SECTOR 1 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: 3.8 (2013 = 3.7; 2010 = 2.5) 1.7 Public information is easily accessible, guaranteed by law, to all citizens. According to Article 71 of the Press Code, cited by the panel, no one may be prevented or prohibited from having access to all sources of information except those relating to State security, national defence, professional secrecy and the right to privacy. The 2016 Act on access to information guarantees and outlines the right of constituents to information and public documentation. In spite of these two provisions, problems of access to sources of information still persist. The panellists are of the opinion that citizens in Togo have almost no access to public information. The communiqué of the Council of Ministers is accessible to the public. But it is an exception to the rule. Public procurement documents are not accessible to the average citizen. It would appear that civil servants have been instructed not to share this information. General Civil Service Regulations require civil servants to consult their superiors. Even in the case of a written application, there is no follow-up. Worse still, a very cumbersome bureaucracy hampers citizens in their quest for information. One panellist recalls that some students who wished to visit the information service of the Ministry of Communication were asked to provide an official letter. In this difficult situation, the information portal of the Ministry of Economy and Finances provides some encouragement. The http://www.togoreforme.com/fr/ portal is an accessible source of information but the panel still holds that no official information is available for instance, on the Lomé-Vogan road construction project. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2017 75