(MISA/IFEX) – The Freedom of Information Bill that the government has proposed would regulate the flow of information, indicate under what circumstances information held by individuals or about individuals would be released or made public, and outline which information is protected in the interests of national security, public order, health, financial security and banking processes, […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The Freedom of Information Bill that the government has proposed would regulate the flow of information, indicate under what circumstances information held by individuals or about individuals would be released or made public, and outline which information is protected in the interests of national security, public order, health, financial security and banking processes, Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo has said.
Speaking in an interview with “The Financial Gazette” on 5 April 2001, Moyo said the Information Bill would regulate how long information should be protected and also spell out the process for accessing information when that period has expired. “It is about regulating access of information, regulating the dissemination of information, [and] protecting the privacy of individuals in terms of gathering and disseminating of some information,” said Moyo.
Moyo refused to shed light on whether government officials will be compelled to release information, saying that the bill will prescribe a process for acquiring information that is reasonably believed to be held by a public entity, whether it is inside or outside government, and where it is argued that it is somehow in the public interest for that information to be made public. “We can only talk here at the level of policy…the specific provisions of the bill will have to speak for themselves,” said Moyo.
Moyo also said that the bill would be debated in public before going to parliament. He said that efforts to set up a voluntary media council would not be undermined by the government’s intentions to set up a statutory media council.
“They can compliment each other and we welcome co-existence,” said Moyo. However, Moyo questioned the concept of a voluntary media council, arguing that it will be comprised of the same journalists whom the complaints will be brought against.
Speaking on the accreditation regulations, Moyo said that journalists would only have to disclose their qualifications, and not necessarily a media qualification. “That does not mean that when you are not qualified you cannot be accredited. There are going to be set criteria and there is no use [in] looking at one criterion. We also know journalists are trained within their organisations,” said Moyo.
