FOIA and Privatization of Government - Article Example

 If the private corporations are using the public funds, they should be subjected to FOIA so that their activities can be observed. The funds are contributed by the citizen for the provision of specific services and performance of given functions by the federal government. The argument against is that the subjection may result to rigidity in the functioning of the institutions, and there might be situations of covering up fraud acts by the management. The degree of submission should be up to the extent on which the finances are provided and utilized (Rogers, 2005).

There should a difference in the way of privatizing the traditional governmental services and the private corporation using public funding for non-traditional services because the two are very distinct in the manner of disseminating their duties. The traditional government needs more strict rules in guiding against the events of FWAC because their services affect the entire public and a small flaw in them could lead to the collapse of the whole institution. On the other hand, the private corporations require observance as well but to a smaller extend basing on the nature of the population they serve (Rogers, 2005).

The examples of FWAC in private corporations and nonprofit corporations that were not subjected to FOIA, but may have been prevented by FOIA include misappropriation of funds by the management, tax evasion, stealing the properties of the firms. Also, giving and taking of bribes, the incorrect use of resources by wasting them and offering favors to friend and family members. All these FWAC have been prevented by the available of checks by the FOIA board that has scared those in charge from practicing such vices (Rogers, 2005).

The incapacity of the FOIA legislation to force the private corporation to provide information when needed the contracting government agency can mitigate this by setting in the contract the terms that the information regarding the use of public funds should be disclosed to the public. The condition will enable the provision of data concerning the use of the public funds. The private corporations need the support of the government and, therefore, they will be forced to comply and provide the information otherwise they will not have such chances (Nestor, 2006).

The issue of concern based on the experience is the style of provision of the information needed by the public by the FOIA. The fee charged should be reviewed from the set minimum of 15 dollars to as low as 7 dollars. The time taken to receive a respond from the FOIA of 20 days is a long time that needs to be reduced to one week to enable fast access of information by the public. Also, the website should be specified on the type of information available on it so that the public wastes no time looking for information that has been restricted (Nestor, 2006).

The implication of such policies will go a long way in ensuring that the privatization of public services does not turn the FOIA useless because, the contracts set will enable the FOIA to inspect the records of the private corporations providing the services (Nestor, 2006). References.Nestor M. D. (2006). Relational Contracts in the Privatization of Social Welfare: The Case of Housing24 YALE L. &POL'Y REV. 263Rogers, D. (2005). From our Own Correspondent … the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) in Context: FoIA, Privacy and Public Records.

Legal Information Management, 5(02), 113-138.