TANZANIA NAMIBIA INTRODUCTION ‘While other countries in the world aim to reach the moon, we must aim – for the time being at any rate – to reach the villages by providing them with necessary information.’ This famous quote by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the founding father of the nation, was recorded in 1967. It describes the importance of providing information to villagers. The idea behind this statement was that once villagers are adequately supplied with relevant information, they would be able to make informed decisions, especially with regard to farming and livestock keeping. Additionally, providing citizens with vital information would enable them to participate in the development and building of the nation. People also need information to exercise other crucial rights, such as the right to vote, the right to a clean and healthy environment and the right to associate. Communities need to coordinate themselves; activities surrounding wars, elections, emergency responses to natural calamities and even community celebrations only succeed if the community knows where to be, when, and what role to play. This required a system of information collection and exchange. Information is the central resource in creating economic and social connections that build a community’s capacity for action. Today, accessing information has been made a fundamental right and is recognised in many countries’ constitutions, and specific laws have been established to make sure this right is attained. Since Mwalimu gave that statement, it has taken Tanzania 49 years to develop a law that guarantees public access to information. The Access to Information (ATI) Act in Tanzania was enacted in 2016, after a series of decade-long discussions and deliberations between the government and stakeholders. Stakeholders believe that this is a step in the right direction as the world is moving towards a more open society, especially with the advent of new technology. However, the ATI law and other legislation, such as the Media Services Act of 2016, the Media Services Act Regulations 2017, the Cybercrimes Act and the Statistics Act both of 2015, and the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations of 2018 came with daunting challenges and even bigger threats to the entire information sector, triggering a national outcry from media, human rights defenders and the public. Certain preconditions are necessary for the adequate implementation of the ATI law, one of them being raising the capacity of government information officers, which has not yet taken place. According to findings in a recent study conducted by MISA Tanzania, the culture of secrecy among public officials in Tanzania, at both central and local government levels, is interfering with the work of journalists. This is hindering access to information that is necessary for media reporting, increased civic participation, transparency and accountability in governance. The study, which was conducted by the MISA Tanzania Chapter in partnership with the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), assessed the responsiveness of local government authorities (LGAs) and some central government offices to citizens’ information requests. The study found widespread laxity amongst officials in the handling and processing of information requests, poor customer care services, lack of knowledge of the ATI law and reluctance of government officials to share public information. The study was conducted as part of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) 4 Democracy Network in East Africa’s objective to realise access to information by documenting and publicising the utility and effectiveness of ICT for government-citizen interaction, proactive information disclosure, and the level of responsiveness to information requests. RATIONALE AND RESEARCH PARAMETERS MISA Tanzania joined other MISA Chapters in the region to participate in a study that aimed at establishing the most open and secretive government and public institutions. The study was conducted between 16 July and 17 August 2018. Four of the eight participating institutions were picked based on the relevance of the work the institutions are mandated to carry out for the country. The other four surveyed institutions are ministries. Selected public institutions include: 1. Workers Compensation Fund (WCF) 2. Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) 3. Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) 4. Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) Selected ministries include: 5. Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) 6. Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MoLF) 7. Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) 8. Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MIT) Research Methodology The research adopted qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, and sought to assess the level of public access to information held by government and public institutions. In order to achieve this, websites of government and public institutions were evaluated, along with their responsiveness to submitted information requests. This method sought to establish the transparency and efficiency of government and public institutions in providing information to the public. 73