Namibia
What's New
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27 August 2012
Prospects Brighten for ATI Legislation in Namibia
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 […]
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13 May 2011
Namibians Denied Right to Information by Government
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 […]
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.