6 | Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal the right of access to information is predicated on the need for accountability.22 Diallo and Calland23 posit that the right of access to information serves different democratic objectives which include holding government to account and increasing citizen participation in State or public affairs. The right of access to information is perceived as a leverage right which gives effect to the values of transparency and accountability because it allows citizens to access certain useful information held by the State; to scrutinize the lawfulness, propriety and rationality of decisions taken;24 and to hold their leaders accountable. Furthermore, the right of access to information gives the citizens access to certain information which they can use to assess and establish whether or not their rights have been violated or are being threatened.25 Hence the right of access to information is perceived as a right which is meant to give effect to the idea of open and transparent government, as well as facilitate the exercise of other rights. The notion that the right of access to information is purposed to foster transparency and State accountability has also been endorsed in South Africa,26 for instance, in the seminal case of Brümmer v Minister for Social Development27 where the Constitutional Court of South Africa held as follows: “The importance of this right ... in a country which is founded on values of accountability, responsiveness and openness, cannot be gainsaid. To give effect to these founding values, the public must have access to information held by the State. Indeed one of the basic values and principles governing public administration is transparency. And the Constitution demands that transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information” 22 23 24 25 26 27 Gorge Devenish. A Commentary of the South Africa Bill of Rights (1999) at 446 Fatima Diallo and Richard Calland (Ed). Access to Information in Africa: Law, Culture and Practice (2013) at 21 See Note 23 at 685 See Note 23 above See ss 1 (d) and 32 of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996 2009 (6) SA 323 (CC); 2009 (11) BCLR 1075 (CC) at 62.