While Kenya has made significant steps in terms of enabling the public to access information from government institutions, most African governments are still steeped in official secrecy, especially in southern Africa.The latest report by the the Namibia-based Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), reveal that most African governments have a culture of secrecy and have no regard for the release of the information for public use. For as long as the secrecy and anti-access to information laws remain in the statute books, African governments knack for secrecy remains unchallenged. The biggest culprit is the Official Secrets Act, the colonial relic that is found in the statutes of most African countries. One common denominator is that most African governments are keen to block the public from accessing official information under the guise of the threat the national security.

 

In Swaziland for instance, the idea that one needed an appointment to seek and get information is considered bizarre and disturbing. Another unusual example is the parliament of Mozambique, considered the most secretive in the country where citizens never get to know which laws have been passed. These are going on contrary to Article 19 of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights states that “Every person has the right to information and that public bodies hold information not for themselves but as custodians of the public good and everyone has the right to access it”. Mareike Le Pelley, who works with Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Namibia, argued that access to information is often lumped together with the freedom of information and that of the media. But access to information goes further to include public records, minutes about public office, budget, right to information about public bodies and what information they have about the citizens.

“Access to information about public life, it makes governments more transparent and accountable, and enables the public to access services better like health, water and the rest. The right to information is not merely access to government records but a call for transparency and accountability in the governance process,” she said.

Old habits

Ms Le Pelley argued that reasons for refusal are not provided, the inquirer is left to guess whether it is secrecy or just the incompetence of the public officials.

The MISA study covered most of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, but the results reveal a lot of similarities across the continent.

In Kenya, the Official Secrets Act has been significantly weakened by the new constitution, which provides a lot of latitude for freedom of speech, freedom of the media and the right of the citizens to access public information under the trustee of government bodies.

Before, the government used to hide behind the threat to national security to deny citizens information. It is now upon the government to move to court and the burden of proof is upon the government to prove to the court that the information the citizen is seeking is a threat to national security.

Secondly, ministers used to take the oath of allegiance and the oath of secrecy. In the new constitution, the oath of secrecy has been done away with.
But still, old habits die hard and civil servants still find it hard to release information without looking over their shoulders. Kenya’s major problem, prior to the new constitution, has been the many commissions of inquiry whose findings are never made public.

With the influence from other East African Community (EAC)partners, Tanzania, which is also a member of SADC, appears to be the leading in terms of constitutional provisions for access to information.

Article 18 (1) of the constitution states that “Every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and to seek, receive and impart or disseminate information and ides through the media regardless of the national frontiers and also has the right to freedom from interference with his communications”.

However, the government is yet to pass the proposed Right to Information Bill, 2007. Research revealed that the absence of  legal basis for access to information makes it difficult for citizens and the media to retrieve information. In addition, it is rather problematic for citizens or the media to challenge decisions to withhold information.

No statutory right

Yet, Tanzania’s use of modern information technology is one of the leading in the SADC region. The Tanzanian Revenue Authority and Ministry of Water and Irrigation websites scored high in the survey for their informative value.

According to the MISA report, Botswana was known for her consolidated democracy even at a time most of African state were under dictatorships. But things changed in 1990s when countries like South Africa and Namibia gained independence and as new liberal democracies emerged around the continent.

Botswana is still stuck in the “good olden days”. When African countries agreed on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Botswana declined to be reviewed on account that her governance was okay.

Botswana is among the countries that are yet to sign the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, whose many objective include access to information. The civil society has been pushing for the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act since 2007, but the government insists it is not a priority.

While the country rates high in the region for utilising ICT to provide information to the public, its handling of physical information request is dismal and a threat to people’s right to know. Only 5.1 per cent of the population have access to the internet, thus 95 percent must use other means to access the information they need from government and public institutions.

In Lesotho, the constitution itself has no provisions for access to information. The Access and Receipt of Information Bill of 2000, is yet to become law. The Official Secrets Act of 1967 encourage culture of secrecy, especially in the civil service. Thus, Lesotho is the most secretive in the entire southern African region.

In Malawi, the constitution guaranteed citizens access to information held by the government, but the country has been waiting for the passage of the Access to Information Act that would make this right practical.

Opaque institutions

Secondly, internet penetration in Malawi is one of of the lowest in the region, at 1 percent. This effectively means that 99 percent of Malawians must look elsewhere to access the information they seek, either through written request or voluntary disclosure by public institutions.

While the Mozambique constitution on 2004 states that all citizens have the right to freedom of expression and the right to information, there is no statutory regime on the right to information.

The most disturbing is that the National Assembly is the most secretive and not-transparent institution in the country. Critics have been question the rationale of passing laws is citizens never know of them, read or abide by them in exercising their rights.

In Namibia, there no access to information law. With no obligation to disclose information, government operations remain a mystery and shrouded in secrecy. A draft communication policy of 2007 that explicitly called for a new law as well as a constitutional right to information, has not been revisited three years down the line.

The national constitution of Swaziland guarantees citizens the right to know and that individuals have have the freedom to receive ideas and information without interference. But that is just on paper because the Monarch is the second most secretive in southern Africa, after Lesotho.

For instance, the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA), is one of the most opaque institutions and does not act as the one stop shop for information and statistics regarding the scourge.

However, Zambia appears to be more progressive in the SADC region. The constitution provides a wide latitude in the right to information. Citizens can demand the establishment of a tribunal to investigate a matter of which the findings are made public. Zambian citizens, unlike many in the SADC region, attend parliamentary sessions to listen to proceedings. However, the government will always find ways of hiding what it does not want the public to access.

 

-May 19, 2011 by Fred Oluoch

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Source: www.africareview.com/Special+Reports/-/979182/1165612/-/view/printVersion/-/65p6q8z/-/index.html (accessed on 20.05.11)