Government officials are notorious for keeping public information close to their chests, and jealously guarding it as if it is private property.Seeking the most Innocuous information; such as statistics in the public domain, can be a hurdle, especially if the seeker is a journalist.Until recently, Information Officers in government offices could not reveal anything; it was the prerogative of the minister or top official - most times unreachable or equipped with the famous; “busy, try tomorrow” defensive mechanism.This subject has been debated countless times: what was the use of the Information Officers if they could not inform?Public officials are just what their appellation means; they serve the public and are accountable to them. Period. What do they have to hide if they are performing their duties as they should?Unfortunately, soon their comfort zone will be no more, once the proposed Access to Information Act comes into law. The beauty of this law is that it compels government officials to open their closets to the public within a specific period of time, failure to do so will weigh heavily on their pockets.What the public should understand is that Access to Information Act is not the reserve of the media, but even the person out there in some remote corner of Rwanda has the power to demand and receive information under the custodianship of government officials.Transparency is the best defence against abuse of public office, and Rwanda Governance Board should continue instilling this in the public.
