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Open Government Partnership (OGP) regional lead-Africa and the Middle East, Theo Chiviru, has urged Zambia to quicken the process of joining the organization to boost transparency in governance and accountability.
OGP is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from national and sub-national governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
Chiviru said in Lusaka on Tuesday during a panel discussion on the sidelines of meeting of Democracy Summit that as the country embarks on the corruption fight joining the OGP would help in creating transparency and accountability.
“The only thing Zambia needs to be admitted under the OGP is the enactment of the Access to Information (ATI) to law, most of the requirements can be met,” he said.
Read more: access-to-information-bill-may-become-law-in-june-as-govt-decides-on-roadmap-others
Chiviru said the country needed the OGP framework for its democracy and accountability to flourish.
He said Zambia needed to learn lessons from Kenya and Nigeria on how the decision to join the OGP have benefited them greatly in terms of creating openness, transparency and accountability.
“Joining OGP for countries like Nigeria and Kenya among others helped a great deal in creating transparency and accountability in the way they utilise resources thereby fighting corruption,” Chiviru said.
He said the civil society organisations should work with government in fulfilling the requirements of the OGP framework.
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