KAMPALA —Civil Society Organizations, led by the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), have called on the government to amend the Access to Information Act 2005 to align it with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Module law on access to information for African Union member states.
This call was made during the commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), organized by AFIC in partnership with Twaweza, held at Makerere University under the theme “Mainstreaming Access to Information and Participation in the Public Sector.”
In June last year, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights recommended that Uganda amend the 2005 Access to Information Act to align it with the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa.
Gilbert Sendugwa, Executive Director of AFIC, stated that certain provisions in the 2005 Ugandan Access to Information Act need to be amended to align with current times. “The current law requires that every minister submits annual reports to parliament on information requests that they have received within that year and also says that where information request has been denied, the minister should explain to parliament,” he said.
Sendugwa noted that the Ugandan government received recommendations from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights concerning additional steps needed to ensure every Ugandan citizen can fully enjoy their right to information. He added that among the recommendations, the commission encourages the establishment of a lead agency responsible for implementing the new law, so that when a citizen requests information and does not get it, they can complain to that institution.
“We think that an amendment of this access to information act is going to be very helpful, so that instead of ministers reporting to Parliament, the agencies report to the oversight body, and then the oversight body can follow up with those agencies and then report to Parliament,” Sendugwa said. “If each ministry is reporting, it’s going to be a lot of work, but if it’s a consolidated report followed by one agency that goes to parliament, then it’s easier.”
During the meeting, stakeholders from civil society organizations, the police, the judiciary, government ministries, and Parliament discussed various issues, including the importance of ensuring that information is freely accessible and not sold.
The Minister for ICT, Chris Baryomunsi, committed to amending the Access to Information Act to align it with African Union guidelines, emphasizing that access to information should be free. “There are calls that we should amend some sections of this law, and we do agree, because time has passed, and maybe we need to look at the law and see that we integrate the current dynamics and the new issues that are emerging,” he said.
Baryomunsi pledged to consider the recommendations and proposals from the engagement, stating that they will be used in the process of amending the law. Regarding free access to information held by the government, the minister stated that they will review the issue and amend the law to ensure that people can access information at no cost.
“People have concerns that we put some fees for Ugandans to access potential pieces of information, which fees sometimes can be prohibitive for some individuals,” Baryomunsi said. “So those have to be looked at, and we will make sure that we make it easy for any person who wants to access information, especially that information which is in the hands of government.”
