Botswana Editors Forum supports FOI Bill

| Friday August 10, 2012 00:00

As Botswana Editors Forum we would like to join the debate with the hope of not only clearing the air but also busting quite a few myths that if not addressed could end up passing for real truths.We note with concern that Government response and Government behaviour in the debate so far has not been altogether tidy.

As Botswana Editors Forum we had expected better from our Government.Unfortunately, so far government response to the Bill has been at best harried and at worst outright disingenuous. Instead of engaging the Bill and make it as inclusive as possible so that it could win everyone's support, our Government has chosen to look for reasons to discredit and not  support a law that has proved very noble in other democracies.

Attempts to engage Government have so far proved almost futile, not least because our leaders have through and through been negotiating in bad faith. Endless goal post shifting on the part of the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mokgweetsi Masisi and his officials has proved particularly disheartening.Initially the Office of the President had contended that they had no problem with Freedom of Information Bill for as long as it was preceded by the Data Protection Act. When it became clear that the two laws were actually complimentary to one another and not meant to police the other as government had earlier alleged, they change track and started making unsubstantiated insinuations that the Bill as presently before Parliament does not meet the general drafting standards of Botswana Government Laws.

When it was pointed out to them that one of the key architects of the Bill in as far as its drafting is concerned is a retired Deputy Attorney General who was for many years head of the drafting division at the Attorney General Chambers, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs instead of conceding, changed the story yet again and argued that it is not clear from the Bill what amounts to 'public interest' as referred to in the Bill.

As Botswana Editors Forum we find this assertion particularly deceitful and insincere.A casual perusal of many of the already existing Laws of Botswana shows that many of the country's statutes are replete with reference to 'public interest.'Feigning ignorance and/or ambiguity on what 'public interest' means is therefore patently dishonest and disingenuous. Honesty, we want to point is an elementary principle of any debate.But so far there has absolutely been no attempt at honesty on the part of our Government in its handling of the Freedom of Information Act.The Freedom of Information Act, it has to be said from the beginning is expressly confined only to information that is of public interest.

In an attempt to discern just what lies behind this inexplicable clutching at the straws by our government, we find no plausible reason other than that the Bill happens to have come before Parliament through the efforts of a private Member, who is also from the Opposition benches.  Given their failure to say just what it is that they are not happy with, clearly Government is irritated at being upstaged on so important a law by a member of parliament, who is also from opposition.

It does not seem to matter to our government that before coming up with this law the said Member of Parliament had to seek express permission from the Speaker and other Members of Parliament.  All that matters, it would seem to us is that political partisanship, pettiness and unyielding egos have been allowed to take the better of our Government.That we think is unfortunate as it goes against the spirit of nation-building.Despite all the misleading emphasis that Government has delighted in placing on the Bill as a footwork of the Media, we want to point out that Freedom of Information Law is meant for the public at large.

Media Practitioners, as and when they become beneficiaries of this Law are only a tiny proportion of the overall target.In other more bizarre hyperboles clearly meant to scare off the unsuspecting public, government officials have gone as far as to say the Media would use this law to infringe on people's private lives.We want to emphatically dismiss this as untrue, misleading, irresponsible and unfortunate.  Freedom of Information Act is only invoked to solicit information that is held in public trust.

It has nothing to do with anybody's private affairs.  Only information that can be proved to be of public interest is released under this Law.  More to the point even in countries where this piece of law exists there are clear exemptions made as to what can be released and what cannot be released.Rather than resorting to scaremongering we call on Government to honestly engage on what information should be exempted from this Law.  That in our opinion is key and paramount.Cabinet proceedings, for example are the world over regarded as private and this law cannot be invoked to disclose official files of what the State President and his cabinet discuss at the cabinet table as part of their daily duties and responsibilities to run the country.  The same applies to security matters.

If Government wants more exemptions to those that already are included in the Bill, Botswana Editors Forum is of the view that such suggestions could be brought up.What is important is that Government should abandon its current strategy of always shifting goal posts.  Negotiating in bad faith can only undermine the integrity of our Government in the eyes of the public.Freedom of Information Act is a developmental instrument that empowers the public to access information on Government projects, development schemes and development programmes. More importantly the law is used by the public to seek information on those things that are done in their name.  We cannot emphasise strong enough just how impossible it is that information pertaining to state security matters could be released under this law as some of our government officials including ministers have been so untruthfully alleging.

Freedom of Information Act enhances accountability.  It enhances interaction between the rulers and the ruled.  It reduces the gap between the voter and those in power.  It goes without saying that by embracing this law Botswana will enhance its stature among the progressive countries of the world.It is normal that Members of Parliament would seek clarification on certain aspects of any law brought before them. For that reason the Botswana Editors Forum calls on the Government to allow the law to go through the usual processes and get it interrogated as is customary in our democracy.

It is our view that while amendments could be made to the Bill, it should nonetheless be allowed to stand.As a suggestion to bridge the gap between those for and against the Bill, Botswana Editors Forum is of the view that the Bill be subjected to cross-party pre- legislative scrutiny if that could in anyway help engender consensus.Botswana Editors Forum supports the Bill, first and foremost because it enhances accountability and transparency.  More crucially, the Forum stands behind the Bill because it promises to enhance citizen empowerment and citizen participation  in the affairs of the State.It matters little to us who has brought the Law before Parliament.We have no interest in politicizing the Bill; neither by the ruling party nor its opponents in parliament.

For their part, the Office of President should desist from grandstanding.  Instead of coming up with all sorts of misinformation and disinformation tactics about this law, the Minister of Presidential Affairs should interrogate the Bill, something which he clearly has not done despite the fact that he has had more than one and a half years to do just that.We note with concern that Government behaviour so far has served to besmirch the moral authority of the Office of the president.  We think it is not too late for that to be corrected and get the highest office on the land reclaiming the moral high ground that it is supposed to occupy on matters such as Freedom of Information Act.

Spencer MogapiChairman / Botswana Editors Forum