The Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) says low compliance among government institutions is continuing to undermine efforts to ensure citizens can access public information.

MHRC Director for Civil and Political Rights Peter Cypriano Chisi said an assessment the Commission conducted found only 40 percent compliance among the government offices and departments assessed.

Chisi was speaking in Lilongwe during the 2026 Annual Media and Access to Information Conference (AMATIC), which brought together government officials, human rights practitioners, media professionals and information experts to assess the implementation of the Access to Information (ATI) Act.

He said the Commission plans to engage institutions that are not complying with the law to establish the challenges they face and help them fulfil their obligations.

Chisi said the MHRC also submits its monitoring reports to Parliament, where Parliament can summon institutions that fail to comply to explain their performance.

Despite the compliance gaps, he said the ATI law had encouraged more citizens to seek information from district councils, Members of Parliament and other public institutions, particularly on development programmes affecting their communities.

MHRC Executive Secretary Habiba Osman said about 150 public institutions had designated information officers, while more than 70 had received ATI training.

She, however, said some institutions were yet to fully comply with the law, while enforcement was affected by gaps in the legal framework, including inadequate administrative sanctions for non-compliance.

Osman said the Commission was using monitoring, public awareness, media engagement and complaints handling to promote compliance.

Meanwhile, Minister of Information and Communications Technology Shadric Namalomba urged public institutions to proactively release information instead of waiting for citizens to request it.

“Citizens should not have to beg for information that is theirs by right,” Namalomba said.

MUBAS journalism lecturer Jolly Ntaba said implementation challenges were still affecting journalists’ ability to obtain critical public information.

He also called for digital media literacy to be introduced at an early age, saying the growth of social media has enabled more people to produce and share information without necessarily having the skills to verify it.

The stakeholders said stronger compliance with the ATI Act and proactive disclosure of public information could help reduce information gaps and enable citizens to better navigate misinformation and disinformation.