I personally believe that those in power should not be allowed to keep secrets from the public, especially when it is related to the safety and privacy of the people. It is by keeping such knowledge a secret that these people can remain in power. By keeping the public keeping the people in the depths of ignorance, powerful governments and people can rob them of their liberties and do as they desire. It is true that a small fraction of things should be kept from the public, but the current state of affairs show that the reverse is true in our day and age. (And to show how vehemently I adhere to what I say have even established a website(intelrepository(dotcom)) where I publish and even sell exclusive information not meant be seen by everyone.
I would like to hear everyone else's thoughts on this as well.
This is why they are called PUBLIC OFFICIALS meaning everything must be transparent so if they are keeping secrets to their people then we must change the name into PRIVATE OFFICIALS so they can do everything in their power without people knowing anything but as long as they are serving public then this must not be allow not even by the court if they are be found guilty.
We shouldn't misunderstand things. The fact that you are a public official doesn't mean you expose every information. You are only there to serve the people and share information to them when it is necessary. For instance, during the covid 19 era, government through some agencies gave information on how to stay protected and also data of people contaminated and number of death caused by the covid.
Thus, government can only dish out vital information to protect citizens' lives and hold back some information. Sometimes, the reason is not selfish in nature but to ensure that there is peace in the country. Sincerely speaking, if citizens are exposed to every information, tranquility might not be guaranteed in our country.
Whether we like it or not, no government can be so transparent to reveal everything to citizens intoto. Some information are referred to as "classified" or "secret" information. This means that not all eyes or ears should come in contact with the information.
On second thought, even the military are public servants/officials, does it mean they should disclose to citizens the functioning of the military? The military will only pass information to citizens when it's necessary and is of interest to citizens especially when such information can enhance citizen's safety.