y On a relatively positive note, the long-awaited Freedom of Information Act came into effect on 1 July 2020. This is part of the process of repealing AIPPA and is a significant milestone in Zimbabwe’s law reform agenda. y This piece of legislation grants constitutional rights on freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information held by entities in the interest of public accountability, or for the exercise of a right. Specifically: y The Act designates an information officer as the point-person responsible for receiving and processing information requests. However, at the time of this research many organisations had not yet recruited information officers. y The Act places an obligation on entities to have a written information disclosure policy. y Section 6 (a) protects deliberations and functions of cabinet and its committees but does not make provision for the declassification of this information. y Section 7, which focuses on requests for access to information, does not include private entities. This aspect is similar to Section 5 of AIPPA which limited the right of access to information held by public bodies only. This provision, therefore, continues to be restrictive. y Section 10 states that if a response is not handled within the specified timeframe, the information officer is deemed to have refused the request. An applicant would then need to file an appeal with the Commission. There is no mechanism in place to ensure that in instances of deemed refusals, reasons for the refusal are given. y Section 16 provides for information to be supplied in a language requested by the applicant. However, translation costs are to be paid by the applicant. As Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, it would have been more inclusive to ensure that information is available and accessible in all official languages. Imposing translation fees is restrictive and discriminatory. y Section 17 provides for the payment of fees, which include search, translation, the making of copies and inspection fees. It is MISA Zimbabwe’s hope that these fees will be reasonable and affordable to low-income members of society to allow for the exercise of the right of access to information. y Section 22 provides for exemptions on specific information held by private entities, but the Act is silent on requests to private entities. RETURN TO CONTENTS PAGE 182 y The Act provides an exemption of access to information where it is likely to cause prejudice to the defence or security of the State. The Act, under Section 27 (2) also clearly defines what this information includes. The Act stipulates that information requests should be made in writing. The Act makes no provision for people who are illiterate or blind, and this has raised concerns. Considering that the law establishes the role of information officers, it should be the duty of that officer to reduce verbal requests into writing for record purposes. This provision is similar to Section 6 of AIPPA. Some of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act support Sections 61 and 62 of the constitution which provide for freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information. Although this Act comes a long way in repealing AIPPA, there are still many areas of concern. Prior to this bill’s passage in parliament, overwhelming submissions were made by citizens during public hearings, pertaining to the roles of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) and Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC). Many of the submissions requested that appeals relating to denial of information requests to be lodged with the ZHRC (or a competent court of law), and not with the ZMC (as its constitutional mandate is on media regulation). MISA Zimbabwe agreed with this, holding a strong view that the right of access to information is a human right and that the ZHRC, as the guardian of human rights, is thus more suitable to attend to complaints relating to the exercise of that right as opposed to a media regulatory body. It is noted with concern that these submissions were ignored in the new act, although it does make provision for further appeals to the High Court if an applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the ZMC. ZIMBABWE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT