Political Index Feature

The bumpy road towards ATI: whose reality counts?

 

The Access to Information (ATI) Bill has in the recent weeks ignited a fierce debate characterised by finger pointing and ultimatum more, specially when it dawned upon the proponents of the bill that government was not going to table it during the recent sitting of Parliament.

Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi- Chapter, which has over the years championed the tabling of the bill is accusing the government of developing cold feet over the bill while on the other hand, government insists that it needs enough time to scrunitise the bill. Joining the fray are various civil society organisations and the opposition, who have blatantly accused government of being afraid to pass the ATI Bill because, according to them, it has so many skeletons in the cupboard, which if brought in the limelight, would put it in disrepute. As expected, development partners have added their voice to the discourse by attaching ATI Bill to aid.

Journalists carrying placards with, among others, calls for passing of the ATI Bill on World Press Freedom Day
Journalists carrying placards with, among others, calls for passing of the ATI Bill on World Press Freedom Day

If the ATI Bill was tabled and later on assented to by the President, Malawi would have become the fifth southern African country to adopt an access to information law, joining 15 countries on the continent that have specifically passed a law guaranteeing the rights to access to information.

Looking at the bill from a layperson point of view, one cannot dispute the fact that this is one of the finest documents that Malawi has ever had. The bill, once passed into an Act, is going to promote transparency and accountability of public officers and officials of other information holders, increase participatory democracy and development, promote good governance, combat corruption and facilitate efficiency in public services and businesses and provide matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

Considering the extent to which this piece of legislation would guarantee people’s freedom to access information once passed into law, I am sure, every Malawian would have loved if this piece of legislation were passed into law yesterday.

Whether government has taken too long or not to pass it into law is beyond the scope of this discussion, suffice it to say that the bill is suffering from the very same problem it intends to serve-lack of proper information from either side for efficient decision making a situation which is creating that aura of mistrust and uncertainty. A critical examination of the current debate gives an impression that the public relations machinery that is being engaged on both sides has not been effective to the extent that it has created information lapses and at the same time misinformation with regard to some aspects that the bill is supposed to address. The problem with misinformation is that it can sometimes create unnecessary fears.

Firstly, utterances from some proponents of the bill that government does not want to have the bill passed into law because it will expose some secrets, reveals some lapses with regard to civic education on what exactly the bill is all about. Unfortunately, failure by government’s public relations machinery to articulate its position on ATI Bill has fueled these speculations.

On the other hand, historically, government and media have not enjoyed that cordial relationship which-if truth be told-has to a certain extent created some potholes on the road towards the bill. Probably, government thinks that media has a hidden motive for promoting this bill.

Misa has insisted that the bill is there to benefit all Malawians and that it is only championing its passing, an assertion which I believe must have been taken by the government with a pinch of salt. Again this also requires some good public relations so that government should appreciate that media and government are partners in development.

But regardless of whoever is championing it, Malawians need ATI because in this modern era, any public institution might want to hide information, but people would still get it anyway, unfortunately from the less reliable sources. With the emergence of social media, there is a lot of information flying all over, some of which is based on rumours and misinformation.

Based on best practices elsewhere, it cannot be disputed that ATI has many merits which are more beneficial to government than the media, which is promoting it. In August, 2005, then as Misa chairperson, I had a privilege to travel with a delegation of members of Parliament to South Africa on a bench-marking tour to learn how the country was reaping from the fruits of having ATI.

South Africa has what is called the Public Access to Information Act (PAIA) which was passed in 2000. PAIA aims to give effect to the constitutional right of access to any information held by the State and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights and to provide for matters connected therewith.

The delegation visited a good number of institutions and noted that all these public institutions had manuals outlining policies, procedures, operating instructions and the necessary records in line with PIAI. As a result, most public institutions have ended up becoming International Organisation for Standardisation Organisation (ISO) 9001 compliant. By accepting to become ISO 9001 compliant it means such institutions have committed themselves to consistently providing services/products that meet customer satisfaction or requirements and that they have accepted to enhance customer satisfaction through continual improvement.

According to ISO 9001 Survey (2008) by December, that year, there were 3 792 organisations which were ISO 9001: 2000/2008 compliant. Most of the institutions visited had created, kept, organised, maintained, preserved and were able to provide such information, documents or records, to those requiring them. In the end, such systems promote transparency and accountability in the way business is conducted because every South African is aware of the procedures one has to undergo in order to access a particular service or procedure, a situation that would ultimately promote efficiency and good governance and at the same time curb corrupt practices. This is a very important aspect that should not be overlooked when conducting civic education on ATI.

Basically, all that the ATI bill in Malawi is trying to address is to ensure that there is documentation of procedures in all public institutions and how such information is stored for easy access and verification. And where possible, specify exclusions and the reasons thereof. For instance, if one wants to get a mining licence, what is involved? If one applies for a tender and in the end you are now awarded that tender, with ATI, one is able to go to those institutions to ask for records on how that tender was rewarded. The list is endless.

Therefore, passing ATI Bill is just like government adopting quality management systems as a strategic decision that guarantees its commitment to consistently provide services or products that would meet the satisfaction of Malawians. In all fairness, an ideal society should be able to create, keep, organise, maintain, preserve and provide information, documents or records.

This is what ATI intends to promote. Government needs this, more especially at this time when it is championing Public Service Reforms, which among others aim to promote efficiency in the way government business is conducted. So, why not take the ATI as part of the reforms?

Passing the bill may not be a problem, but for it to be effective there is need for political will. Now that government has set March 31 2016 as the deadline for passing the bill, what is needed is to come up with a road map. This road map should be discussed with all stakeholders, including development partners such as European Union.

Another critical aspect in the road map is civic education on what exactly this bill is all about. Public institutions too have to start putting in place measures that would ensure free flow of information. Above all, let us employ the rules of engagement in a diplomatic way. Donor aid threats and ultimatums would not solve matters. n

 

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