Odac

Department of Transport, Roads and Public Works of the Northern Cape Province and C. Botha N.O. ; Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council; G. Chase; PAWUSA (2007(LC)

This is an application to review an arbitration award made by the first respondent (the commissioner) in terms of which he had found that the applicant did not have the capacity to appoint a chairperson who is not an employee, as envisaged in the Public Service Act (the PSA), to chair disciplinary hearings of its employees.

MarkinorÂ was commissionedÂ by ODAC to conduct a survey into the awareness and attitudes of people living in South Africa to the right to know in 2006 and again in 2007. The results of this survey are now available.Â

Markinor 2007 - Survey:

The following report provides the descriptive findings of a survey of citizens regarding issues around whistle blowing and accessing information in South Africa.

ODAC/Markinor survey on awareness of right to information:

More transparency needed”, says the Open Democracy Advice Centre. In terms of a national survey released today, the Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC), announced that only 25% of South African know about the Promotion of Access to Information Act. “We are very concerned about the ability of ordinary South Africans to access information, and effectiveness of government systems to provide it.”, said Alison Tilley, CEO of ODAC. “We know that when there is a lack of transparency, the result is speculation, and gossip. We call for greater action on transparency in our society, in the difficult cases as well as the routine. As we have seen, for example in the case of the alleged arrest warrant for the Police Commissioner, the result of lack of transparency on an issue is not silence, but gossip, speculation, and rumour. The constitutionally mandated response to this should be openness.” The number of people who know about the Access to Information Act has actually decreased slightly in the last year from 28.4% to 25.4%, in spite of a number of initiatives to promote the Act, on the part of the SAHRC, the National Anti Corruption Forum and ODAC. “The lack of proactive implementation of this law on the part of many government departments is clearly having an impact,” said Tilley.