ZAMBIA TRANSPARENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT RATIONALE AND RESEARCH PARAMETERS INTRODUCTION In September 2022, the Zambian government provided a roadmap to stakeholders indicating that by 16 May 2023, the Information and Media Minister would have introduced an approved ATI Bill in Parliament. On 4 February 2023, Information and Media Minister Chushi Kasanda reiterated that the Zambian cabinet had agreed to enact the ATI Bill by June 2023. AIM OF THE STUDY The research sought to assess the levels of transparency of select public organisations in Zambia. Ten organisations were surveyed between 22 and 30 June 2023. However, in June 2023, Permanent Secretary Kennedy Kalunga said he could not determine how soon the ATI Bill would be enacted into law. This heightened fears that the government was making false promises about the proposed law. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Throughout various presidencies, Zambia has witnessed a variety of contradictory and even comical explanations of the ATI law process. In the past decade, there have been several such pronouncements by the government indicating intention to enact the ATI Bill into law. y To determine which public organisations provide information to citizens upon request, timeously and with relative ease. y To determine which public organisations utilise online platforms to promote ATI. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research adopted qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and sought to evaluate the level of public ATI held by government and public organisations. This research was done by evaluating the websites of government and public organisations along with submitting written requests for information. This method sought to establish the transparency and efficiency of government and public organisations in providing information to the public. When he was elected in 2021, President Hakainde Hichilema sparked new hope that the ATI law would be enacted. Hichilema committed to giving Zambians an ATI law when his United Party for National Development (UPND) was in opposition. He has reaffirmed his government’s commitment towards the same after assuming office as Zambia’s seventh president. In his 2021 World Press Freedom Day message to media practitioners, Zambia’s Hichilema expressed commitment to enacting the ATI law. The official opening of the first session of the 13th National Assembly on 10 September 2021 was another platform through which Hichilema reaffirmed this commitment. ORGANISATIONS SURVEYED The following public organisations were surveyed: The law on ATI is critical for enhancing transparency, accountability and the role of the media, all of which are essential in a democracy. Further, such a law could help to alleviate vices such as corruption, which thrive in an environment of secrecy. 1. Anti-Corruption Commission 2. Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit 3. Energy Regulation Board 4. Independent Broadcasting Authority 5. Ministry of Education 6. Ministry of Health 7. Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development 8. National Pension Scheme Authority 9. Patents and Companies Registration Agency 10. Zambia Revenue Authority 92