Summary comparison of AIPPA and the gazetted Freedom of Information Bill More than six years after the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, most of Zimbabwe’s laws are still to be aligned with the substantive human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in Chapter 4 of the Constitution known as the Declaration of Rights. The proposed repeal and amendments to laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) are grossly inadequate and far from meeting regional, continental, and international benchmarks and best practice. The recently gazetted Freedom of Information Bill (FOI Bill) is one such law as it has serious deficiencies in its framing and efforts to be constitutionally compliant in terms of Section 62 of the Constitution that provides for the right to access to information. AIPPA provisions Issue Sec 5: Right to Information is The restriction is against Section 62 limited to: of the Constitution which states i. Information held by a public that: body i. The right to provide access ii. Citizens, permanent residents information applies to State, and long term visitors to public and private bodies. See Zimbabwe Section 62 (1) and (2) of the iii. Locally registered media Constitution organisations ii. Every person has the right to access information held by the State, public and private bodies if such information is required for the exercise or protection of a right. Section 62 (2) of the Constitution FOI Bill proposed provisions Recommendations The Memorandum of the Bill states: Expand Section 7 of FOI Bill to i. Only citizens and residents may include requests for access make requests to public information held by private entities. entities ii. Non-citizens and non-residents may make requests to private entities if such information is required for the exercise and protection of a right Section 7 of the Bill only deals with access to information held by public entities and is silent on requests from private entities. 1