Access to information and transparency in decision-making in Moldova leave much to be desired, study

The law on access to information and the law on transparency in the decision-making process are implemented with difficulty even if the Government took measures to ensure transparency in the government institutions, make the cooperation with civil society more efficient and improve a number of standard documents. This conclusion is contained in the monitoring report “Access to Information and Transparency in Decision-Making: attitudes, perceptions, trends” that was complied by the Center “Aces-info”, Info-Prim Neo reports. In the monitoring period, 943 public authorities and institutions of all levels were asked to provide data about the yearly reports on the implementation of the law on transparency in decision-making. Answers came in 34.5% of the cases, as against 22.6% last year. The authors of the study say only five of the 40 public authorities and institutions of the central level did not furnish the information asked for. These are: the Apparatus of the President of Moldova, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure. Answers also came from only 291 municipal, district and local authorities and institutions of the 903. The activities aimed at promoting citizen education and better informing the people about the human rights carried out by state institutions and NGOs continue to be sporadic and inefficient. As a result, the people remain passive and indifferent. The experts stressed the necessity of reviewing the law on transparency in decision-making and other standard documents in the near future so that they meet the international norms and practices. The monitoring was carried out by the Center “Acces-info” within the Ensuring Public Participation in Decision Making and Effective Access to Information Project that forms part of the Restoration of Ties between the Population and Government Project, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and Soros-Moldova Foundation.