The Anti Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU) has called for the amendment of the Access to Information Act 2005 to stipulate the roles of the communication officer.
According to the study conducted by Anti Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU) the enactment of the act has not translated into increased access to information by citizens since the role of attending to requests for information has been left to public communications officers which shouldn’t be the case.
According to the information requests addressed to the selected ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) on ask your Government website, a total of 705 Ugandans requested for information from Uganda Revenue Authority but only 164 Uganda received the required information, 371 Ugandans requested for information from the office of the auditor general but only 55 received the necessary information among other MDAs.
Speaking to the press at their offices in Ntinda, the ACCU Executive Director Marlon Agaba noted that the required information is kept secret, laying a fertile ground for acts of corruption.
He now recommends the government to repeal all restrictive laws that seek to unjustifiably limit the citizens’ exercise and enjoyment of the right to access to information in possession of public bodies.
Agaba also called upon ministries to urgently comply with their obligation to present annual reports to parliament giving details of information requests made to all public bodies.
According to the latest transparency international Global corruption perception index, Uganda ranked number 142 out of 180 on the scale of the least to the most corrupt countries in the world making it 38th and 19th most corrupt country globally and in Africa respectively.
