MP Mtonga presses Malawi govt to operationalise Access to Information law
Karonga South MP Malani Mtonga on Wednesday pressed the government to operationise the Access to Information (ATI) law.
He said this in parliament when the back benchers passed budgets for each ministry and government department vote by vote.
Mtonga, very friendly to the media, said now that President Peter Mutharika had assented ATI into law, Malawians wanted it to start operating as soon as possible.
He said there was also need for civic education and sensitisation to people on how the law would be working.
Mtonga therefore wondered if enough money was budgted for civic education and sensitisation meetings.
Information minister Nicholas Dausi agreed with Mtonga on the issue of civic education and sensitization.
Dausi said the Malawi Human Rights Commission, the secretariat of the law, would soon embark on the civic education on the operisation of the law.
The law empowers Malawians to seek information, from any government office, on any public officer, including President Peter Mutharika.
The ATI law will be effected as soon as the Information minister gazettes it. Justice minister Samuel Tembenu said his Information minister colleague, Dausi, would soon gazette the law after consulting the Malawi Human Rights Commission.
