By Toby McIntosh
The ruling Botswana Democratic Party has postponed parliamentary consideration of a freedom of information bill, a move fueled by a secret and hyperbolic document from the office of the president.
The 11-page document, made available to FreedomInfo.org, attacks the bill in multiple ways that FOI supporters say misrepresent the bill (text of bill).
Circulated just as the bill was coming up for second reading, the unattributed document says the bill “dismally fails” to protect certain information. Descriptions of the bill include: “litigation generator,” “suicidal,” “unreasonable,” “fatally defective” and “dangerously strict.”
Regarding a proposal to set a five day standard for the referral of requests to an appropriate agency, the document objects, “There is no universally accepted legal definition of the word `day.’ ”
Members of the Botswana Democratic Party voted to delay consideration.
Supporters Still Optomistic
Supporters of the bill, however, say they can overcome the misinformation and the apparent opposition of the ruling government. Their hopes are buoyed by a promise from the Speaker of Parliament to hold a working group meeting on the legislation, which was proposed by Gaborone Central MP Dumelang Saleshando.
Describing the process, a report in The Botswana Gazette said, “Moving the motion for adjournment the MP for Mahalapye West, Botlogile Tshireletso, said while not against the Bill some provisions needed further clarification. She said a provision that the proposed law would supersede any other law on disclosure of information to the public was worrisome.”
The Gazette reported that Tshireletso “said she was confident that there would be a thorough discussion of the Bill between MPs and the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mokgweetsi Masisi.”
The reported added:
Asked whether her decision to defer the Bill was not influenced by a document that was circulated by the government to the BDP MPs advising them to oppose the Bill, Tshireletso said there was nothing wrong with that document; the MPs had discussed it with the Minister and they had decided that the Bill should be deferred for further consultations.
MISA Criticizes Secret Document
The director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) – Botswana Chapter, Phenyo Butale, was quoted as calling the secret document “misguided” and saying it “has generated unfounded fears on MPs.” He said, “We can only hope that the consultation exercise will produce good results.”
A Gazette editorial by Martin Dingake appeared April 11, commenting, “The Presidency has moved swiftly to kill the Bill well before it becomes law. The arguments for the move are self serving and at worst seek to entrench a culture of secrecy and to classify all information relating to the operations of government. Members of Parliament for the ruling party have therefore been instructed to oppose the motion.”
He also wrote:
In the modern era where governments are increasingly becoming open, transparent and accountable, we appear to be transgressing towards classifying all information. There is every reason to be worried. We have seen in the last few years an unprecedented number of government owned companies under going forensic audits whose report were shelved. These companies receive large sums of funding from government on yearly basis. Parliament as an oversight body has also failed to effectively assert itself. In other instances Ministers lobby Members of Parliament who are minded to initiate commissions of inquiry to abandon the idea whilst the Ministry carries a forensic audit which will be made public. These Members of Parliament naively agree to the suggestion by the Minister. As soon as the forensic audit report is out, the same Minister refuses to make it available to the public, in this particular instance through parliament. Meanwhile both the public and parliament are deprived of valuable information to hold their leaders accountable. It becomes a vicious circle.
In my view, it is high time our leaders, particularly act independently. It appears to me that absent the Freedom of Information Act, parliament as the repository power of the masses of our people has the greatest responsibility to safeguard the interest of the public by initiating its own forensic audits. Where the public is less informed leaders do not feel any greater responsibility to be accountable and transparent. Equally too, where the public has little or no access to information at all, leaders act with impunity without regard to the consequences of their action and the corresponding duty to account. This is so because they are now the masters and those who put them in power are their servants.
Botswana must be careful not to go the route of Zimbabwe and other equally dictatorial governments who deliberately and carefully withheld information to further perpetuate their stay in power by leading ignorant population. There is a danger in governments deciding which information to release to the public and when. Even worryingly so, is a nation that finds nothing wrong with government dictating terms and extent of the release of information. Governments are for the people and must always put the interest of the people ahead. Traditional exceptions of security reasons can never be the basis of withholding wholesome information, sometimes even when such information is in the public domain. Every legislation has cost implications to it, and therefore this reason too cannot hold. In the past we have seen our government legislating even on mundane issues with higher financial burden. When the line between leaders’ interests and those of the public become blurred we have every reason to be worried.
The Gazette also has editorialized on the matter, concluding:
Back to the FOIB; it is unlikely that a political party that has been sliding towards authoritarian rule will want to open up. Indeed President Khama is no respecter of independent media – and by extension open government. If the government ever drafts a FOI Act, it is likely to be so hamstrung as to be totally useless, if not dangerous in that it will make it virtually impossible – if not criminal – for public servants to voluntarily give information to the public.
http://www.gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13016:expect-the-freedom-of-information-bill-to-be-killed&catid=15:editorial&Itemid=2
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