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: 1.7 (2005: 2.1; 2007: 1.8; 2009: 3.3, 2011: 2.5) 1.7 Public information is easily accessible, guaranteed by law, to all citizens. While Article 21 of the Constitution might imply access to information, there is no Access to Information law or an explicit constitutional guarantee. In fact, there are a number of laws that hinder freedom of information amongst them, the Public Service Act (1995) that forbids civil servants from sharing information held by public bodies without permission from ministers and permanent secretaries. There are no legal protections for whistleblowers and, as a matter fact, laws criminalise whistleblowing with blanket provisions for non-disclosure of ‘sensitive’ and ‘secret’ information on the grounds of ‘national security’ and ‘public interest’ - which are open to broad interpretations irrespective of the legitimacy of motives for disclosing information. This effectively hinders citizens’ access to information. The new provisions added to the Research, Science and Technology Act of 2004 further hinder access to information and freedom of expression. One panellist described the current state of affairs as one in which “(T)here is a high level of secrecy”. Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, to which Namibia is bound, states that: Public bodies hold information not for themselves but as custodians of the public good and everyone has a right to access this information, subject only to clearly defined rules established by law. Having so many legal provisions that complicate disclosing and accessing information is in direct contradiction to that premise. 20 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2015