Disclosure

Last week the World Bank conducted some ongoing dialogues on their intending new Disclosure Policies.

There has been recognition that the policy of placing information and documentation on a Positive List for disclosure to the public has not been that beneficial to both the World Bank and its customers in the developing world.

The new thinking is to opt to disclose literally everything that the World Bank is engaged in, and instead develop a Sensitive List that would protect the interests of the World Bank and its borrowers, by keeping certain information Privileged and Accessible to selected parties. The Sensitive List would include incomplete contract negotiations, and information which if released to the public, would do undue harm to either the World Bank or any of its customers.

Beyond this new open door policy for access to information, the World Bank is considering the frequency of sharing information with the public as a possible mechanism, that will enrich the development dialogue in both the World Bank’s ranks, and in the borrower countries themselves.

This new thinking about Disclosure of information in respect to Quantity and Time, fits in snugly with Zambia’s own challenges of information sharing.

Within Government circles, there has been an admission that as a country, we have not done very well in sharing information amongst the concerned stakeholders namely; The Government, Civil Society, and the Private Sector. Only recently has the private sector been able to access information on the new Economic Zones that are sprouting up on the Copperbelt and in Lusaka.

Many initiatives within COMESA and SADC are generally shared with the public as press releases rather than open dialogue during the decision making process. Contracts and Agreements are not readily available for public consumption or scrutiny, thereby leaving the Civil Society and the Private Sector out of the debates and dialogues that would enrich the Governments knowledge on the subject, and result in better decisions for the benefit of all Zambians.

For example, the Mining Development Agreements which were signed between the Government and each mining company, are supposed to be public documents, but one would be at pains to access a copy of these documents which impact on the well being of the nation.

The spirit of the current Zambian National Constitution is to ensure that all Contracts and Agreements that are of a developmental nature, should be accessible by the public through the Ministry of Justice, which is the custodian of these documents. At this point in time, public access to such documents at the Ministry is almost impossible.

There is an old adage that goes as follows: ‘Information is Power’. One might argue that ‘Knowledge is Power’. However we paraphrase this we can conclude that ‘Enlightenment is Power’, as this encompasses both information and knowledge.

Until now, many multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, and many Governments have seemingly worked on the understanding that ‘Our Power is based on what we let you know’. This may also be motivated by ‘the less you know, the fewer questions you will ask’.

One hopes that the new thinking on Disclosure of information will be considered in the spirit of development and accountability. To this end, inviting criticism and comment on any issue can only be good for both the World Bank and their customers in the developing world.

The best decisions are those that are made after much open deliberation, dialogue and have been subjected to public scrutiny.

The challenge that the World Bank and our Governments now face, is who decides what information should be withheld from the public? What information if put in the public domain, would result in harm to the World Bank, or harm to the Government?

Disclosure is a tall order for institutions that have traditionally behaved in a secretive fashion. A meaningful Disclosure program will do wonders for both social and economic development in any institution or country.

Published 9th June 2009