ORGANISATIONS SURVEYED The following public organisations were surveyed: 1. Chipinge Rural District Council 2. Chitungwiza Municipality 3. Environmental Management Agency The aim of this study was to assess the state of access to information in Zimbabwe. Citizens require information to make choices and decisions and this study sought to determine whether such information, as held by public organisations, is available to citizens in a usable format upon request. 4. Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe 5. Ministry of Health and Child Care 6. Ministry of Mines and Mining Development 7. Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education 8. Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 9. Mutare City Council AIM OF THE STUDY y To determine which public organisations provide information to citizens upon request, timeously and with relative ease. y To determine which organisations utilise online platforms to promote access to information. 10. Zimbabwe School Examinations Council RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research adopts both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, and seeks to evaluate the level of public access to information held by government and public organisations. Each MISA Chapter conducts research by evaluating the websites of government and public organisations along with submitting written requests for information. This method seeks to establish the transparency and efficiency of government and public organisations in providing information to the public. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY y y Given the limited timeframe for the survey and the fact that Zimbabwe has been under COVID-19 lockdown restrictions since March 2020, it was not feasible to effectively test the new Freedom of Information Act, the openness of the public organisations and to survey all organisations as originally planned. The culture and practice of acknowledging receipt of information requests, as opposed to providing the information sought, is still a challenge in some organisations. The targeted public organisations do not always notify the requester when they receive the information request letters. They normally only acknowledge receipt of such requests upon physical follow-up visits to their offices. RETURN TO CONTENTS PAGE 183 SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS Category 1: Website analysis y Most websites were poorly managed and not updated regularly. y Critical information, such as procedures on how to obtain information, budgetary allocations and procurement procedures, was not available. y Some websites generated error messages. y Some public organisations use social media to disseminate information. Category 2: Requests for information y Most organisations imposed restrictions on visitors, which made the submission of requests difficult. Electronic and telephonic requests were therefore relied upon. y Written requests were not responded to. Verbal requests were acknowledged, although the requested information was not necessarily given. ZIMBABWE RATIONALE AND RESEARCH PARAMETERS