Last March, the Open Cyprus Project conducted a telephone opinion survey of 1,000 people acroos the island in order to get a clear picture of how members of the public perceive the right of access to information and how it is currently implemented..
The survey found that members of the public overwhelmingly believe they have the tight to access public information but not the means to do so.
Over three quarters of respondents said they believe the public has the right to obtain information about decision-making by public authorities. This was met with a high level of agreement in both the government controlled areas (74.8%) and the Turkish-held north 79%.
Fewer than four in ten respondents said they believe that mechanisms exist to give the public this right. Only four in ten (41.4%) of those in the north and just one third (37%) of those in the south agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.
The Open Cyprus Projrct recommends that the authorities acroos Cyprus take immediate steps to ensure that there is a comprehensive legal framework for public participation and that information is easily accessible to all those wishing to participate in the decision-making process. It also suggest that public officials should receive the necessary training to manage public participation processes.
Related posts:
Tags: cyprus news, cyprus press, manage public participation processes-cyprus, open cyprus project, the decision-making process-cyprus, what the public thinks, what the public thinks-cyprus