Access to information is about the right to access, use, impart or express information without any restriction or prohibition. Eining and Lee (1997:6) state that access is concerned with the ability to obtain information that is available. They further explain that access requires both the physical technology and the skills necessary to use that technology. Britz (1996: 95) is of the opinion that the ethical issue of access to information, centers on the individual right to have access to certain categories of information. The author believes that the right of access is regarded as an instrumental human right in so far as it allows a person to exercise his or her own basic human right. Britz further explains that this right of access to information is recognized and judicially protected by most democratic societies. In South Africa, the right of access to information is protected by the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, act 108 of 1996. However, this right of access to information is violated when people are precluded access to information which is of value to them. It is worth noting that advances in information technology have increased the amount of information available for decision making, but these advances have not insured that everyone has equal access to this resource (Eining and Lee, 1997:6). The authors believe that the skills and equipment required for access are often costly and not necessarily universally affordable. Mason (1986) argues that inequality may have been created by information access, as power is often distributed to people that have access to information and the ability to use that information.
