NAMIBIA SUMMARY Organisation Website Request for information Total score 1. Erongo Regional Council 15 2 17 2. Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture 16 17 33 3. Ministry of Finance 14 4 18 4. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources 13 17 30 5. Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare 16 16 32 6. Ministry of Health and Social Services 16 6 22 7. Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration Safety and Security 11 10 21 8. Ministry of Information and Communication Technology 15 18 33 9. Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation 16 18 34 10 3 13 10. National Youth Council of Namibia RESEARCH CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATIONS Most public organisations have a strong online presence which allows them to communicate and share information with the public. y Each organisation should have dedicated and educated officers to deal with information requests. y Public officials should be educated on the importance of public access to information. y Common standards of promoting information should be employed. y Online platforms for government organisations should seek to communicate government’s policies and programmes. y Public organisations should encourage a culture of openness and transparency by proactively sharing information. Public relations officers sometimes lack the capacity to distinguish between private and public information, and end up depriving citizens of their right to information. However, it is important to note the dramatic improvement in both responses of information requests and website reviews. THE MOST OPEN PUBLIC ORGANISATION IN NAMIBIA THE MOST SECRETIVE PUBLIC ORGANISATION IN NAMIBIA Both the website and Facebook page of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation contains up-to-date information. The organisation responded timeously to the information request. The Public Relations Officer’s commitment to informationsharing is commendable. Therefore, the 2020 Golden Key Award goes to the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation. The website of the National Youth Council of Namibia is rarely updated and the Twitter page is dormant. Although this organisation’s Facebook page contains up-to-date information, its failure to respond to the information request demonstrates its low regard for people’s rights of access to information. Therefore, the 2020 Golden Padlock Award goes to the National Youth Council of Namibia. RETURN TO CONTENTS PAGE access 147 to