Citizen's Access to Information Severely Limited Despite Enactment of Laws- SCOs

The Anti-Corruption Coalition, Uganda Debt Network, and Transparency International have jointly expressed concern about the challenges faced by Ugandans in accessing information held by the state and its organs, despite the existence of laws to facilitate such access. 

In a joint report released on Tuesday, based on a study conducted from June to August this year, Christine Byiringiro, the program manager of Uganda Debt Network, highlighted that there is an unwarranted denial of information requests by government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

These entities often argue that the format used by the public to request information is informal, which they claim is against the law. Byiringiro argued that failure to submit the request in the prescribed format should not be used as an excuse to deny information.

She pointed to Section 12, which emphasizes the duty to assist persons in obtaining information. According to this section, even if a citizen submits a request for access to information in a non-prescribed format, it should not be a reason to deny them access.

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She also noted that in many government bodies, the responsibility of handling requests for information is assigned to communication or public relations officers, as per the provisions of the government's communication strategy of 2011. However, the Access to Information Act defines an information officer as the chief executive officer of a public body, equivalent to a permanent secretary at the ministry level. Byiringiro stressed the need to harmonize these conflicting roles. 

Lilian Ssenteza from Transparency International Uganda pointed out that the law lacks sufficient clarity regarding the functioning of the internal appeals mechanism, where aggrieved citizens can challenge the decision of the officer responsible for providing information. She also raised concerns about unjustified exemptions in the law, limiting access to information, especially regarding information from meetings and minutes that should be easily accessible to the public. 

Ssenteza noted that the law is silent on internal appeal processes, directing aggrieved citizens to go to the chief magistrate court and later to the high court. This approach is problematic as courts are often burdened with case backlogs. She advocated for the use of internal appeals processes before resorting to court action.

The report highlighted that the Official Secrets Act of 1964 prohibits the media from accessing information on grounds of protecting the security of the country, which further restricts freedom of access to information as provided by the constitution.

Marlon Agaba, the Executive Director of Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda, called for amendments to the access to information laws to clarify the roles of information officers. Access to information on public programs and expenditures plays a crucial role in combating corruption and promoting transparency and accountability.

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Uganda's ranking in the Global Corruption Perception Index (GPI) highlights the importance of addressing these issues, with the country currently ranked 142 out of 180 countries, making it the 38th most corrupt globally and the 19th in Africa.