Bill Powers' Opinion on Freedom of Information THERE SHOULD BE A "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION" BILL FOR TANZANIA THE BILL The whole idea of the Bill is to give effect to the constitutional right of access to any information held by the government of Tanzania and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights. The system of government in Tanzania is very secretive and has an unresponsive culture in public and private bodies which often lead to an abuse of power and human rights violations. The Government is already required to observe and adhere to the principles of co-operation which, amongst others, mean co-operating with one another in mutual trust and good faith by informing one another of, and consulting one another on matters of common interest. Moreover, the Constitution places a duty on the state to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights. Hence it is necessary to create a culture of transparency and accountability of all public and private bodies in order to promote a society in which the people of Tanzania have access to information held by the state which will assist the public in understanding the powers, duties and operations of public bodies and access to information that is held by another person, and to raise awareness and understanding among the people of this country of their rights in their relationship towards public and private bodies. The right of access to any information held by the state and of access to any information that is held by another person may be limited to the extent that the limitations are reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom. PUBLICATION AND AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN RECORDS 1. Manuals on functions of public bodies. 2. Manuals on index of records held by public bodies. 3. Voluntary disclosure of records. 4. Information in telephone directory. MANNER OF ACCESS 1. Designation of deputy information officers and delegation 2. Form of requests 3. Duty to assist requesters 4. Transfer of requests 5. Preservation of records until final decision on request 6. Fees 7. Records that cannot be found or do not exist 8. Deferral of access 9. Decision on request and notice thereof 10. Extension of period to deal with request 11. Deemed refusal of request 12. Severability 13. Access and forms of access 14. Language of access 15. Reports to Human Rights Commission GROUNDS FOR REFUSAL OF ACCESS TO RECORDS 1. Mandatory and discretionary grounds for refusal, and interpretation 2. Mandatory protection of privacy of third party 3. Tax related records 4. Mandatory protection of commercial information of third party 5. Records supplied in confidence 6. Mandatory protection of individuals’ safety, and protection of property 7. Law enforcement and legal proceedings 8. Mandatory protection of records privileged from production in legal proceedings 9. Republic’s defence, security and international relations 10. Economic interests of Republic and commercial activities of public bodies 11. Operations of public bodies 12. Mandatory disclosure in public interest APPEALS AGAINST DECISIONS OF INFORMATION OFFICERS OF CERTAIN PUBLIC BODIES 1. Right of internal appeal to relevant authority A requester may lodge an internal appeal against a decision of the information officer of a public body. 2. Manner of internal appeal, and appeal fees An internal appeal must be lodged in the prescribed form— within 60 days. The appeal must be delivered or sent to the information officer of the public body concerned at his or her address, fax number or electronic mail address. 3. Notice to and representations by other interested parties If a relevant authority is considering an internal appeal against the refusal of a request for access to a record contemplated the authority must inform the third party to whom or which the record relates of the internal appeal, unless all necessary steps to locate the third party have been unsuccessful. 4. Decision on internal appeal and notice thereof The head of a private body must, as soon as reasonably possible decide, whether to grant the request for access; and notify the third party. If the request is granted, the notice in terms must state the reasons for granting the request (including the provisions of this Act relied upon to justify the granting). "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION" BILL FOR TANZANIA should enable the establishment of an effective legal right of access to government information, underscoring the crucial need in a democracy for open access to government information by Tanzanians. In the future, citizens, scholars, and reporters will be able use "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION" BILL to obtain vital and valuable government information.