Executive Director of Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), Gilbert Sendugwa, has urged ministries and agencies of government in Uganda to always make relevant information available to the public.
Sendugwa made the call against the backdrop of the 28 September International Day of Access to Information.
‘Limited access to the information has acerbated problems of ghost projects, corruption, collusion, cost escalation, delays, and conflict in contracting all of which undermine value for money’, Sendugwa told Daily Monitor.
Sendugwa said that most ministries had failed to comply with the law by denying the public sufficient information on issues especially in times of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘The Covid-19 pandemic has also pushed the government to embark on large-scale emergency procurements of necessities to prevent infections and mitigate the economic and social impacts of the pandemic’, he said.
It was learnt that in a shadow report presented to parliament in January, CSOs, led by AFIC, indicated that only 20 percent of the ministries’ departments, and agencies had provided information on the relevant issues.
But spokesperson for the Prime Minister, Julius Mucunguzi, told the CSOs that the government always encourage ministries to communicate with citizens as much as possible.
‘We have many platforms at hand, including the Uganda Media Centre and the different social media platforms, where ministers give their updates’, he said.
‘Is there a need to improve, yes? But for as far as I know they are doing their best in this regard’.
Source: Monitor
Photo source: Derrick Wandera/Daily Monitor