil Society Coalition on Access to Information in a statement on Wednesday commended President Barrow for signing into law the Access to Information (ATI) Bill.
“The CSO Coalition applauds Barrow for signing the bill, a fulfillment of his campaign promise and a demonstration of his political will and commitment to transparency and accountability.
“The signing of the Bill is a climax of a five-year long process in which various stakeholders led by the Gambia Press Union through the CSO Coalition on ATI campaigned for legislation on access to information.
“The signing of ATI Bill 2021 into law makes it the first time in the history of The Gambia for right of access to information to be legally recognized as a human right.
“The law is aimed at proactive and organised dissemination of public records and information to the people,” a statement said.
