SECTOR 1 1.7 Public information is easily accessible, guaranteed by law, to all citizens. Access to public information is not guaranteed by legislation in Swaziland and obtaining such information is fraught with difficulties for ordinary members of the public in general, and journalists in particular. “It is very scarce to get information from within government.” “Members of the public are prohibited from accessing records at the deeds office.” The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Bill of 2007 is still in its draft stage and the process around its being passed into legislation appears to have stalled. Panellists noted that in its current form, the Bill also restricts access to public information by putting various hurdles in place, such as high costs. “Even finding out how much money government has spent on free primary education since initiating this policy in 2005 proved to be futile. After we had submitted a substantial explanation of our reasons for needing this information to the Ministry of Education, we were still denied access with broad reasons preventing access to such information.” State officials routinely use clawbacks like those found in the Constitution’s Section 24 (3) – including defence, public safety or public order - in order to deny access to information. 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: 1.3 (2005: 1.3; 2007: 1.1; 2009: 1.2; 2011: 1.2) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Swaziland 2014 23