MOZAMBIQUE MOZAMBIQUE English Summary THE STATE OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN MOZAMBIQUE Mozambique approved a new Constitution in 2004, which in its Article 48 provides for the right to information. Though such a right was already provided for in the 1990 Constitution, the promulgation of the new Constitution inspired MISA Mozambique to submit a draft proposing a law on the right to informationto Parliament. After laying dormant for nine years, intense lobbying by civil society finally drove the proposal to the National Assembly, which set in motion a process of public hearings on the matter. Under pressure from civil society, a bill was eventually tabled and the law was finally promulgated on 31 December 2014. However, it remained unimplemented for a year until the regulations were approved on 31 December 2015. This study was conducted 20 months into the implementation process of legislation aimed atfacilitating public access to information held by public institutions. The introduction of the law does not yet seem to have changed the access to information environment in Mozambique. The perception among civil society organisations, journalists and research institutions is that the law is not yet fully implemented, which makes it difficult to exercise the right of access to information. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the level of openness of institutions in terms of making information publicly available. Specific objectives: 1. Identify the nature of institutional difficulty faced by institutions in making information available; 2. Assess the degree of compliance with the time provided by law for the handling and response to requests for information of public interest; 3. Monitor websites, the information they provide and the frequency with which they are updated. The institutions assessed were a mix of: one (1) institution of the Central State Administration under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior; three (3) local authorities; four (4) public enterprises; and one (1) private company. These were evaluated in terms of two main categories of criteria, namely an analysis of their use of online platforms and the response to requests for information. FINDINGS The 2017 study paints a critical picture of the institutions that hold information of public interest.In general, they demonstrate an awareness of the importance of making information available to the public, as a tool for transparency, accountability, credibility and legitimacy of their actions. However, they are mired in technical and institutional difficulties, many still do not have the appropriate structures to enable a more flexible and simplified exchange of information with citizens. As a case in point, many of the institutions have websites, these do not provide relevant information and few are routinely updated, diminishing their relevance in the flow and access to information. The learning process is unfolding at a slow pace, which means that the creation of a culture of openness with respect to the provision of information to the public will require proactive monitoring actions to arrive at a point where making information available becomes second nature. It is within this framework that MISA-Mozambique, together with several partners, is working to strengthen the institutional capacities of public bodies to equip them for the task of making information available. The results show that there has been little improvement compared to last year, in both categories. However, there has been a slight improvement in the institutions’ responsesto requests for information, although responses are not always satisfactory. A new phenomenon was the denial of access to information on the grounds that the requested documents are protected by confidentiality clauses. This argument was used specifically in connection with contracts between public and state institutions and between public and private institutions; as well as the reports and accounts of public companies. 45