Government Secrecy in an Information Age those countries. The most difficult country to request for information was Zimbabwe. Requesters in some institutions where required to be interviewed to justify and explain why they need the information. Information was denied based on what the public official suspected the information was sort for. In all the public institutions, information was denied. However the other countries were no better than Zimbabwe. Southern Africa is home to the most secretive governments in the world. MISA conducted research in seven countries establish which public institutions in had the most or least efficiently organized provision of public information. Article 9 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights states that “every person has the right to information” and that “Public bodies hold information not for themselves but as custodians of the public good and everyone has the right to access this information” ACHPR The research revealed non-transparent and overly secretive public institutions in southern Africa making it almost impossible for citizens to exercise their right to information. These countries – Malawi, Tanzania, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and the rest of the region urgently require Access to Information regimes not only to counter a culture of secrecy, but to put obligation on government to provide information in accordance with the law. Using international standards and principles on Access to Information, less than two of the 40 institutions surveyed qualified as open and transparent. With the exception of two institutions, nonresponded to our written request for information including the Office of the Ombudsman in Malawi. The Ministries of Health in Zambia and Swaziland were among the most secretive institutions and recipients of the golden padlock Awards in 28