The head of African freedom of information centre secretariat Gerald Sendugwa has called upon Ugandans to start using the Access to Information act in order to get accountability from government.

Information Minister, May Karoro Okurut

Sendugwa told journalists in Kampala that the law was passed to help the public access information from public sectors but up to now people have not yet started utilising the law effectively.

He says that the right of access to information is the right to everybody and there people should start exercising that right by seeking out information in the possession of the state.

Sendugwa also appealed to government bodies to start availing information to the public as way of respecting the law saying that there is no reason why public servants should withhold information.

Sendugwa however expressed dissatisfaction over the fee that was introduced by the minister to be paid before accessing information. He says that information is supposed to be free and therefore he doesn’t
see the reason why people should continue paying fees before they access given government information.

He called upon the minister of information to immediately amend the act and scrap off fees so that more people are able to easily access the information.

By Isaac Senbaulya