Sunday Times: Sri Lanka: Sunday,
April 23, 2017.
In a note
presented by President Maithripala Sirisena and approved by the Cabinet
recently, the President has informed all Ministers that all Cabinet decisions
and Memoranda not falling within excepted categories under the Right to
Information (RTI) Act, No 12 of 2016, have to be made available to a citizen
upon request.
In terms of
this note, the Cabinet has also been formally apprised of the appointment of an
Information Officer (IO) and a Designated Officer (DO) for the Cabinet in terms
of the RTI Act. The President has stated that previously, all Cabinet decisions
were considered as confidential documents, conveyed only to the Secretary to
the relevant Ministry, the parties who are directly involved in the
implementation. These decisions were also informed to a limited number of
others, including the Attorney General when required in regard to legal
matters.
However, with
changes brought about by the passing of the RTI Act, President Sirisena has
noted that when requests are received from a ‘citizen’ in accordance with RTI
Regulations and Rules, necessary action needs to be taken by the Secretary to
the Cabinet. He has also pointed out that in conformity with proactive
disclosure obligations under the RTI regime, Cabinet decisions and other facts
required to be published therein are carried on the website of the Cabinet
Office.
Sri Lanka’s
RTI Act, along with Regulations and Rules on Fee and Appeals of the independent
RTI Commission, was operationalised on February 3 this year. According to
Section 23(1)(a) of the RTI Act, every Public Authority must appoint within
three months of the date of operationalising the Act, one or more IOs as well
as a DO to hear the first appeal. Where an IO and a DO are in place, it is
mandatory that a citizen seeking information should approach those officers
first and then only appeal to the RTI Commission and thereafter, to the courts.
In terms of a
government policy decision, in instances where a Public Authority has appointed
an IO but has failed to appoint a DO, the relevant administrative superior will
become the DO. The Act, meanwhile, provides that if an IO is not appointed,
then the Head or the CEO of the Public Authority is deemed to be the IO. In
this case, appeal from a decision of the IO will lie directly to the
Commission.
Following
inquiries made to the Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry which is
the implementing nodal agency, the Sunday Times learns that a considerable
number of Public Authorities and other private entities falling within the Act
have complied with the mandatory requirement to appoint IOs and DOs. However,
Public Authorities still failing to comply include the University Grants
Commission (UGC), the Higher Education Ministry, ‘all courts, tribunals and
institutions created for the administration of justice’ and the Judicial
Service Commission (JSC). Other independent constitutional Commissions and
Commissions created under written law have also complied with the requirements
of the RTI Act.
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