Skopje, 20 December 2023 (MIA) - The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy and Ministry of Defense are proactively transparent, while the Geological Survey of the Republic of North Macedonia has the weakest transparency, show the results of a monitoring report carried out by the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information.

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Defense are ranked best with 49 points in terms of proactive publication of information, followed by the Finance Ministry and Customs Administration with 47 points, the Agency said in a press release on Thursday.

"We should emphasize that the websites of the best-ranked institutions have an easy and accessible way of making public information available, and we encourage them to monitor and build on proactive transparency, and their accountability before citizens," the Agency said.

For the second year in a row, the Agriculture Ministry shows the best results in proactive transparency in relation to Article 10 of the law on the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information, together with the Defense Ministry with continuity in transparency and openness to information seekers.

The Geological Survey has the lowest transparency with 11 points, followed by the Bureau of Metrology with 12 points, then the Ministry of Political System and Inter-Community Relations with 13 points, and State Transport Inspectorate with 13,5 points.

"These information holders should adapt their web pages for end users, i.e. citizens, because it is difficult or impossible to find information on their work and operability, which is a basic goal of proactive transparency," the press release reads.

The monitoring report covered 51 information holders between November 14 and December 14, 2023.

"The level of transparency and accountability in the work of the Government, ministries and bodies show a positive trend of increase in proactive publication of public information and transparency. Most of the monitored institutions show very good transparency, and the Agency recommends to consistently follow transparency and accountability standards. Because, this is the only way for institutions and their work to become even more available to end users, public information seekers, that is, citizens," the press release adds.ssh/ad/

Photo: MIA Archive