Misa welcomes transparency on corruption

THE Namibian chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa Namibia) has welcomed the Government’s decision to make public the reports of various presidential commissions of enquiry.

“This is long overdue and would pave the way for public scrutiny and debate on how public resources are administered. In fact, it is an anomaly that commissions of inquiry funded with public funds should be withheld from the public without reasonable explanation,” Misa Namibia’s National Director Mathew Haikali said in a statement.He expressed the hope that the Government would act speedily in releasing the reports to the public, as some of them date back as far as 1992.Misa Namibia emphasised that access to information allowed greater participation by citizens in the fight against corruption.The Namibian reported on Monday that the findings of various presidential commissions of enquiry would be made public soon.The announcement was made by the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Albert Kawana, at the launch of an anti-corruption song contest on Friday.Misa Namibia called on the Office of the President to make public all recommendations by all presidential commissions of enquiry.”Access to information lies at the heart of the fight against corruption and poor governance relies on secrecy to thrive.At this point, Misa Namibia calls on the general public to be vigilant and to claim their constitutionally guaranteed rights,” Haikali said.Whilst Article 21 of the Namibian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, Misa Namibia said it believed that the right to information was the cornerstone of all freedoms – “in effect, one cannot fully enjoy or exercise the right to vote, self-determination or to a clean and healthy environment or make informed choices without the information that would make those rights or choices worthwhile.”The enjoyment of the other rights and the choices to be made as to the effective means and ways of doing so will inherently depend on the availability of information,” the media rights organisation said.In fact, it is an anomaly that commissions of inquiry funded with public funds should be withheld from the public without reasonable explanation,” Misa Namibia’s National Director Mathew Haikali said in a statement.He expressed the hope that the Government would act speedily in releasing the reports to the public, as some of them date back as far as 1992.Misa Namibia emphasised that access to information allowed greater participation by citizens in the fight against corruption.The Namibian reported on Monday that the findings of various presidential commissions of enquiry would be made public soon.The announcement was made by the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Albert Kawana, at the launch of an anti-corruption song contest on Friday.Misa Namibia called on the Office of the President to make public all recommendations by all presidential commissions of enquiry.”Access to information lies at the heart of the fight against corruption and poor governance relies on secrecy to thrive.At this point, Misa Namibia calls on the general public to be vigilant and to claim their constitutionally guaranteed rights,” Haikali said.Whilst Article 21 of the Namibian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, Misa Namibia said it believed that the right to information was the cornerstone of all freedoms – “in effect, one cannot fully enjoy or exercise the right to vote, self-determination or to a clean and healthy environment or make informed choices without the information that would make those rights or choices worthwhile.”The enjoyment of the other rights and the choices to be made as to the effective means and ways of doing so will inherently depend on the availability of information,” the media rights organisation said.