CHRI Conference Seeks to Build Solidarity for Freedom of Information in Africa

In the post Cold War era, many African countries have adopted democracy as their political system in a new wave of democratisation processes that are sweeping the continent. Such signs of progress must be qualified by the fact that a democracy is only as strong and legitimate as the degree of transparency and participation that such a government is able to provide. It is for that reason that Right to Information (RTI) or Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation is considered a critical building block for democracy, having the ability to ensure that representative forms of government are not just superficial in nature.

The right to access information has been enumerated not only in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights but also by the African Union Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa. Furthermore, most countries in Africa have this right entrenched in their national constitution, either as a distinct right or as part of a broader interpretation of the right to freedom of expression. Despite this, out of the 54 countries in Africa, only South Africa, Angola and Uganda have laws providing for the right to information.1 Many countries are also in some stage of the process towards adopting the legislation, but the majority do not have draft bills at all.

It is with that in mind that 47 delegates convened for the Africa Regional Conference on Freedom of Information in Accra, Ghana on July 30th. The conference participants represented the Commonwealth Africa countries, as well as the United Kingdom and India. The workshop was a forum for advocates from the region to critically reflect on their own and others’ advocacy campaigns, learn from each others’ experiences and determine fresh approaches for both domestic and regional advocacy in the future.

Two prominent participants at the Conference were Ghanaian politicians Hon. Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader in Parliament, and Hon. Frank Agyekum, the incoming Deputy Minister of Information. Other notable speakers were Ghanaian members of civil society, experts from Article 19, UK and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India. They were joined by leading advocates from the ten Commonwealth countries in Africa.

Speaking on the status of “regional advocacy initiatives”, the Media Institute of Southern Africa representative, Sampa Kangwa-Wilkie pointed out the limitations and threats that must be overcome to enact a right to information law. Ms. Kangwa-Wilkie cited the example of Zambia to elucidate four central threats to legislation: 1) indecisive government; 2) a tendency to confuse freedom of information with freedom of expression; 3) a passive culture that does not question government; and 4) ignorance of policy makers, civil society and the general public. To illustrate the fourth point, she referred to a survey conducted in Namibia that found that ninety-two percent of those polled, (which included MPs, legal drafters and journalists) had no clear understanding of the issues the right to information entails.

Considering all of these hurdles and even ignoring the threat of a lack of political will, it is not surprising that governments find it easy to try and justify stalling the passing of such a law. On this issue, the interventions of two powerful Ghanaian politicians brought fireworks to the opening ceremonies as they, along with Professor Kwame Karikari of the Media Institute for West Africa debated the long-awaited Ghanaian FOI Bill. Originally drafted in 2000, and subsequently reviewed in 2003 and 2005, the bill has yet to be passed by Parliament. Concerns were also raised on the watering down of the Ghanaian Bill.

One of the most contentious topics at the Conference was the “extent of legitimate exemptions” and on this subject, Ene Enonche from the Open Society Justice Initiative in Nigeria, argued that because exemptions are a key deal breaker, advocates and the government may have to compromise in their endeavour to get a bill passed, relying on the fact that there is a possibility the law could be amended later. This sparked heated discussion, as Akoto Ampaw of the Akuffo-Addo Chambers in Ghana, and the chair of the session Sam Okudzeto, of CHRI’s International Advisory Committee, warned of the dangers of accepting a weak law considering the potentially immense difficulty in advocating for an amendment to a law.

The meet concluded by noting the importance of advocacy campaigns in the implementation phase following the enactment of the law. The final tenet of the Conference’s Mission Statement focused on this, by committing all signatories to “monitor the implementation of freedom of information laws at the national level”. While it is too early to discuss the impact of the workshop, the participants were hopeful that such meetings would help to “form national and regional freedom of information coalitions to advocate, mobilise support, and lobby for Freedom of Information legislation”.