LESOTHO

TRANSPARENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT
INTRODUCTION
Access to information in Lesotho remains a hard-fought
battle by free expression activists and media freedom
fighters. MISA Lesotho dedicates most of its advocacy
work towards ensuring a viable working environment
for media practitioners as far as access to information is
concerned. This is against a background of archaic laws
and legal instruments detrimental to the enjoyment of
this right by the media, as well as the general public.
The country is a signatory to a number of regional and
international treaties and conventions, such as the
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights,
and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
However, very little has been done to domesticate
these agreements into the local legal framework. Some
existing laws still impede free access to information.
A number of government organisations also hamper
access to information by labelling certain information
and government documents as ‘confidential’ or ‘secret’.
In an effort to realise a viable platform for unhindered
access to information, MISA Lesotho advocated for an
access to information law which culminated in the
Access and Receipt of Information Bill of 2000. However,
20 years later, the bill is yet to be enacted into law by
parliament. This is in spite of a drastic political change
after the 2012 elections, that saw the country move
from a single-party state to a multi-party coalition
government.
To date, the country has made strides towards
improving the overall legal situation through national
reforms. The national reforms programme is a multifaceted and multi-stakeholder initiative to overhaul
the country’s legal framework, spanning constitutional,
parliamentary, security, public service sector, judicial,
economic and media reforms. The initial stage of the
reforms agenda, which is dialogue, was completed
in December 2019. During this stage, shortfalls in the
current system were identified and suggestions were
made on how they should be addressed.

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RATIONALE AND RESEARCH
PARAMETERS
AIM OF THE STUDY
The aim of this study was to assess the state of access to
information in Lesotho. Specifically it sought to examine
the level of openness and ability to provide requested
information by government/public organisations.
Ten organisations were surveyed between 22 June–15
July 2020.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
y

To determine which organisations (both government
and public) provide information to citizens upon
request, timeously and with relative ease.

y

To determine which organisations (both government
and public) utilise online platforms to promote
access to information.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research adopts both qualitative and quantitative
methods of data collection, and seeks to evaluate the
level of public access to information held by government
and public organisations. Each MISA Chapter conducts
research by evaluating the websites of government
and public organisations along with submitting written
requests for information. This method seeks to establish
the transparency and efficiency of government and
public organisations in providing information to the
public.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
y

Most public organisations have, for decades,
treated public information as though it is a right to
be enjoyed by only a few elites and not the general
public.

y

This research was undertaken during the COVID-19
pandemic, when many public organisations were
reporting positive cases amongst staff members
or their families. This caused service disruption
as these organisations were forced to close their
offices in order to test staff and disinfect their
establishments against COVID-19.

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