The Zambian government said July 12 that it will not offer an access to information bill until September, the latest in a string of delays dating back to an aborted unveiling June 26, 2012, and other delays before that.
The Cabinet has not yet approved the bill, according to Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni, the Information and Broadcasting Services Minister. He said a draft will be forwarded to a parliamentary subcommittee before being considered by the Cabinet and then submitted to Parliament during its next sitting in September. His remarks at a press briefing were reported by the Times of Zambia.
“We must make sure that when we take it to Parliament, it has all the required ingredients. We are committed to tabling it before Parliament but we can’t manage to do so now because we are only remaining with four days before the House adjourns,” Sakeni was quoted as telling reporters.
A leader of the opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) described the Patriotic Front (PF) government’s failure to table an access to information bill as one of the many failed promises, according to an article in the Lusaka Times.
Vice President Guy Scott recently raised hopes when he announced that the Cabinet would consider the bill on June 26, a move praised by the leader of the Press Freedom Committee of The Post Newspapers and others, according to an account published in the Post and another in the Daily Mail. He spoke at an event with the theme, “African Public Service in the Age of Open Government: Giving Voice to the Citizens.”
The Media Institute of Southern Africa welcomed the news. MISA Zambia chairperson, Nalumino Nalumino, noted that for the past 11 years the process to enact the ATI bill has been a back-and-forth process. A consensus bill, still unreleased, was developed in early 2012 by a task force including members of the media and civil society groups.
Delays Mark Past Several Years
Looking at more recent history, the Post article noted:
The government has in the past informed the nation through both Vice-President Scott and information minister Kennedy Sakeni that the bill was cleared by the Ministry of Justice last October.
FreedomInfo.org reporting shows the recent history of postponements.
– In February 2013, a top government official said a bill would be submitted in June. (See previous FreedomInfo,org report.)
– In December 2012, a key Zambian minister promised that a bill would be presented to Parliament in the first quarter of 2013. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
– On June 25, 2012, the government postponed a planned June 26, unveiling of a bill, citing scheduling difficulties in getting approval for the bill by the Attorney General and a desire to consult further. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
– The Constitution unveiled in April 2012 includes a provision guaranteeing access to information. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
– In February 2012, Zambia’s Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Labour Fackson Shamenda said a bill would be tabled in Parliament by July. (See previous FrredomInfo.org report.)
– In November 2011, officials said they would consult on the bill (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Around the same time, a top minister said a law would be in place in six months. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
– In October 2011, the vice president predicted introduction of a bill in 90 days. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
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