TANZANIA Research Conclusions The recognition of freedom of information as a fundamental human right advances the effective promotion of justice, the rule of law and equality, and has therefore gained prominence in the recent past, being regarded as the cornerstone of democracy. Access to information is a necessity in all spheres of human activity, and is exemplified by the way states are shifting away from the culture of secrecy to openness. Our organisation conducts simple but relevant studies that have helped to shape how leaders and public offices operate. These studies have had some interesting stories, which serve as success stories. Last year, the Ministry of Finance won the Golden Key Award as the most open public institution; however, no representative was in attendance during the ceremony. After the Minister learned about the ceremony, he received the institution’s award and summoned a meeting of the department where he informed staff that despite winning, the research also revealed weaknesses in the institution’s performance with regard to the provision of information. The Minister requested work on those areas; the website underwent major changes since then. On the same occasion, the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs (MOCLA) got the Golden Padlock Award for being the most secretive public institution. No representative attended the award ceremony, despite invitation. When one of our staff delivered the padlock to the Ministry, it did not take more than 20 minutes before the award was returned to our office. MISA-TAN met the Minister, Hon. Mathias Chikawe, in February 2013. At the meeting the Minister acknowledged what had happened the previous year and stated it has changed the way the Ministry operates. “Next year, I promise you we will not get this trophy again. We have pumped funding into our IT department and now they are making major renovations”, he was quoted saying. This year we have noticed another significant improvement with regard to the communication of some public institutions. Previously, if information was asked for, a written request had to be forwarded to the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry. If the PS was not available, the requester had to wait for his availability to receive a response. This year, information officers are responsible for the handling of information requests. The two Ministries that called the researcher for interviews (Ministries of Water and Irrigation and Energy and Minerals) were represented by information officers during the interviews. THE Most Secretive Public Institution in tanzania Interestingly, two institutions that are linked closely in terms of functions came last in this study. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, which scored 10 out of 40, and the Medical Stores Department scoring 11 out of 40. Thus according to the findings and the score attained, this year’s recipient of the Golden Padlock Award for the Most Secretive Public Institution in Tanzania is the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. The Most Open Public Institution in tanzania Two Ministries have done an amazing job towards being transparent and opening up to the general public. These are the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, which scooped the award in 2010 as well as the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, which scored the highest in the ranking. We are proud to announce that the 2013 recipient of the Golden Key Award for the Most Open Public institution in Tanzania is the Ministry of Energy and Minerals. Recommendations Like previous years, we suggest the methodology used in the research should be strengthened by including interviews with media houses and journalists to get their views on the level of openness of the institutions sampled. Including views from members of the public and other organizations on which ministries or departments are considered secretive or transparent would also be vital. In addition, the research should include private bodies that utilise public funds. It is important to create awareness and encourage openness in the private sector. In the same vein, we believe that these findings will contribute to a culture of openness, especially with regard to those institutions surveyed for this study. 95