LESOTHO RESEARCH CONCLUSION The survey has revealed the secrecy within government ministries and public institutions, which serves to deny citizens their right to information. The Office of the Ombudsman has a balanced approach to the provision of information. It has a well-resourced website and is able to respond to written requests for information. It is utterly unacceptable for very important ministries and public institutions not to have updated websites. This is a weakness that even the best performer, the Office of the Ombudsman, has to overcome. Two out of the eight institutions were found not to have a website. The Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Energy, Meteorology and Water Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs had very little information posted on the national government website. This makes evaluating the work of these institutions a near impossible task for citizens. The written request was addressed to the officer designated for information dissemination at all of the institutions. Public institutions like the Office of the Prime Minister and the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences requested that the researcher write another letter to the Principal Secretary and the Director General respectively. A request addressed to the officer designated to disseminate information should be enough. The red tape only serves to delay or deny access to information. A journalist or researcher requesting the information could easily fail to meet deadlines, due to unnecessary requests to address letters to different people, especially when the content is the same, the only difference being the person addressed in the letter. THE MOST SECRETIVE PUBLIC INSTITUTION IN LESOTHO The Ministry of Energy, Meteorology and Water Affairs is the most secretive of the eight public institutions and ministries surveyed. The ministry was the only institution without an officer designated for information dissemination. It does not have an independent website and it only considers requests that have authorisation from certain institutions or researchers affiliated with those institutions, effectively denying information to freelance journalists, independent researchers and the general public. This excuse was given regardless of the fact that the Principal Secretary requested that the Department of Energy process the request. However, the researcher was denied information on the basis that he would only be given information if he was affiliated with a research or academic institution. The denial of information to an independent researcher only highlights the secrecy within which the ministry is operating. This means that citizens of Lesotho do not have a right to know what the ministry is doing unless they are affiliated with certain institutions. 36 THE MOST OPEN PUBLIC INSTITUTION IN LESOTHO The Lesotho National Dairy Board (LNDB) scored highest when it comes to handling requests for information. The only challenge for the LNDB was the lack of a website. The organisation could better reach stakeholders if it were to have a small website with manageable information. That would go a long way towards ensuring that the public has access to information about the regulation of the dairy industry in Lesotho. The Office of the Ombudsman is the most open public institution in Lesotho. The officer responsible for disseminating information was able to arrange a meeting for the researcher with the head of the organisation. The Office of the Ombudsman seems to be consistent in handling information requests, as it was the second highest scoring in 2012’s study, when this research was last conducted in Lesotho. Information is easily accessible and anyone who is computer literate can send a message to the office through its website. It is, therefore, imperative that the public make use of the accessibility of the Office and file their complaints about poor service delivery. RECOMMENDATIONS The results of this study underscore the need for Lesotho to make public participation a priority. That would compel public institutions to provide the public with relevant and updated information. Access to information should be part of a liberal media policy. Lesotho must consider the formulation of a Public Participation Act and an Access to Information Act. These Acts would ensure that citizens have the information and tools to make informed decisions. It is imperative that all public institutions have officers designated for information dissemination. In that way, the public would be able to approach such officers whenever they need information about the institution. It would make life very easy for the public if all public institutions were to have independent and up-todate websites. It is very important that journalists, researchers and the public have access to updated information on the work of public institutions. Some of the people who may need information about Lesotho may not have the privilege of being able to visit the offices of these public institutions. Websites could save resources such as time and money used to search for information, which could be put towards other uses. The Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Energy, Meteorology and Water Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs should have their own independent websites. A developing country like Lesotho should opt for efficiency in information dissemination in order to propel innovation and economic development.