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In an ideal situation, information is supposed to be accessed by everyone. This will promote openness in government transactions hence curb corruption and fraud. Information is a right!

ACCESS TO INFORMATION: WHO BENEFITS?

Just the mention of the access to information bill, and many people think of a bill that has been drafted for the journalists so that they should easily get information.
This misconception for the enactment of the bill has been championed by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter. But this is not true. The bill is there to benefit all citizens of the country.
The Constitution which was adopted in 1994 provided the right to access to information by everyone. However, the enjoyment of this right has not been fully realised because it is dependent on the law that has just been drafted now.
Section 37 states: “Subject to an Act of Parliament, every person shall have the right to access all information held by the state or any of its organs at any level of government in so far as such information is required for the exercise of his rights.” Information in this case includes all records held by a public body, regardless of how the information is stored, its sources, when it was produced or whether it is classified or not.
However, it can be said that without the access to information bill, this part of the Constitution has remained suspended and consequently has affected the enjoyment of other rights.

Information as a Right
Information is a basic right and basic need for all people. Only with information can citizens fully participate in a democracy and actively exercise their human rights. Moreover, in young democracies like Malawi, information is the breast milk that will see them grow into healthy adults, it is the oxygen they have to breathe to live.
Moreover, because it enhances knowledge, information is fundamental to the empowerment of the poor and disadvantaged in society and provides them with an opportunity to fulfil their human aspirations.
Enjoyment of other rights which are also stipulated in the Constitution such as the rights to vote, education, etc, are dependent on access to information.
Without access to information legislation, there has not been a free flow of information, especially from government officers. In cases where information has been made available, it has been scarce and not well packaged which has rendered its use difficult. There has also been protracted debate on what type of public information can be released or not. Many public officers have refused to give information under the guise that it is classified and releasing it might jeopardise the security of the state or an infringement of right to privacy of the subjects involved.
So this law comes in to define the scope of public information of which, the public has the right to access. It shall also place an obligation on government agencies to keep proper records and employ information officers who shall be responsible for handling information requests. It has been experienced in some cases that some bosses have left requests for information to be handled by secretaries whose competency to do so is not certain.
In the case of conflicts, the Act shall establish a Public Information Commission to settle any disputes arising and impose penalties on public officers who refuse to give information.
The information officers shall not deal with media requests, but with researchers, development planners, academics, organisations and anyone else who might need information from a government agency. This broadens the base for the beneficiaries of the access to information law.
Free flow of information in the country shall enhance the building of an informed citizenry and thereby strengthen our democratic structures. Without access to information, no one can make an informed decision. The bill aims to create an environment in which citizens are empowered to claim information and access it. The media just comes in as a secondary beneficiary because of its role of informing and educating the public. The assumption is that if the media have access to information it will be passed on to the citizens so that they can make informed decisions.

Information for All
In an ideal situation, information is supposed to be accessed by everyone. This will promote openness in government transactions hence curb corruption and fraud. Over 50 countries in the world have access to information legislation but in Southern Africa it is only South Africa and Zimbabwe that have such laws. However, the law in Zimbabwe is not a good example as it has been used to muzzle and oppress the media and curtail citizen’s right to free speech rather than to promote flow of information. Many countries that have been ranked as less corrupt by the Transparency International’s corruption index have working access to information legislation laws while the worst corrupt do not have such legislation. Having such legislation will expose shady malpractices that promote corruption.
To support the fighting of corruption, the bill provides for the protection of whistleblowers who reveal wrongdoings in public institutions.
Access to information does not only imply public bodies responding to requests for information, but also that they publish and disseminate documents of significant public interest. An example is the Privatisation Commission. Under this draft law, the commission was supposed to be advertising in the media of national circulation of how each and every privatisation transaction has been concluded, how the buyers were identified and other relevant information. The commission is also supposed to keep complete records for a period of not less than ten years in case they will be needed in future. For example, how has government used proceeds from privatisation of over 30 companies? To facilitate record keeping the bill places an obligation on justice minister to set standards for their maintenance from time to time.
Disclosure of information by government departments is essential for good governance. If people know what their elected leaders are doing, it will be simple to assess them on their actions and their promises during elections.
Access to information is also crucial to the realisation of most development plans. Studies have shown that many development projects have failed in the past because the flow of information was from top to bottom and most plans were designed in a closed circuit. Now experts recommend two way communications. This involves government giving more information to the people empowering them to make informed decisions.

Sangwani Mwafulirwa
*Advocacy Officer for the National Media Institute of Southern Africa

STATEMENT OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF MALAWI (ECM) ON THE CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION IN MALAWI We, the Catholic Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, would like to bring to the attention of the politicians, members of parliament and people of good will, our observations and concerns over the current political and social situation with specific reference to the reinstated Section 65 of our Republican Constitution, and our expectations on the debt cancellation. We acknowledge the interpretation and validation of Section 65 by the Supreme Court of Malawi. The ruling promotes and consolidates the respect for the rule of law and the spirit of constitutionalism that are among the key pillars of good governance. This further cements the noble value of separation of powers as implied in the independence of the Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive arms of government. We believe that this is a positive development in line with what we, Bishops, proposed in our vision of democracy contained in our Pastoral Letter of 1992 “Living Our Faith”. However, reflecting on the aftermath of the ruling by the Supreme Court of Malawi, we are concerned with the mixed reactions and debate that are taking place in political and media circles. Uncertainty, fear of the future and tension, as a result, have engulfed our Mother Malawi. Issues like the calling for by-elections, the resignation of the State President, impeachment of the President and his vice, the impeachment of the Speaker of Parliament, if implemented, will wipe out all the gains that have been realized through our maturing democracy. Last year (2006), Malawi reached the HIPC completion point that led to cancellation of its foreign debt by its multilateral donors. The gains from debt cancellation can not be ignored. We extend our thanks and appreciation to all those who advocated and campaigned for debt cancellation of Malawi and other poor countries. We also thank the multilateral donor community for paying heed to the many campaigns here and abroad. The above stated calls will derail all arms of government from their development agenda and adversely affect the gains achieved by the debt cancellation and the economy of our country. On the other hand, the Legislature and the Executive will shift their focus from economic and developmental policies to matters of politicking and survival to the detriment of the poor masses. With this uncertainty and tension, it will be very difficult to woo foreign investors to come to Malawi, thereby denying access to employment of the unemployed. The shift in focus of the Executive and Legislature from the developmental agenda will deny the ordinary Malawian the benefits from the economic gains realized from the debt cancellation. Realizing that when elephants fight, it is the grass on the ground that suffers, we want to reiterate that the tension and the uncertainty arising from this scenario would lead to the suffering of all Malawians who remain the primary right holders for all development and economic policies as in any democratic country. We do appreciate that following the ruling of the Supreme Court, the political parties are in their right in submitting their petitions to the Speaker of Parliament and we understand the initial processes taken by the Speaker in writing the allegedly affected MPs individually. We acknowledge all this to be in line with principles of natural justice. Keeping in mind the moral responsibility of all parties to build up better conditions of living and promote the common good of all citizens, we propose the following questions for reflection: a) Should we all lose the gains from debt cancellation by financing the impeachment processes or by-elections at the expense of pro-poor expenditure areas like education, health, food security and mitigation of HIV/AIDS? b) Should we not wait to allow sobriety to rule in our hearts rather than jeopardize the development agenda that wants to promote sustainable livelihoods of the poor? c) Should we, in determining the future of the nation, leave all citizens of Malawi aside or rather give the Malawians the possibility to speak for themselves in the right way and at the right time? Keeping in mind the mission entrusted to us as Shepherds of the Lord’s flock, we call upon all the politicians, religious and traditional leaders and all people of good will, to seriously reflect and consider the questions above. We encourage the spirit of dialogue that has sustained our young democracy to this day. We also call upon our fellow Malawians to exercise our responsibility as we face our present day circumstances. We share these concerns, basing ourselves on the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he has anointed me, To preach good news to the poor… To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. (Lk. 4:18-19)