Access to Official Information Progresses but Still Incomplete, Expert Group Concludes

The government has taken steps toward strengthening its system for communicating with citizens, many public authorities have appointed and trained media outreach specialists and a law on transparency in decision making has been passed by Parliament, according to a fourth quarterly assessment by the “Acces-info” Centre.  However, during the same period, a state secrets law was passed that has the potential to seriously limit information access and there remain multiple other restrictions, according to the 14-member experts group established by Acces-info under the Strengthening Civil Society Monitoring Capacity in Moldova Program managed by the United States Agency for International Development. Hurdles to ready access to information by the public and journalists include the continuing low level of technology employed for this purpose, the lack of efficient centralized management for overseeing interaction between the public administration and citizens, and widespread ignorance of legislative provisions by public officials and citizens alike.  The experts said many state institutions still lack effective internal procedures for communicating with the public and ensuring information access.  They noted that some public authorities do not yet have adequate websites, including regarding information ensuring transparency of public procurement and expenditure of allocations form the reserve funds.   With regard to the media, the experts pointed to cases of journalists’ access being restricted and also the failure of authorities to understand the role of the media as a forum for diverse opinions, some of them likely to be critical of government.   On a scale of 0 to 5, the expert group scored the level of access to official information in Moldova during the fourth quarter of 2008 at 2.4.  This shows slight improvement over the third quarter assessment of 2.36, the second quarter rating of 2.12 and the first quarter assessment of 2.09.  The experts group is made up of civil society and media representatives. For additional information, please contact the Acces-info Centre at T: (37322) 28-13-94, or Vasile Spinei, Project Director by e-mail at accesinfo1@yahoo.com. #### The Strengthening Civil Society Monitoring Capacity in Moldova (SCSMCM) Program is financed by the US Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation and managed by the United States Agency for Development (USAID).  SCSMCM is implemented by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), with technical support from the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX).   With funding from the United States Government, USAID provides economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries to provide a better future for all.