BOTSWANA Research Conclusions Having recorded this data for three consecutive years, the 2013 study has clearly shown that government ministries and departments are still not freely providing public information. If the authorities continue to consider it acceptable to starve its citizens of information, there will be no further development. Information held by government, that is not classified should be freely and willingly provided to the information seeker. Even though we have managed to identify the most open institution, it still remains alarming that of the eight government institutions surveyed, only one managedto respond to a mere request for information. Moreover, if authorities assume the people of Botswana should be self-sustainable, the same authorities have to acknowledge that putting an access to information act in place is pivotal for development and its absence is intolerable at this point in time. If one argues that many government aid schemes are provided and shared via the radio, then why do we still have only one state radio and no community radios, which would subsequently close the information divide, language barriers and all sorts of inequalities in this country? Arguably the majority of Batswana who stay in rural areas do not even understand the Setswana language that is used by broadcasters. Botswana needs to look at this and take access to information talks seriously, and as a matter of priority. People would feel empowered by having information on the important issues taking place in their country. Citizens need an access to information law to empower themselves and to prepare themselves for the dynamics that come with national and global developments. MISA Botswana and likeminded organisations need the support the authorities to enact the freedom of information act. THE Most Secretive Public Institution in Botswana It is disheartening to get the same results year after year without any noticeable improvement. It demonstrates Botswana is in critical need of a Freedom of Information Act. This year though, it has been very easy to decide upon the most secretive public institution. In accordance with the assessment criteria, the most secretive institution, is the one which has ‘denied access to reasonable information requested or acted with high levels of secrecy’, and the ‘absence of a website or an extremely poor website that contains no or almost no relevant public information. This year, the Department of Information Services is Botswana’s most secretive Government Institution, once again. The Institution’s website was very uninformative. While one thought one was retrieving the contacts of the Department of Information Services, surprisingly, he would get the Office of the President. The website contained few or no relevant information. Like last year, this department failed to make an impression concerning the website as well as the request for information. Information is treated as top secret. The Department of Information Services is a vital department in the sense that citizens and visitors frequently contact this department for information requests. There is no room for excuses, if an institution’s mandate is to provide information, it should truthfully and gladly do so. Compared to other government institutions surveyed, some institutions have outdone themselves in providing relevant, up to date and useful information to the user. The Most Open Public Institution in Botswana Most institutions have done well, providing relevant information and manning their websites. The most worrying factor is that public institutions do not want to respond to questions or requests for information. MISA Botswana had tried to keep its identity secret in order to fish out the information, but it seems the secretive culture is well cultivated within the government enclave. A culture of secrecy is dominating our government institutions while members of the public are tirelessly thirsty for service delivery and information dissemination. With respect to website assessments, three Ministries have done very well, namely, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Affairs. One would agree the Ministry of Trade looks attractive to an outsider who would want to invest in the country. The website covered in length very important aspects of what you are required to do when looking for, for instance, a trading license. The Ministry of Health continues to excel, it now ranks number one in terms of the provision of very useful, relevant and up to date information for its users. Information on health programmes that are currently running in the country can be found on the website. One thing, which remains uncovered and untouched by websites, is the budget and expenditure of institutions. No Ministry has ever provided this kind of information on their website. It is critical for Ministries to share such information with members of the public, due to the fact that the money spent is taxpayers’ money. Reverting to the most open and transparent institution, this year we were able to identify one institution, which has met all the requirements of the study. The Independent Electoral Commission is the most open and transparent public institution in Botswana in 2013. The institution provides up to date information, though it did not score the highest in the website assessment. The institution further managed to answer and respond to the request for information from MISA Botswana. Recommendations • MISA Botswana received the same responses from Public Relations Officers as in the previous years, as they wanted to know how the information is going to be used. MISA Botswana is of the opinion that Government PROs should be trained with the aim to educate them on the importance of access to information. The issue of Public Officers having to sign non-disclosure forms should also be revisited, especially when it comes to employees who hold information of public interest. • MISA Botswana should additionally continue with its efforts to influence legislators to enact a Freedom of Information Act, which has become a necessity for this country. 19