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Access to information crucial for monitoring government projects
Zibusiso Dube
August 28, 2012

One of the major impediments to the success of government projects in Zimbabwe is lack of adequate access to information. Lack of information is also responsible for poor service delivery and rampant corruption in the country. Unless it is realised that information availability is an important component of ensuring transparency and accountability in the operations of holders of public office and government institutions, the people of Zimbabwe will continue receiving sub-standard services from the government and local authorities while development projects will continue failing to achieve the desired goals. It is high time efforts are made to ensure that dissemination of information becomes part and parcel of the operations of public bodies, local authorities and government departments as part of the broader goal of improving provision of public services, improving the success rate of public projects and dealing with corruption in public institutions.

As a starting point, it would be useful for Zimbabweans to realize that the discourse on access to information should not be limited to the media and the operations of journalists as is currently happening. Of course journalists should have access to public information so that they can disseminate it to the benefit of the larger populace, however, access to information should be recognised as a right that should be afforded to all residents. It is everyone-s right to access information, because information is an empowerment tool that enables a person to be better equipped to deal with his day to day life, and in the parlance of democratic discourse, make informed political choices that have a bearing on his/her livelihood. For instance residents in a community should have access to the budgets of the local authority so that they can monitor the conduct of the authority and ensure that enough funds are set aside for service provision that meets the socio-economic rights of residents. Also, residents in a community should have access to information on government projects that are operational in their area. This would enable them, in their localities, to monitor the progress and implementation of such projects to ensure that the projects are benefitting the intended beneficiaries and also to ensure that there is no corruption in the implementation of the projects.

The negative effects of lack of adequate access to information in Zimbabwe abound. According to Transparency International, Zimbabwe ranked 154 out of 182 countries in a survey on corruption in 2011. This means that corruption is a big problem in the country. Also, many government projects, including Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and more recently the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Programme (HSCTP) are dogged by controversy with citizens alleging corruption in their operations. For instance, it is argued that BEAM, which is a programme that is meant to benefit orphans and vulnerable children by paying their tuition is also benefiting the children of teachers and other connected people while many orphans and children from poor families fail to attend school. While these allegations may sometimes border on conspiracy due to the unavailability of evidence, what is clear is that efforts should be made to improve accountability and transparency in government and local authority projects. Ensuring adequate access to information to residents is the way to do so. Improving residents- access to information is also a key way to deal with corruption.

So how can Zimbabwe improve access to information? The answer lies in the law. The only tool that the government has at its disposal to ensure that public bodies, government departments and local governments afford residents access to information is the law. Through the law, the government can ensure that institutions behave in a manner that will promote transparency and accountability - actively providing residents with information. But the problem that the country faces is that the government has historically been reluctant to provide Zimbabweans with information. Instead of affording residents access to information, the government has established draconian laws that inhibit access to information. These laws include the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the inappropriately named Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). The government-s reasoning is not hard to follow. Access to information empowers people at the grassroots level and is therefore thought to reduce the power hold of the government. But this is a myth. Affording people access to information, in the process empowering them does not weaken the government. It instead enhances the development process by empowering people to make informed choices and by increasing accountability and transparency in the operations of public officials thus putting a lead on corruption. In any case, how does availing information such as council budgets, the state budget, information on government projects, registers of listed companies in an area or cadastres constitute a risk to the primacy of the state?

This is an opportune moment in Zimbabwe-s history, as the country is in a political transition, to begin a process of ensuring that residents in all localities are actively afforded access to information on critical issues affecting their lives. Access to information should become a major point of discussion in the current body politic in the same manner that the issues of devolution of power and de-politicisation of the security forces have been. The concessionary environment characterising political discourses at the moment creates an opportunity for advocates of access to information to put the topic on the national agenda. And the kind of access to information advocated for in this article is not at odds with the ideologies of any sober minded Zimbabweans. Unless of course if political struggles in the country are not decided on democratic principles but on hoodwinking the masses, using among other tools the ignorance of citizens.

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