FRIDAY, 1.00PM
The long-awaited Open Democracy Bill was published in the Government Gazette on Friday. If enacted the law will give citizens access to government information, while protecting private information and official whistle-blowers who expose maladministration and corruption.
The Bill seeks to compel government bodies to disclose, on request, information and official records with the intention of exposing evidence of irregularities such as abuse of funds or authority. Government bodies are defined as any department of state or administration in national, provincial or local government, but excluding the national executive and judiciary.
The Bill stipulates that each government body has to appoint an official to deal with requests for information. “The information officer of a governmental body must grant a request for access to a record … if disclosure of the record would reveal evidence of substantial abuse of authority, illegality or neglect in the performance of the duties of an official of a governmental body,” the Bill says. “The information officer must grant a request … if the public interest in the disclosure of the record clearly outweighs the need for non-disclosure.”
The Bill also compels heads of government bodies to disclose any information that reveals a serious public safety or environmental risk.
However, there are several exceptions: Government bodies must refuse access to information which, if released, constitutes an invasion of privacy of an individual or reveals trade secrets of a third party. Information on national security matters is also protected. The same applies to details about criminal investigations and witness protection programmes. Records on proposed changes in policy affecting the country’s currency, legal tenders, exchange rates or foreign investments may also be withheld. The Bill also offers extensive protection to civil servants who blow the whistle on maladministration.