Government flouting law on right to information DA
The rule of law, as it is applied via the Promotion of Access to Information Act, which grants people the right to apply to government departments for any information which they hold, is being flouted by the state, notes E-Brief News.
There have been several instances where government departments have simply refused to divulge requested information, and now the issue has been raised by the DA. A Business Day report quotes DA justice spokesperson Sheila Camerer as saying the Act is in danger of becoming purely decorative because of the failure of most government departments to abide by its far-reaching provisions. Only via a strict set of exceptions may government refuse to supply the information (for example national security). The DA has revealed, in a report compiled through a series of targeted parliamentary questions, the extent to which government departments were observing the Act. Camerer criticised eight government departments, saying they failed to respond to her parliamentary questions. Camerer said the Defence, Foreign Affairs, Health, Public Works, Safety and Security and Justice and Constitutional Development Departments and the National Intelligence Agency had not answered the questions. She described this as inexcusable as all departments were required to reply to parliamentary questions. Full Business Day report