RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TANZANIA

Without effective access to environmental and other information, Tanzania's most important resources, its citizens, are not involved to the extent necessary to support and achieve sustainable development. Despite favorable constitutional provisions, the current status of a citizen's right of access to environmental information in Tanzania falls far short of internationally recognized minimum requirements. A recently completed international instrument, the 1998 Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (UNECE, 1998), provides the most explicit and thorough provisions relating to information access available in the multilateral context. The basic principles for access to environmental information include (Saladin et al., 1998):

Minimum Requirements of Access

• Information is accessible, unless it falls within one of the grounds for refusal.
• No showing of interest is required.
• Information should be provided in the form requested.
• Responses to requests should be made within 1 month.
• Denials of requests for information shall be in writing, state the grounds for refusal, and be made generally within 1 to 2 months.
• Grounds for refusal are to be narrowly construed, balancing the interest to be protected against the public interest.
• Public authorities should remove confidential portions of documents and disclose nonconfidential portions, where this can be done without prejudicing the confidential information.
• Actual copies of documents should be provided when requested.
• Reasonable charges may be made for supplying information, subject to an established schedule.
• Public authorities must collect and disseminate environmental information.
• The public must be informed of their opportunities to participate in decision-making processes.

Grounds for Refusal of a Request for Information

• The public authority does not have the information.
• The information request is manifestly unreasonable or overly general.
• The information request concerns materials being completed.
• Disclosure would adversely affect:
  • Confidentiality of the proceedings of public authorities,
  • Internal relations, national defense, or public security,
  • Confidentiality of commercial or industrial information,
  • Intellectual property rights,
  • Confidentiality of personal data,
  • The interests of a third party that has supplied the information, without that party being legally obliged to do so.

Meeting these minimum requirements will require a number of legislative and institutional reforms. Five recommendations follow.

1. Revise the Constitution

The constitution should be revised to remove claw back clauses, make the public's right of access to information more explicit and include specific environment and natural resource provisions. Although the constitution contains favorable language pertaining to the right of access to information, it can be strengthened by clarifying and specifying this right and by eliminating legal opportunities for the government to effectively override these provisions. Furthermore, the constitution makes only brief mention of the environment and natural resources. The right of access to environmental information should be recognized in the context of broader environmental provisions.

2. Repeal Laws Used To Limit Access To Information

The National Security Act and the Tanzanian Newspapers Act should be repealed or revised to support the right of access to information. In 1992, a commission headed by Frances Nyalali, the Chief Justice of Tanzania, called for the repeal and amendment of 40 draconian pieces of legislation including the National Security Act. The new or revised NSA should set high standards for classifying documents. Classified documents should be restricted to those that involve critical matters of internal relations, na-tional defense, public security, confidential commercial or industrial information, confidential personal data, confidential proceedings of public authorities and protection of the interests of a third party that voluntarily provides information. Similarly, the Newspapers Act should be amended to recognize freedom of speech, press, and dissent. The preparation and sharing of documents should not be considered seditious.

3. Enact Access-to-Information Legislation

The government should enact legislation that meets or exceeds internationally recognized minimum requirements for citizen access to information. Even if a new constitution explicitly included principles of free access to envi-ronmental information, Tanzania could benefit from enabling legislation and regulations that detail the processes by which the public can obtain information from the government. Depending on the level of specificity in the constitution, this law could spell out the basic right of citizens to access all government information subject to a few clearly delineated exceptions where a competing interest would outweigh the public interest in full disclosure. Such a law would also include specific response times and require writ-ten responses, when an information request is refused, that cite both the specific basis for exclusion and a clear indication of how to appeal the decision. In addition, the establishment of a clear punishment for violations of the right to information would help ensure the effective enforcement of such a law.

4. Restructure Environmental Institutions

The government should restructure apex environmental institutions to provide clear roles and authority for the implementation and enforcement of environmental and natural laws and the gathering and sharing of information. Collecting, managing and disseminating environmental information would be facilitated by empowering a single government agency with broad administrative responsibilities and enforcement authority. Other ministries and government departments would be required to involve and inform the central agency in all environmental and natural resource matters. This environmental agency would be well positioned to be the custodian of all government information related to the environment. Such coordination on the environment would facilitate monitoring and compliance to regulations. It would also make the government more transparent to the public.

While the National Environmental Management Act gives the National Environmental Management Council advisory power and responsibilities of coordination, public participation and information sharing (GOT, 1983), the National Environmental Policy vests the Division of Environment with enforcement powers (GOT, 1997). Given that many environmental decisions in Tanzania are subject to political pressure, it would be useful to consider establishing by statute a semi-autonomous institution with regulatory powers. This institution could also have environmental information management and dissemination responsibilities.

5. Extend Public Education

The government should conduct -- and encourage private institutions to conduct -- broad public education and outreach efforts regarding citizen rights and participation opportunities. Few Tanzanians and civil society organizations are adequately informed about their rights and responsibilities related to the environment. Few fully understand government roles and responsibilities regarding the environment and natural resources. Through such education the constitutional rights to be informed and have access to information can come to life. Through education, the public can better understand its rights to participate in government decision-making, monitor government performance and demand compliance, and ensure environmental accountability.