Zambia Access to Information Bill

A day or two ago, the Zambian government announced that the Access to Information Bill (ATI) was back in Parliament for consideration.

Depending on who one follows on the socials, one gets to learn that this Bill has long been awaited! Apparently, many a politician in Zambia have used it as part of their campaign strategy.

Hearing all this made me wonder:

1. Which section of the electorate have politicians in Zambia been targeting when using the envisaged ATI Bill as a campaign strategy?

2. What percentage of this targeted section of society makes up the electorate?

From those two little questions, my mind went to the fact that this is 2023. The place I call my adopted home has had the Bill enacted for the last 23 years!! Now, some may take offence at the comparison... but truly we all need to benchmark "things" against something that is either more successful or more progressive than the variable under consideration. Anyway, I digress. Fact is, Zambia is at least 23 years behind, as far as the Access to Information Act is concerned. This bugged me!

Then I turned to my copy of a guide to the UK's Freedom of Information Act 2000, which has been sitting on the shelf for the last three years. Today I dug it out and, just a skim through the preface, the "bug" feeling that was beginning to build was squashed out!

According to the preface, it took "several decades of pressure for a statutory right of information in the United Kingdom," to culminate into the Freedom of Information Act 2000. S.e.v.e.r.a.l. decades!! I gotta cut Zambia some slack!

The other thing I noted just from the preface is how human behaviour is generally the same. The right of information was something that was politicised in those 'several decades of advocating for the right to freedom of information.' My copy of the guide says, "In 1997, the new Labour government entered power, having promised a Freedom of Information Act." That's it! I am really cutting Zambia some slack!

Now that I have begun this benchmarking process, what next?

Well, now I keep an eye and an ear out for what those who are better placed and well informed have to say. I am grateful for great minds such as that of the Zambian Human Rights Commissioner - Ms Laura Miti.

Laura and her team have already started providing summary outlines of their findings of the Zambia Access to Information Bill, which is now back in Parliament.

My simple questions with regard to the bill would be:

1. Who does the Bill affect?

2. What would be a fair balance in terms of acceptable exemptions?

I mentioned earlier that I had to go and dig up my Freedom of Information Act guide book. Fact is, I very rarely have to reference this Act in my job...so I am not particularly familiar with it. But having had a little experience from a safe distance, I know that operationalizing the Act is a potential nightmare without some exemptions. Issues of "opening the flood gates of requests."

Further, again from a safe distance, I know that this UK Information Act applies only to public sectors ( this needs some caveating, particularly when we think of the intersection between private and public sector collaboration). This intersection is worth thinking about - from the Zambia perspective.

Let's learn together! This too, is important!