Zambia’s information bill: A blow to academic freedom?
Zachariah Mushawatu | 23 November 2023 | University World News
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In a move that is receiving positive coverage in local news media, the Zambian government is seeking to introduce an Access to Information (ATI) law for the first time in the country’s history.
The bill, which is currently being discussed in parliament, intends to, among other things, “provide for the right to access information and its limitations and give effect to the right to access information as guaranteed in the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights”.
The proposed law will outline the procedures one has to go through when making a request for information and designates the Human Rights Commission as an oversight institution on matters relating to access to information.
While a move to guarantee access to information through legislation in a country that did not previously have such law is good, there is one fundamental problem with Zambia’s Access to Information Bill: it only gives the right to access information to citizens and those with residence permits.