New study examines the right to know

SEVENTY FIVE per cent of Namibia’s lawmakers have a vague or incorrect understanding about freedom of information, assuming that the Namibian Constitution covered that right.

All of the Members of Parliament interviewed for a study on access to information law in Namibia, also gave incorrect definitions of freedom of information. Worse still, only 25 per cent of journalists in the country had the correct understanding about the right to information.”It is equally dangerous if journalists are confused about their right to information,” said Diana Tseng, an intern at the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) who did the study.She said 70 per cent of the lawmakers actually thought Namibia had freedom of information legislation in place when in fact a draft bill does not exist.They confused access to information with freedom of expression, which is covered by Article 21 of the Namibian Constitution.Tseng said two thirds of those interviewed maintained that there was no right to know, for example the sexual orientation of officials, unless, for example, it was “established that a Minister who issues homophobic statements is having a homosexual relationship”.”Nearly 15 per cent thought there was a right to look inside the First Lady’s closet to see how many shoes she owned,” Tseng said.The study revealed that there was widespread confusion and ignorance about access to information in Namibia – even to the extent of legal drafters not knowing the difference between access to information and freedom of expression.Sampa Kangwa-Wilkie, who works with access to information at Misa, said freedom of expression was incomplete without the right to information.”How can you judge something when you don’t have the right information?” she said.Tseng said that the fact that journalists do not understand the scope of – or know how to – exercise their right to access information, was “menacing”.”It is equally problematic that those in Government, MPs and drafters, believe freedom of information already exists in the freedom of expression provisions of Namibia’s Constitution,” she said.She added that thenlimited understanding by both politicians and civil servants was “erroneous and dangerous”.”How is it that Namibia has ratified and adopted the African Commission on Human and People Rights (ACHPR) principles of freedom of information, yet officials have no sense of what this right represents,” she said.She argued that without freedom of information legislation, the rule of law, transparency and democracy were all crippled by political and bureaucratic discretion.”There is nothing to limit the government’s control over information and access, and nothing to hold officials accountable to the public,” Tseng said in her findings.She called on lobbyists such as Misa to clear the nebulous confusion.The campaigns must be rooted in issues that affect the daily lives and survival of Namibians such as the shortage of HIV medication for rural people and lack of textbooks in schools.Worse still, only 25 per cent of journalists in the country had the correct understanding about the right to information.”It is equally dangerous if journalists are confused about their right to information,” said Diana Tseng, an intern at the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) who did the study.She said 70 per cent of the lawmakers actually thought Namibia had freedom of information legislation in place when in fact a draft bill does not exist.They confused access to information with freedom of expression, which is covered by Article 21 of the Namibian Constitution.Tseng said two thirds of those interviewed maintained that there was no right to know, for example the sexual orientation of officials, unless, for example, it was “established that a Minister who issues homophobic statements is having a homosexual relationship”.”Nearly 15 per cent thought there was a right to look inside the First Lady’s closet to see how many shoes she owned,” Tseng said.The study revealed that there was widespread confusion and ignorance about access to information in Namibia – even to the extent of legal drafters not knowing the difference between access to information and freedom of expression.Sampa Kangwa-Wilkie, who works with access to information at Misa, said freedom of expression was incomplete without the right to information.”How can you judge something when you don’t have the right information?” she said.Tseng said that the fact that journalists do not understand the scope of – or know how to – exercise their right to access information, was “menacing”.”It is equally problematic that those in Government, MPs and drafters, believe freedom of information already exists in the freedom of expression provisions of Namibia’s Constitution,” she said.She added that thenlimited understanding by both politicians and civil servants was “erroneous and dangerous”.”How is it that Namibia has ratified and adopted the African Commission on Human and People Rights (ACHPR) principles of freedom of information, yet officials have no sense of what this right represents,” she said.She argued that without freedom of information legislation, the rule of law, transparency and democracy were all crippled by political and bureaucratic discretion.”There is nothing to limit the government’s control over information and access, and nothing to hold officials accountable to the public,” Tseng said in her findings.She called on lobbyists such as Misa to clear the nebulous confusion.The campaigns must be rooted in issues that affect the daily lives and survival of Namibians such as the shortage of HIV medication for rural people and lack of textbooks in schools.