Chronicle Editor
Selusweyinkosi Mhlanga
THE new Freedom of Information Act which came into effect last year, has been described as a law that will aid in the improvement of lives in many spheres.
The new Freedom of Information Act of 2020 states that anyone has the right to access information from any organisation. Stakeholders have said the law is friendlier than the previous AIPPA which limited information to a chosen few.
Eve Nyemba, programmes officer for Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt Development (Zimcodd) said stakeholders will now access information pertaining to how money is used in organisations.
“Through this law people who wish to know how the national purse is managed will have access to that information. You will find that a lot of people had no way to know about such information yet it directly affects their lives. Some, especially women, were marginalised but now they can ask questions about what they are seeing on the ground.”
“I’ll give an example of what happens in hospitals where you find that Government hospitals may not have adequate equipment or medicine. Women, by nature, are the ones who seek such services as maternity and the knowledge of how budgets are run in such institutions puts them in the know and at ease.”
The new law’s mandate is to ensure freedom of information. Unlike AIPPA which had several mandates, this one is a substantive law.
“This law is specifically for freedom of information. It is substantive. Remember AIPPA had a number of roles to fulfil, which were; protection of information, access to information and media regulation. This one only deals with information dissemination. Its framing is totally different. It is all about practicalisation and enforcement,” Nompilo Simanje, Legal and ICT policy officer for MISA Zimbabwe explained.
Simanje also said the new law also serves anyone in Zimbabwe, unlike AIPPA which restricted access to information to Zimbabwean citizens only. She said this is likely to create transparency in many programmes run by organisations.
She went on to say that where one is not allowed access to certain information, an explanation is given which gives the law accountability. She explained that information that pertains to State security or such other protected information would not be allowed to be gleaned at by anyone.
At the launch of the My Freedom of Information campaign led by Tag A Life International to create awareness on the new law, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa said the law would improve lives in Zimbabwe.
“People can access information on devolution and the devolution funds that are being distributed throughout the country. Even people in rural areas will be able to get information through newly launched radio stations. We also have information officers all the way from Ward Level who will assist with information dissemination.”
She also assured journalists that the new law will not stand in their way of work, regardless of their employers.
“These are the people who validate news that is loosely spread on social media in this era of fake news. No one media house is more important than the other. No one is being censured from Cabinet briefings, all media houses are included,” Minister Mutsvangwa said.
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