As East Africa prepares to join the rest of the world to commemorate 28th September 2021, the 2nd International Day for Universal Access to Information [IDUAI 2021], the media fraternity commended Twaweza East Africa and Africa Freedom for information Centre [AFIC] which are spearheading this campaign for coming out strongly in pushing government to implement the Access to Information Act for the common good of the country’s development agenda.
This came to light on 18th September 2021 during a one day media training workshop that was organized by Twaweza E. A in Kampala as part of the two week long campaign to mark that important day especially given that Uganda was the first country in East Africa to host the first commemoration day 2020.
The media fraternity through the Editors’ Guild, a critical mass of distinguished personalities who are charged with the responsibility of determining the news content that goes out in the media spaces regardless of its sensitivity, openly commended Twaweza EA. and AFIC for using this opportunity to team up with the media in pushing government to see that the access to information agenda spaces is not restricted or muzzled but opened up such that citizens can hold the government accountable for how resources entrusted to the state are spent.
Alex Atuhaire, one of the Executive Members of the Guild said they welcome the efforts being made by Twaweza EA and AFIC in trying to build the capacities of the journalists to better understand and internalize the content of the Access to information Act [ATIA] such that through their respective newsrooms, they can effectively inform the public about the rights embedded in the Act, facilitating the public to demand accountability of the state’s approach to fighting corruption, human rights, economic empowerment issues and security of life and property of citizens, among others.
The perspective of AFIC towards this campaign
The Executive Director of AFIC, Gilbert Sendugwa explained that on the 15th October 2019, the 74th session of the UN General Assembly [UNGA] adopted a resolution proclaiming September 28th as the International Day for Universal Access to Information [IDUAI] and that the first Africa regional commemoration was organized through a virtual and in-person high level dialogue on September 28th 2020 in Kampala and the 2021 edition of IDUAI will be the 2nd since the proclamation by the UNGA and proudly hosted ‘’consecutively’’ by Africa Freedom of Information Centre.