The Appellant has the right to have access to ‘noting on the file’ pertaining to the letter issued by the AIG (HQ) _ Finance regarding alleged irregularities in the reward list, as the Awards list has already been finalised to know that the alleged irregularities, if any, have been addressed.
The disclosure of ‘minutes of meetings’ and ‘noting on the file’ during the deliberative process is protected to ensure that outside influence does not create hindrances in the deliberative process.
However, once a public body has taken a final decision, as is the case in the instant appeal, noting on the files and minutes of the meetings cannot be treated as excluded records.
‘Noting on the file’ and ‘minutes of the meeting’, once final decision has been taken, reflect the quality of input by different officers which become basis for the final decision.