SECTOR 1

Scores:
Individual scores:
1

Country does not meet indicator

2

Country meets only a few aspects of indicator

3

Country meets some aspects of indicator

4

Country meets most aspects of indicator

5

Country meets all aspects of the indicator

Average score:
Score of previous years:

✓✓✓✓

✓
✓

✓

✓

✓✓

✓

✓

2.2
2017 = 3.9

1.7 Public information is easily accessible, guaranteed
by law, to the public
It remains a struggle to get public information in Zambia. Even a student doing
research, who looks for information from a public institution will battle. “You
need to know how to outmanoeuvre them.”
This stems from an ingrained culture of secrecy in public institutions. “Public
servants are obsessed with secrecy.”
On the other hand, there are cases where information is available, but people
don’t use it. “We only get excited about scandals, but no other information.” A
culture of information-seeking behaviour does not exist, so there is little demand
from citizens to use the information that is currently available.

Scores:
Individual scores:
1

Country does not meet indicator

2

Country meets only a few aspects of indicator

3

Country meets some aspects of indicator

4

Country meets most aspects of indicator

5

Country meets all aspects of the indicator

Average score:
Score of previous years:

✓

✓✓✓✓✓✓✓

✓

✓✓✓

1.2
2017 = 1.3

AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2021

15

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