The Right to Know: An Analytical Study of the Access to Information Act in Uganda and its Implications for Journalism Practice

ABSTRACT 

This study entitled: The Right to Know: An Analytical study ofthe Access to Information Act in Uganda and its implications to Journalism practice is a critical analysis of the Access to Information Act 2005, a piece of legislation that empowers all Ugandans to access information in possession of the State. The right of access to information gives practical meaning to the principles ofparticipatory democracy. In this study, the researcher focuses on identifying the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of the Access to Information Act 2005 especially during its implementation stage. The Access to Information Act is critically assessed to establish its compliance with the internationally agreed standards and related legislations especially in the Commonwealth. In addition the Access to Information Act is evaluated in terms of its implications to Journalism practice in Uganda. According to Quinton (1997), the theoretical perspectives which guide this discussion on the Access to Information Act are the Democratic and Market Imperatives. The Democratic Imperative emphasises the importance of implementing policies almed at promoting administrative transparency and encouraging active participation ofthe people in a democratic process while the Market Imperative explores the need for implementing legislation to fully exploit the economic values of the massive amount of information accumulated by the public sector in the everyday running ofits affhirs. The findings from the study revealed that this law is one of the least known in Uganda regardless of the social standing of individuals in society. It was found out that the law has not been implemented despite becoming effective in 2005. To date, there is no clear roadmap fur its implementation, no manuals have been produced by the respective public bodies and no resources have been earmarked for its full scale implementation. Although the Access to Information Act follows the classical format ofthe freedom of information laws in other countries, this right has been watered down by its limited scope of application such as the exemption meant to bar non-citizens from accessing national ix information. In addition the findings from the study show that the Access to Information Act lacks an internal appeal mechanism in case of complaints by requestors and it also fails to specify the level of fees payable after the request for access to information has been granted. The responsibility of determining fees payable is left to the Minister responsible for implementing the Access to Information Act who is mandated to make regu Ions. According to the study findings. Journalists blamed government for limited consultations with them in the process of enacting this law and also highlighted the lack of poJitical will by government to implement the Access to Information Act. Some Journalists have no hope in the Act because the timefrarne of 21 days within which information can he provided is too long and can only be utilised when writing feature stories. The study recommends massive sensitisation of Ugandans about the Access to Information Act and calls upon Government to demonstrate its commitment towards the implementation of the law by committing the necessary resources and mandating an independent body to promote the Access to information Act. The study also recommends that Government must invest in modern records management systems if the law is to be successfully implemented. Finally, an explicit provision is required in the law to make it clear that this law overrides all other inconsistent legislation such as the Oath of Secrecy which still exists in Uganda’s law books.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ii

APPROVAL iii

DEDICATION iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

ACRONYMS viii

ABSTRACT ix

CHAPTER ONE 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

1 .1 Background to the Study 2

1 .2 The Right of Access to Information in Uganda 7

1.1.3 Access to Information, Media and Democracy 10

1.2. Statement of the Problem 11

1.3. Scope of the Study 12

1.4. Definition of key terms 13

1.5. Objectives of the Study 13

1.5.1. Main Research Objective 13

1.5,2. Specific Research Objectives 13

1.6. Research Questions~ 14

1.7. Significance/Justification of the Study 14

CHAPTER TWO 19

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 19

2.1. Introduction 19

2.2. The Importance of the Right of Access to Information 19

2.3. The Role of the Media in a Democratic Society 21

2.4. Freedom of Information and Democracy 26

2.5 Access to Information Law and the fight against corruption 30

2.6 Challenges of Implementing the Access to Information Law 32

2.7 The Role of Civil Society in promoting Access to Information laws 33

CHAPTER THREE 36

3.0. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 36

3.1 Introduction 36

3.2 Research Design 36

3.3 Techniques and instruments 37

3.3.1 In-depth Interviews 37

3.3.2 Focus Groups 38

3.3.3 Document Analysis 38

3.4 Study Population 39

3.5 Sample Size and Selection .40

3.6 Research Procedure 42

3.7. Data Analysis 44

3.8. Limitations of the Study 44

3.9. Ethical Considerations 45

CHAPTER FOUR 47

FINDINGS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION 47

4.1 Introduction 47

4,2 The Substance of the Access to Information Act 48

4.2.1 Composition of State Bodies 49

4.2.2 Exclusions 50

4.2.3 Bodies under obligation to Disclose 52

4.2.4 Who Accesses Information9 53

4.2.5 Mandatory Publishing and Time Frames 54

4.2.6 Requesting for Information 56

4.2.7 Role of Information Officers 57

4.2.8 Missing records, Deferral of access and Decisions on requests 59

4.2.9 Severability and Access to Records 61

4.3 Analysis of Exempted Records in Public bodies 64

4.3.1 Complaints and Appeals 67

4.3.2 Protection of Whistleblowers 67

4.3.3 Sanctions 69

4.3.4 Drafting the Access to Information Regulations 69

4.3.5 The Journalist Perspective on the Access to Information Law 70

4.3.6 Summary of Findings 73

CHAPTER FIVE 76

5.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 76

5.1 Conclusions 76

5.2 Recommendations 79

5.3 Areas for Further Research 83

REFERENCES 84

Appendix I 91

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW SCHEDULE 91

Appendix II 92

FOCUS GROUP GUIDE 92

Appendix Ill 93

PRINCIPLES ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 93

Appendix IV 96

THE JOHANNESBURG PRINCIPLES 96

Appendix V 102

LIST OF DOCUMENTS REVIEWED 102