SECTOR 1 While the government has generally expressed willingness to engage in the process of drafting and passing a Namibian Access to Information law, the former head of the Law Reform and Development Commission (LRDC) and current Attorney General, Sacky Shangala, has also expressed government’s interest in introducing protection of information provisions, which could be in line with the controversial South African Protection of Information Bill. In the absence of an access to information regime, it was felt that it seems that often “public officials have no sense of what is public information”. The centralisation of information and autocratic structures within government and society at large further hinder the smooth and timely release of information. “Even if you are the PS or the manager, you are still not empowered to reveal information” expressed one panellist; and the case is even less so if you are a ‘low level’ government employee. There is also no determined timeframe for answering requests from the media, which can make it difficult to verify information. Panellists noted that before elections a “heightened sense of perceived threat within the ruling party” led to higher levels of secrecy. The Delimitation Commission’s Fourth Report (2013) which explains the reasons for the creation of several new constituencies and a new region, as well as the name change of Luderitz to !Nami#nus, for example, have been kept secret under the pretence of national security. Related to this secrecy, one panellist felt it important to note that “(T)here is a fine line between inaptness and deliberate refusal”. On the other hand, some ministries have become more forthcoming with information, and the restructuring of most ministries to include Communications and Public Relations Departments could be an indication that they acknowledge the importance of sharing information. In some instances, civil society engagement with certain government agencies has rendered positive results. After MISA Namibia engaged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about a lack of information available through their structures, there were visible improvements on the Ministry’s website, for instance. Furthermore, all observed that “some agencies are very forthcoming” such as the Motor Vehicle Agency (MVA), which has won MISA’s Golden Key Award on several occasions, for being the country’s most transparent institution. It was also acknowledged that the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has revolutionised access to information in Namibia as they make the results of their studies easily available. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2015 21