By Alpha Abu
After two days of exhaustive work, Parliament’s Legislative Committee has completed its review of the cybercrime bill. The process which took place at the Golden Tulip hotel in Freetown from the 4 to 5 May 2021 saw the Parliamentarians, cyber security and ICT experts, Ministry of Information and Communication officials and representatives of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) shared their views on the document that has generated a lot of debate since the government’s proposed enactment of cybercrime laws, with some suspicious that it would curtail freedom of speech.
The legal aspects of mutual extradition treaties, the protection of personal privacy and data were thoroughly debated as well as the composition of the proposed Cyber Security Council.
The Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swarray said the views of the people were sought in a nationwide consultative process. He stated that the bill reflects the collective aspirations of Sierra Leoneans and assured the full protection of the fundamental human rights of citizens. He said people in the media were initially apprehensive that the bill if enacted would stifle freedom of speech but emphasised that the laws will stand the test of time. Swarray affirmed that due consideration was applied on all the benchmarks related to global best practice in tackling cybercrime.
He thanked the Bar Association, SLAJ, Human Rights Commission and all other groups that participated in the process.
The Chairman of the Legislative Committee, Marray Conteh said the bill despite the initial hue and cry has been proven to be very necessary in protecting human rights and preventing anarchy. He said cybercrime laws would serve as a tool for development and believed the whole venture was worth taking.
The fifteen -member Cyber Security Council to be set up will be headed by the Vice President and will include heads of state security outfits, the Minister of Information and Communication, Central Bank Governor, the Foreign Affairs Minister, a representative from the Bar Association, Cyber Security Coordinator as well as the Minister of Finance and the Director General of the Financial Intelligence Unit. The Director General in the Ministry of Information and Communication will serve as secretary to the Council that will sit on a quarterly basis.
The cybercrime bill attracted a lot of apprehension in the beginning especially from some members of Parliament and the Bar Association which prompted the Speaker to send it to the Legislative Committee, after second reading. Those fears and concerns led to sustained engagements by the Ministry of Information and Communication targeting the Parliamentarians, legal practitioners and SLAJ, and it seemed the efforts have paid off. The bill now goes into the Well of Parliament for a third and final reading before enactment. But Sierra Leone has to join the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, after the bill is approved, to be able to activate mutual cooperation agreements with other countries around the world in addressing internet criminality.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online 07/05/21
