ZIMBABAWE ZIMBABWE SUMMARY IN NUMBERS Institution Request for information Total score 1. National Arts Council of Zimbabwe 11 16 27 2. TELONE 14 2 16 3. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MPSE) 4 2 6 4. The Public Service Commission(PSC) 10 2 12 5. The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) 14 2 16 6. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) 11 18 29 7. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) 10 16 26 8. The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) 7 18 25 9. The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) 12 6 18 10. The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) 14 2 16 RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS Given the above findings, one is inclined to conclude that the majority of institutions remain rather closed and averse to placing information in the public domain. Compared to previous studies where websites were poorly administered, this year, a number of institutions had better-managed websites. However, most still fall far below expected standards in terms of information accessibility. It is also clear that the information management and dissemination systems of some public bodies remain erratic and inconsistent. For example, the SRC and the TIMB were rated the most open institutions in 2015 and 2016 respectively, but under the present survey they performed rather dismally, rating 5th and 6th respectively. THE MOST SECRETIVE PUBLIC INSTITUTION IN ZIMBABWE Most (60%) of the public institutions surveyed can easily be classified as secretive since 6 out of 10 public bodies failed to respond to written requests for information. However, for the second year running the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education was the most secretive institution with a total score of 6 points. The Ministry did not respond to written requests for information and the website remains badly managed. The Public Service Commission closely trailed behind, scoring 12 out of 40, displaying a similar reluctance in responding to information requests. 128 Website THE MOST OPEN PUBLIC INSTITUTION IN ZIMBABWE Some organisations promptly responded to information requests electronically or called the researcher to provide the answers to questions posed in the request. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission had a functioning, interactive website and promptly responded to questions furnished by the researcher, through a designated Communications Officer. The National Arts Council also had a relatively good website with relevant information about its work, and efficiently responded to the information request sent to their office, albeit by telephone. The response was quick and came within a week of their receipt of the request. Based on this, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission is the most open public institution; it scored a total of 29 points. The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe came in second place with 27 overall points. RECOMMENDATIONS Public institutions need to seriously invest in information management and dissemination systems. This service should not be an ad hoc one, because for the regular person accessing information should never be viewed as a privilege but a right. In line with this thinking, the Government must ensure that the existing access to information legislation is aligned with the new Constitution. Furthermore, they must take deliberate action towards ensuring that freedom of information rights accorded by law are not taken away by the promulgation of other laws