A Call to Greater Access to Information in The Gambia

Access to information, also known as freedom of

information, the right to information or the

right to know, is a right which allows people to

request for and have access to any information

held by public bodies (the government and its

agencies).
This right has in recent times extended to

private bodies that perform public functions or

hold information necessary for the exercise or

protection of the right.
Access to information is essential for the

enjoyment of human rights and therefore is an

indispensable right in any democratic society.
Access to regular, timely and accurate, as well

as adequate and reliable information on past,

present and future government activities

empowers people to scrutinize the actions of

those whom they have elected to govern them and

hold them accountable.
People have the right to fully participate in

the formulation and implementation of public

policies which concern them, and access to

information undoubtedly provides this golden

opportunity. It also allows openness and

transparency in government, which in turn helps

fight corruption and mismanagement of national

resources.
Access to information is recognized as a human

right in Africa, where article 9 of the African

Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantees

the right of every individual to receive

information. Every individual shall have the

right to receive information – article 9 (1).

Every individual shall have the right to express

and disseminate his opinion within the law –

article 9 (2).
Furthermore, Principle IV (1) of the Declaration

of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa

adopted by the African Commission on Human and

Peoples’ Rights in October 2002 states that:
-    public bodies hold information not for

themselves but as custodians of the public good

and everyone has a right to access this

information, subject only to clearly defined

rules established by law.
Principle IV (2) and (3) of the Declaration,

provides certain key principles of access to

information. It states:
2    The right to information shall be

guaranteed by law in accordance with the

following principles;
-    everyone has the right to access

information held by public bodies;
-    everyone has the right to access

information held by private bodies which is

necessary for the exercise or protection of nay

right,
-    any refusal to disclose information

shall be subject to appeal to an independent

body and or the courts, (in light of this

particular provision, one can invoke the

services of our National Human Right Institution

– the Office of the Ombudsman or approach any

court of law in The Gambia for case of refusal

of disclosure of public office information by

public body officials as well as private bodies

that hold information ‘necessary for the

exercise or protection of any human right) where

the African Commission treaties are binding on

all Member States of the African Union.
-    Public bodies shall be required, even in

the absence of request, actively to publish

important information of significant public

interest
-    No one shall be subject to any sanction

for releasing in good faith information on wrong

doing, or that which would disclose a serious

threat to health, safety or the environment save

where the imposition of sanctions serves a

legitimate interest and is necessary in a

democratic society, and;
-    Secrecy laws shall be amended as

necessary to comply with freedom of information

principles.
3 – Everyone has the right to access and update

or otherwise correct their personal          

information, whether it is held by public or by

private bodies.

Do Constitutions in Africa Provide Access to

Information as a human right?
Only Madagascar, Malawi and South Africa in the

Southern Africa region expressly protect the

right to access to information in their

constitutions. Other countries of the region,

such as Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius,

Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe protect the

right only within the context of the right to

‘seek and receive information.’
In East and Central Africa, the Constitution of

the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), Eritrea,

Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and most recently

Kenya, all guarantee the right to access to

information, while Burundi, Cameroon, Djibouti,

Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Rwanda only the

right to freedom of expression is guaranteed.
In West Africa, the Constitutions of Burkina

Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana and Guinea Bissau

protect the right of access to information.

Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo provide

for the right to seek and impact information

only in the context of freedom of expression,

while the Constitutions of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire,

The Gambia, Mali, Niger and Senegal provide only

for the right to freedom of expression (which in

the case of most countries is just an express in

black and whit (writing), and not in practice

respected). For it has been a policy for example

in The Gambia for several years, or it was

strongly believed to be, where public officials

have been bared from giving information to the

media. And in many circumstance citizen had not

are still not quite free to exercise their right

to freedom of expression, either out of a real

fear or an imagined make believed one. However,

we have recently witnessed the Head of State

during a meeting with media practioners of the

private press dispel the notion as unfounded and

without basis. Whatever the truth is history is

now the arbiter. Every thing of it would now be

left with the test of time.
All North African Constitutions of Algeria,

Egypt, and Tunisia only provide fro the freedom

of expression with no reference to access to

information.
Six African countries have adopted access to

information bills, for example the Access to

Administrative Documents Law was adopted on 29

July 2009 by the Republic of Angola and it came

into force the following, August 16 2002.

Ethiopia got the Freedom of Mass Media and

Access to Information Proclamation enacted on 1

July 2008 which came into force upon publication

in the Government Official Gazette in December

2008. The Proclamation is however yet to be

implemented. Liberia signed a Freedom of

Information Act into law in 2010. South Africa

passed the Promotion of Access to Information

Act in 2010 to give effect to Article 32 of the

South African Constitution and the Act came into

force on 9 March 2001.In Uganda, the Parliament

enacted the Access to Information Act in April

2005 to give effect to section 41 (1) of the

Ugandan Constitution. Although the Act is not

being implemented as key regulations necessary

for its implementation have not been made as

required by the Act. Zimbabwe enacted the Access

to Information and Protection Privacy Act on 31

January 2002 and signed it into law on 15 March

2002.
Most of these laws failed to comply with basic

principles on access to information, but came to

pass with the saying, “half a loaf is better

than none”.
The following thirteen African countries have

also made efforts at some point or the other.

They are Burkina Faso, where civil society

drafted the Access to Administrative Documents

Bill in 2008. In Egypt, a bill was drafted by

civil society and another by the government in

2007. In Ghana, a bill was first drafted by

government in 2002 and has been amended several

times, and was re- introduced to Parliament in

2010. In Kenya, two bills were drafted by civil

society in 1999 and 2006 and also by government

in 2005 and 2007. Lesotho drafted the Access and

Receipt of Information Bill through the

Country’s Law Reform Commission in 2000 and the

civil society drafted two different bills. In

Mozambique, civil society drafted two bills in

2005 and 2010. The lower and upper houses of the

Nigerian Parliament passed two different

versions of the Freedom of Information Bill in

February and March respectively. Civil society

in Rwanda drafted an Access to Information Bill

in 2010. In Sierra Leone, a Freedom of

Information Bill was approved by cabinet in July

2008 and tabled before parliament in November

2010. In Sudan a bill was drafted by civil

society. In Tanzania, a bill was drafted by

government in 2006 and another by civil society

in 2007. In Zambia, a bill was drafted by

government in 2001 and other in 2002, civil

society also drafted one in 2002.
President Jammeh should not only stop at

allowing public officials to end sitting on

public office information, but should emulate,

for instance, the Republic of Sierra Leone and

encourage Cabinet draft and approve an access to

information bill to be table before the National

Assembly. Which the APRC dominated august

assembly would no doubt ratify and ascend to him

for signature into law.
We must not only stop at having our public

officials including those of private

institutions have their doors flunk wide open to

the public and private media. We should also

work hard to see our present and future leaders

endeavour to promote greater access to

information all possibly means of information

dissemination programs that will seek to

meaningfully explain government policies,

programs and activities for greater public

awareness such as conferences – seminars,

television and radio talks, posters. Highway

billboards among all media of communication. To

leave only at the back of the mind the

inflammatory type of information that can or may

cause a threat or threats to public order and

security.
This is a duty we owe to our selves, our

children and our children’s children. Let us end

all calls for duty to respect the so-called

confidentiality in public office.
President Jammeh could above also easily

encourage or authorize any human rights civil

society organization or a group of such

organizations in The Gambia including the Gambia

Press Union to draft a bill. Even government by

the stewardship of the judiciary, particularly

the Law Reform Commission can come up with one.  
The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression

and Access to Information in Africa of the

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

in collaboration with partners have developed a

draft Model Law which provides minimum access to

information standards to guide African Union

Member States in their adoption or review of

access to information laws. The Model Law will

be accompanied by an Explanatory Note and

Implementation Guidelines to provide information

benchmarks for evaluating the effective

implementation of access to information laws on

the Continent.
The draft text was introduced at a public

consultation during the 49th Ordinary Session of

the African Commission on Human and Peoples’

Rights that recently ended on the 12 May 2011 in

Banjul, The Gambia. A series of public

consultations is envisaged to be held in all

sub- regions of Africa between June and August

2011. And it is hoped that feedbacks received

from these consultations are expected to guide

necessary amendments to the draft. It is also

hoped that the final text and the accompanying

documents will be adopted by the African

Commission at its 50th Ordinary Session in

October 2011.

The Gambia government and stake holder civil

society organizations should take note and be on

the alert for the document which they can

effectively use as a reliable reference material

for access to information legislation.