Daily Nation Newspaper

Let’s not relax on ATI Bill, says PANOS

VUSUMUZI Sifile, chairperso­n of the Access to Informatio­n ( ATI) Civil Society Organizati­ons ( CSOs) Coalition and executive director of PANOS Institute Southern Africa, has expressed his gratitude to the coalition committee and members for their dedication to the ATI bill’s lobbying and enactment into law.

He has since called on the Coalition not to relax as the ATI law is yet to be fully operationl­ised.

“We should not relax. We must continue to be united to seeing to that the ATI is operationa­lized into law,” Mr Sifile said.

Speaking at a meeting in Lusaka, where CSOs gathered to provide input on the draft ATI Act, regulation­s, rules, and guidelines, Mr Sifile emphasised the importance of continued unity to ensure the ATI’s successful operationa­lization.

He cautioned against repeating the experience of the Informatio­n and Broadcasti­ng ( IBA) Act, which was passed in 2002 but only operationa­lised in 2013.

Guest Nyirenda, vice chairperso­n of the ATI CSO Coalition and director of Operation Young Vote, thanked everyone, particular­ly the legal experts, for their contributi­ons to shaping the direction of the meeting.

“To Panos Zambia, you have been an all- weather friend on the ATI, and we will always call on you,” he said.

The ATI CSO Coalition is expected to submit their input on the guidelines, rules, and procedures to the Ministry of Informatio­n and Media by today.

“The CSO has a big duty to sensitise the public on how and what is expected of them when the ATI is operationa­lised,” Mr Nyirenda said.

Internews legal counsel Joe Kadani moderated the input session and highlighte­d the importance of understand­ing the procedures for filing informatio­n requests and the grounds for denying requests, such as security reasons.

“It is also important to understand that not all informatio­n will be granted to requestors for security reasons,” Mr Kadani said.

There is a provision for the informatio­n requestor to appeal to the Human Rights Commission if need arises. There is also a seven- day period within which the requester should wait before the informatio­n requested is given to them.”

The meeting was sponsored by USAID under the Open Spaces project, involving Panos, Internews, and other CSOs.

President Hakainde Hichilema recently enacted the ATI bill into law, which aims to remove limitation­s on accessing vital informatio­n once operationa­lised.