Electoral Commission gets transparency award
By Margaret Mtonga
Tue 24 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT
THE Ministry of Health (MoH) is the most secretive public institution
in terms of giving out information, a survey report of the Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia has revealed.
The report also revealed that the Electoral Commission of Zambia
(ECZ), which was presented the Golden Key Award, as the most
transparent organisation out of the five public institutions surveyed
while the Ministry of Health received the Golden Padlock Award.
"We carried out a survey in five public institutions. The Zambia
Revenue Authority, Zambia Public Procurement Authority, Citizens
Economic Empowerment Commission, Ministry of Health and the Electoral
Commission of Zambia," said MISA Zambia vice-chairperson Felistus
Chipako during the launch of the report.
Chipako said the right to information was not merely a call for the
government records, but a call for transparency and accountability in
the government process.
"Zambia has no access to information law and as such citizens cannot
easily access information in the hands of government and public
institutions. In this research, MISA sought to establish which public
institutions in Zambia had the most or least efficiently organised
provision of public information,"Chipako said.
She said the right to information must be guaranteed by law and in
accordance with international principles and best practicex.
"An access to information law guarantees every citizen the right to
access information and the duty on the part of government to make
information available," she said.
Chipako said the research revealed non-transparent and overly
secretive public institutions in Zambia, making it almost impossible
for citizens to exercise their rights to information.
"Zambia urgently requires an access to information law not only to
counter a culture of secrecy but to put an obligation on government to
provide information in accordance with the law, "she said. "The two
institutions have since been given the Golden Padlock and Golden Key
Awards respectively."
Chipako said MISA hoped that the report would quicken the legislation
process on access to information that had failed to take off since
2002.
"MISA hopes too that this report will encourage public discourse,
after all access to information is a fundamental right for citizens
and not just the media," said Chipako.
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