The Access to Information (ATI) Coalition, an alliance of 25 Civil Society Organisations states that if the UPND-led government is serious about tackling corruption, among other important issues in the country, then it must get serious about enacting ATI legislation.
In a statement, ATI Coalition Chairperson Fr. Alex Muyebe sate that failure to enact this important law will lead stakeholders and citizens to begin to perceive the government in the same light as previous regimes who used empty rhetoric in matters which are of crucial importance to the nation and to society as a whole.
Fr. Muyebe notes that numerous promises have been made by the UPND government to enact the ATI law starting with President Hakainde Hichilema in his inaugural address to the National Assembly on 10 September, 2021 and most recently In February 2023, Minister of Information and Media, Chushi Kasanda who made a statement that Cabinet had agreed to a roadmap which would lead to the enactment of the Access to Information Bill by June 2023. None of the promises have been fulfilled.
The ATI Coalition states that after 30 years of waiting, government must take the necessary steps to make the ATI law a reality, adding that this legislation is a foundation upon which any modern democracy must be built if it is to stand tall in the company of progressive, leading, strong and proud African states.
