MALAWI Introduction Malawi’s democracy dates back to 1993 following a governance transition from single to multiparty system of Government and adoption of a new liberal constitution with explicit provisions of human rights, including the right to access information held by public bodies. The adoption of the new Constitution made it imperative for government to undertake legal, social and political changes necessary to transform Malawi into a democracy with respect for human rights, the rule of law and popular participation in public decision-making. Achieving this goal required a complete transformation of national institutions, values and attitudes as well as new governance institutions as provided for by the new constitution. Twenty years down the line, however, Malawi is still struggling to consolidate the new governance system, respect human rights and adhere to the rule of law and has over 37 pieces of archaic laws that limit free speech and undermine the new democratic constitutional order. Accessing public information is also problematic as few public officials are willing to provide information despite the new constitution clearly guaranteeing this right under section 37, which states: “Subject to any Act of Parliament, every person shall have the right of access to all information held by the State or any of its organs at any level of Government in so far as such information is required for the exercise of his right.“ Many local and international human rights defenders including media freedom and freedom of expression advocates, including MISA Malawi, considered the ascension to the high office of president by Mrs Joyce Banda in April 2012 as an opportunity for Malawi to consolidate its democratic stature by adopting necessary structures in line with the constitution including enactment of legislation on Access to Information. To a great extent, however, Malawi experienced a mere change without transformation. President Banda has done little to change and improve the legal, policy and general operating environment for the media and accessing public information remains a serious challenge and repressive laws that negate on the constitutional guarantees on free speech and Access to Information still lurk in the statutes. It is on this basis that MISA Malawi continues to campaign and advocate for the repeal of insult laws and enactment of Access to Information to create a more conducive environment for participatory democracy and development. This report provides results of “The Most Transparent and Most Secretive public institutions in Malawi for 2013,” which is an annual research aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in government institutions and a way of grounding our ATI campaign in research. This is the fifth time MISA Malawi has conducted a study of this nature. The first study was conducted in 2009 and revealed that accessing information in the country remains a challenge despite section 37 of the Constitution guaranteeing this right. The studies on the ‘Most Secretive and Most Open Public Institutions,’ conclude with the Golden Padlock and Golden Key awards respectively. In 2009, only two out of six institutions responded to written requests for information by MISA Malawi,’ in 2010 only three out of ten government institutions provided the chapter with responses. In 2011 only two responded, while in 2012 only three out of eight institutions sampled responded to written requests for information. The study also revealed that most public institutions in Malawi either ignore or entirely refuse to provide information upon request. These public institutions fail to take a proactive approach in disseminating information periodically or upon request. Introduction Rationale and Research Parameters Access to Information is a fundamental human right and one that underpins all other rights. The importance of access to information cannot be overemphasised. Other rights such as the right to health, safety, education as well as life cannot be fully enjoyed or realised without access to relevant and accurate information. The Malawi Constitution clearly recognises the critical role that access to information plays in not only building and promoting transparency in public institutions but participatory democracy and decision making as well. It is important to note, however, that access to information remains a serious challenge in Malawi despite the fact that the Malawi Constitution clearly guarantees access to information as a right. Public Institutions rarely value the public’s right to know and they are not willing and ready to make information accessible. In addition, Malawi has no law on ATI to compel public officials to provide people with information to make informed decisions. The absence of such a law basically means that citizens cannot easily access information as provided for in the constitution. It is on this basis that civil society organisations in Malawi, led by MISA Malawi, embarked on a campaign to push for legislation on ATI in 2004 to help facilitate the development and implementation of an effective legislation on ATI. In 2009, however, the campaign stalled as government indicated that the process could not proceed without an enabling policy on access to information. Since 2009, MISA Malawi has been working hand in hand with the Ministry of Information to develop a policy on ATI and we have managed to develop one with support from the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). At the moment, the process has stalled again as Principal Secretaries are yet to meet to recommend the draft policy to Cabinet for approval. Building and sustaining pressure on government to enact legislation on ATI is critical. Fostering a culture of openness and transparency in public institutions as one way of entrenching democratic values and beliefs in public officials is also paramount. Therefore, MISA Malawi joined other MISA Chapters in conducting the Right To Know research in June 2013. The main aim of the study was to “Asses level of openness in public institutions in Malawi”. 21