Zambia’s recent passage of the Access to Information (ATI) bill stands as a significant leap towards fostering transparency and accountability within governance. Yet, beneath this positive stride, critical concerns emerge that warrant immediate attention. Foremost among these is the assignment of oversight to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for the ATIs execution. However, the HRC faces inherent challenges,notably resource constraints, which could impede its effective enforcement of this pivotal role.
Insufficient funding and staffing shortages might compromise the commission's capacity to robustly implement the ATI,posing a concern for its efficacy.
The language within Section 23(2)(a) of the bill, specifically addressing third-party consent, raises alarm about inadvertent consent instances, where individuals might unknowingly grant consent, such as when signing contracts without a comprehensive understanding of implications. To fortify this, a rephrasing emphasizing informed consent becomes imperative to ensure individuals fully comprehend the consequences of their actions.
Crucially, harmonizing the ATI bill with the Data Protection Act assumes paramount significance. This synchronization acts as a shield against potential misuse of personal information obtained through the ATI process. Ensuring coherence between these laws is essential to avoid contradictions and safeguard citizens privacy rights effectively. Granting prosecutorial powers to the HRC emerges as an indispensable step for the ATIs effective enforcement. Presently lacking these powers, empowering the HRC to prosecute would significantly enhance its ability to ensure compliance and address violations, thereby strengthening the bills implementation.
I hold a view that as compared to using the same model with south Africa, we would have given the oversight institution role to parliament and allow parliament to be an oversight institution for the implementation of the Act, this is through an assigned parliamentary officer.
Furthermore, an independent officer could be appointed by the legislature or parliament. The role of the officer would be to run an open desk to investigate complaints from individuals, against government agencies or public institutions. They must be empowered with their team to have powers to receive complaints, mediate disputes, ensure compliance with the law, work with the judiciary to facilitate for prosecution and educate the public about their rights regarding access to information. Instituting a comprehensive review and rigorous enforcement strategy for the bill is imperative, drawing from past challenges during political transitions. Addressing ambiguities and potential loopholes becomes a proactive measure to prevent selective enforcement or misuse of the Act.
The officer and the team at parliament must run an open-door policy of involving civil society organizations,legal bodies, and educational institutions, to allow them to amplify the bill's actualization through submissions for improvement. Also, facilitate for easy phone access to the public for submissions on challenges and guidance on the individual rights to information.
The UPND government commitment to enacting the bill into law is commendable. However, it is imperative to engage in deliberations and revisions to address concerns before enactment. This meticulous approach fortifies the laws efficacy, ensuring it actively serves its core purpose of promoting transparency and accountability in Zambias governance landscape.
Misheck Kakonde is a legal scholar and comparative politics specialist (MA). Email: [email protected]
It’s going to help government to keep the public sector relatively cleaner than before. Before a commencement order of the Access to Information Act is signed, all public sector institutions will need preparation on how the law will affect their various mandates to keep information that they generate in the course of their operations confidential on the one hand and the public’s right to information on the other.
Will a citizen ask for assets of president, MPs, Judges, councillors, PS, procurement officers?
Why not? Election Commission will provide the info on president.