FOI Update in Tanzania, Malaysia, St Vincent and Grenadines

President Jakaya M. Kikwete of Tanzania announced that his Government was developing a law that will guarantee access to information. He stated that consultation is currently being undertaken on the draft legislation, which he intends to table before the National Assembly in April 2007.

Elsewhere in Malaysia a Freedom of Information (FOI) campaign was launched on International Right to Know Day on 28 September by the local FOI coalition in 2005. The campaign aims to lobby for the drafting and enactment of a national FOI Act. Two years ago, the coalition had agreed on ten principles that were required to make access to information meaningful for the public. FOI Coalition secretariat spokesman Sonia Randhawa said she was optimistic about the campaign’s prospects because of the Government’s commitment to fighting corruption and increasing transparency and openness.

St. Vincent and Grenadines had an access law since 2003, yet nobody knew about it. This was disclosed by the Minister for Information Mr. Selmon Walters in the recently held Workshop on Freedom of Information Implementation in the Caribbean hosted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and Canadian International Development Agency, held in Dominica in November. It is the fifth country in the Caribbean to have an FOI law, but unfortunately very little has been done by the Government to publicise and implement the Act.

Meanwhile in Africa, Uganda’s Ugandan Access to Information Act 2005, came into operation on April 2006. Uganda is the fourth country in the Africa Commonwealth to have an access law in place.

Elections in Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh

Nigeria will hold its Presidential and Parliamentary elections in April this year. The current President Olesegun Obsanjo would be stepping down after eight years in power. The polls mark an important watershed in Nigeria’s history, as it will set the transition from one democratically elected civilian administration to another.

Presidential and Parliamentary elections will also be held in Kenya later this year. The ruling National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) led by President Mwai Kibaki would seek re election although there are other parties that may shape the poll outcomes. The ruling NARC regime have been much criticised for its failure to check corruption and for having failed to rewrite the constitution as promised in their 2002 election campaign.

Political uncertainty continues in Bangladesh as 19 political leaders arrested under the Emergency powers have been sent to jail for a month. Elections were slated for January 22 but Fakhruddin Ahmed, the interim caretaker Government declared a state of emergency on January 11 amidst protests by the opposition Awami League Party (ALP) led by Shaikh Hasina Wazed calling for a boycott of the elections. The new interim government has vowed to root out corruption before holding free and fair polls.

Maldives

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had to call off its mass anti-government rally in November following large-scale arrests of its supporters. The protests were called to speed up the process of constitutional reforms in the country that has been led by President Gayoom for more than two decades. The Government claimed that the MDP planned the demonstration to stage a coup. The European Union (EU) reacted by expressing concerns to the developments. In a declaration made on behalf of the EU, it called upon the Maldivian Government and the MDP to ‘to act responsibly and to exercise utmost restraint in order to avoid further civil unrest, violence and arrests’.
http://www.minivannews.com/news/news.php?id=2615

India

The Union Government has introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006 which if enacted would repeal the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 1976. The Bill has now been sent to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs for further deliberations. The proposed Bill is draconian and is going to affect the working of civil society under the guise of regulating the flow of foreign money. The Bill’s main objective ostensibly is to stop the inflow of overseas funds purportedly intended to destabilize the nation.

The salient features of the bill is that there is blanket prohibition against foreign contribution to ‘organisation of political nature, not being political parties’. A second provision of the Bill grants the Central Government the authority to determine whether such an organisation is “of a political nature” based on its activities, ideology, programmes or association “with activities of any political party”. Thirdly, the Bill requires recipients of foreign funds to renew their registration every five years, and introduces fees for registration, renewal and prior approval. Presently, registration under the FCRA is permanent and free. Voluntary organisations are up in arms protesting against the bill which if enacted would choke the NGO community.

Dominica

Dominica hosted a three day FOI workshop organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and CIDA from 28 November to first December. The workshop was supported by CHRI, the Organisation of American States and the Carter Centre. The Dominican Parliament was the host. The conference brought together Parliamentarians, public officials, media and civil society representatives from Commonwealth Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic jurisdictions.

New UN Secretary General

The new Secretary General Ban Ki-moon took charge as UN head succeeding Kofi Annan on 1January, 2007. In his address made during the oath taking ceremony in December, he said “I will do everything in my power to ensure that our United Nations can live up to its name, and be truly united, so that we can live up to the hopes that so many people around the world place in this institution, which is unique in the annals of human history.” Ban Ki-moon is a former South Korea Foreign Minister and the second Asian to hold this post.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sg2119.doc.htm

CHOGM

The next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Kampala, Uganda from 23-25 November, 2007. The theme for the meeting is ‘Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve political, economic and human development’. Every two years, Commonwealth leaders meet for a few days to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to agree to collective policies and initiatives. These summits provide a unique forum for consultation at the highest level of government. They are organised by the host nation in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat. The last CHOGM was held in Valletta, Malta in 2005.

New CHRI Publications

CHRI’s Implementing Access to Information: A Practical guide for operationalising freedom of information provides a step by step guide on how to overcome these hurdles and ensure effective implementation through crafting a supportive legislative regime; putting in place strong and effective administrative systems; and ensuring proper monitoring.

The book Police Malpractices attempts to give an account of the citizen’s rights in India’s criminal justice system. The book is designed to be a useful resource tool for citizen’s who wish to familiarize themselves with the justice system as well as citizen’s who are frequently encountered with the functioning of the police.

Maintenance of Public Order and Police Preparedness draws attention to the clearly laid down roles and responsibilities of duty holders in the administration, in particular, the police in dealing with maintenance of law and order in India. Drawing from several legal regimes and the rules and guidelines that bind the police, CHRI believes that the book could be a valuable tool for civil society, the legal fraternity, the media and the public at large acting as a compilation of standards against which to measure police performance.