ESTABLISHMENT OF "THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT BULLETIN" BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING IS A STEP IN A RIGHT DIRECTION

I am quiet impressed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's move to establish an "official government bulletin"  Magazine. Access it at http://www.goss.org/. This move "semi-actualizes" the letter and spirit of Article 24 (1) of the Transitional Constitution which equivocally sates that "every citizen shall have the right to the freedom of expression, reception and dissemination of information, publication, and access to the press without prejudice to public order, safety or morals as prescribed by law," and, fundamentally, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which provides that;

1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or moral

I argue that the move semi-actualizes the above two authorities because it satisfies the 'provision of information' bid and neglects the cardinal principle of the freedom of expression which has been stifled in the Republic of South Sudan since independence.This is a topic for another day. But the major issue here is the obligation of the government to feed its citizenry with the information of what it does on a daily basis.

The right to freedom of information, and particularly the right of access to information held by public authorities, has attracted a great deal of attention recently. In the past five years, a record number of countries from around the world – including Fiji, India, Japan, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and a number of other European States – have taken steps to enact legislation giving effect to this right. In doing so, they join those countries which enacted such laws some time ago, such as Sweden, United
States, Finland, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada. Intergovernmental bodies have also started to devote more attention to this issue, with significant developments at the UN and Commonwealth.

The importance of freedom of information as a fundamental right is beyond question. In its very first session in 1946, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 59(I), stating, “Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and ... the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.” Abid Hussain, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, elaborated on this in his 1995 Report to the UN Commission on Human Rights, stating: Freedom will be bereft of all effectiveness if the people have no access to information. Access to information is basic to the democratic way of life. The tendency to withhold information from the people at large is therefore to be strongly checked." These quotations highlight the importance of freedom of information at a number of different levels: in itself, for the fulfilment of all other rights and as an underpinning of democracy.

It is perhaps as an underpinning of democracy that freedom of information is most important. Information held by public authorities is not acquired for the benefit of officials or politicians but for the public as a whole. Unless there are good reasons for withholding such information, everyone should be able to access it. More importantly, freedom of information is a key component of transparent and accountable government. It plays a key role in enabling citizens to see what is going on within government, and in exposing corruption and mismanagement. Open government is also essential if voters are to be able to assess the performance of elected officials and if individuals are to exercise their democratic rights effectively, for example through timely protests against new policies.

It is increasingly being recognised that states are under an obligation to take practical steps – including through legislation – to give effect to the right to freedom of information. It remains somewhat unclear, however, precisely what the basis of this obligation is. The jurisprudence, both at the international and national levels, has been somewhat equivocal, variously grounding the obligation in the right to freedom of expression, the right to private and family life or the right to freedom of thought.

As I argued in my previous articles, the fact that we are still a young nation should never act as a license of poor performance by the public authorities. But today I am impressed by Micheal Makuei Lueth and the Staffs in the Ministry he heads. The moment of pride came when I  read Makuei saying as folows"

"Dear reader
I am delighted to introduce the first edition of the Official Government Bulletin.
This is an extremely important publication designed to ensure the public enjoys ready access to key decisions made by both the President and Ministers. During this early period of nation building, it is essential that men and women across South Sudan understand what the Government is doing in their name. This process of engagement will help strengthen the foundations of democracy and the values of justice, liberty and prosperity we all hold dear.
The Government Bulletin is printed by The Government Printing Press. Coming at a time that we are revamping the government web-site and are looking at how the Media Laws might become operational, once fully enacted, all these measures stand as testimony to our determination to ensure that government communications are effective and coherent, that we have the means of becoming fully engaged with the public and responding to their information needs.
I acknowledge the commitment and support of the former Minister and Deputy Minister of Information & Broadcasting, colleagues and the Secretary General of the Government in initiating this project and to the Capacity Building Trust Fund (cbtf ) for its support.
We are also indebted to officials in the office of the President, the Ministries of Cabinet Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, the Public Information Centre, the Government Printing Press and indeed all Government Ministries and Institutions for collaborating in the production of this first edition of the Official Government Bulletin. We hope the Bulletin will prove informative and we look forward to receiving feedback"

Kudos to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting! Now the next stage in fulfillment of your obligation is fast tracking the media laws and protecting the freedom of expression.