Abstract:
The operationalisation of good governance principles such as transparency and
public participation depends largely on the degree of access that citizens have to
government information. This article is based on the notion that citizens should
be informed about what government is or does (transparency) and provided with
sufficient opportunities to influence this (public participation). Both of these
depend on the provision of reliable information before, during and after policy
consultation. The article explores how transparency may be operationalised through
access to information and how this is implemented in South Africa through the
Promotion of Access to Information Act. It then focuses on policy consultation as
a mechanism for government transparency that can only function adequately if the
public has access to information concerning both the policy and the consultation
