MOZAMBIQUE MOZAMBIQUE ENGLISH SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Since 2014, Mozambique has had the Right to Information Law (LEDI), Law No. 34/2014, under which it commits itself to make the transition from a closed to an open administration and a model of access to information that is in the public interest. However, inheriting much from a closed bureaucratic model, the learning curve is steep and changing habits at institutions that hold and manage information is slow. In addition to a question of legacy, the legal framework still includes instruments that hamper full implementation, such as the law on state secrecy or the classification of state information. It would be remiss of us to omit the fact that Mozambican journalist Ericino de Salema, one of the key players who fought for the approval of specific legislation to make information available, was abducted and tortured in March 2018. OBJECTIVE The 2018 study attempted to track the evolution of the implementation of LEDI, looking at the approach to responding to information requests as well as trends in behavioural changes among public officials responsible for the management and storage of information. To this end, the MISA team carried out site visits to the premises of selected institutions to assess conditions and enable MISA to develop strategies to assist with the implementation of the law. Specific Objectives: 1. Ascertain whether the willingness of public officials to make information available is still determined by a belief in discretionary power rather than compliance with the law. 2. Assess the degree of awareness of the obligations imposed by the law in respect to the timeframe provided for the handling of requests, the underlying principles, and the conditions under which they are obliged to serve the public. 3. Appraise the eagerness for transparency in the scope of the national commitment to fight corruption and how this is countered by an intransigence in sharing information relating to questions of debt. The institutions assessed were a mix of central and decentralised public institutions. The team decided to approach two institutions that had been assessed in the previous study to evaluate changes and uncover indicators of learning with respect to the management and release of information. Institutions were evaluated in terms of two main categories, namely an analysis of their use of online platforms to make information available and their responses to requests for information. FINDINGS The present study points to a state of flux that mirrors the economic woes the country is going through, with compelling forces tugging from different directions in terms of increasing or reducing transparency. While the push for transparency as a weapon in the fight against corruption is apparent, willingness aside, there are no clear signs of a serious commitment to bring the spirit of the law to fruition. During the site visits, the team carried out interviews and mock searches for the information previously requested through formal requests for information sent to each institution. From the interviews, it was clear that the problem was not a lack of willingness but rather organisational challenges and a lack of structure in terms of who should be responsible for handling requests for information. Most institutions lack an organisational structure for receiving members of the public and the handling of information requests. Most have libraries or similar spaces that contain information for public consumption, but they have no system to assist in locating the information. At the same time, it was found that the institutions have very little information that would allow the public to form an idea of the activities the institutions carry out. This points to a near total lack of knowledge of the LEDI and of the power that it confers on public officials in building their credibility and legitimacy. 57