Namibia
What's New
-
9 June 2016
The Access to Information in Namibia (Action) Coalition has praised the government’s draft access to information (ATI) law. The coalition issued a statement after the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology released for consultation and discussion both a draft ATI working document and a draft of the revised National Information Policy, The Namibian report. Read […]
-
2 June 2016
The Namibian government has proposed a draft right to information law. The long-awaited 46-page draft contains a detailed collection of reasons not to provide information and some unusual provisions. The draft will be the subject of consultations beginning June 13, according to an article in The Namibian with a few preliminary reactions to the draft. Pro-transparency […]
Read more news….
freedom of information
Text from 2011 World Bank review:
Namibia currently has no legal freedom of information framework.
Its Constitution provides the country’s general legal framework for other fundamental freedoms and delineates certain restrictions thereto, like national security and public order, but it does not reference FOI rights.
Further, other laws seem only to substantially limit the free public’s access to information. First, the Protection of Information Act of 1982, forbids disclosure of state secrets, information implicating national security, and any information obtained by virtue of government employment. Incidentally, this 1982 Act was enacted by South Africa and remains on the books in Namibia but has never been used by the Namibian authorities. Other provisions limiting access to government information concern Namibia’s national defense and criminal proceedings.
-
11 May 2016
Namibian deputy minister of information Stanley Simataa has promised to propose an access to information bill in July, according to an article in The Namibian. The pledge came in a keynote address delivered on his behalf by Frans Nghitila, director of media relations in the information ministry, during the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) […]
-
28 April 2016
A new video in Namibia effectively promotes the virtues of access to government information, but seriously downplays the practical difficulties of actually getting information, according to activists consulted by FreedomInfo.org. The video paints “a somewhat rosy picture,” observed one Namibian activist, “fine rhetoric masking a rather parlous situation.” The government has yet to propose an […]
-
7 May 2015
The Namibia Media Trust has called for consultation with the government on freedom of information legislation. Gwen Lister, chairperson of the Namibia Media Trust (NMT) issued a statement on World Press Freedom Day saying that the media still struggles to access information from official sources, which in turn inhibits good investigative journalism and ethical practices. “While […]
-
13 November 2014
By Natasha H. Tibinyane The author is National Director of MISA Namibia. This is a chapter in a recently issued State of Right to Information in Africa Report 2014 and is reprinted with permission. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The Government of Namibia is a State Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and has also ratified the African […]
-
2 October 2014
Two key groups advocating for right to information laws in Africa have issued detailed reports, both calling for intensified efforts to continue progress and taking a close look at national situations. The Africa Freedom of Information Centre Sept. 29 launched its first State of the Right to Information in Africa Report. The report is on […]
-
27 August 2012
Namibian government officials are giving favorable signals about access to information legislation and civil society is organizing to push for it, according to recent reports and information provided to FreedomInfo.org. At a recent two-day conference the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Joel Kaapanda, addressed ATI in a speech read on his behalf by the […]
-
13 May 2011
By Nghidipo Nangola Nangola is a film maker and producer May 3 is World Press Freedom Day and Namibia can pat itself on the shoulder for having guaranteed the freedom for journalists to collect, produce and disseminate information without hindrance. Aside of a few local journalists being roughed up by overzealous security men and one […]
