The Hindu: Sri Lanka: Sunday, July 09, 2017.
When
President Maithripala Sirisena (in picture) promised to introduce a Right to
Information Act in his manifesto prior to the January 2015 elections, it
sounded distant to most Sri Lankans. Like millions of citizens in the region,
they had resigned to their government’s opaque administration and its aversion
to accountability. When the Act became a reality in 2016, citizens suddenly
found a new dynamic with the government. They could ask more questions and,
significantly, be entitled to answers. “We are receiving at least 100
applications every day from all over the country,” said Ranga Kalansooriya,
Director General of the Government Information Department. “This is an
unexpected number within months of implementation,” he said, pointing to the
need for more awareness at all levels.
A member of
the Right to Information Commission of Sri Lanka, Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena,
thinks it is crucial that the use of the law is not limited to Colombo. All the
same, it is good to see that public officers are themselves using the law to
get information in their own interests, she said. “Even more so, it is positive
to see that Information Officers are using the law as a tool to safeguard
themselves against repercussions from their superiors.”
However,
there are some immediate challenges particularly on the ‘demand’ side of the
RTI, according to journalist and media researcher Nalaka Gunawardene. “Citizens
need to see RTI as a tool for solving their local level problems both private
and public grievances and be motivated to file RTI applications. For this, they
must overcome a historical deference towards the government, and start
demanding answers.” Sri Lankan media, in his opinion, is yet to warm up to
RTI’s potential. “A national newspaper editor told me last week his newspaper
has its ‘own ways and means’ of eliciting information… but promisingly, a few
younger journalists are doing public interest stories on disasters, waste
management and human rights using RTI.”
Post-war
concerns
From the side
of citizens, there seems to be evident interest in pushing authorities for
answers, if Vavuniya-based youth network AFRIEL’s experience is any indication.
The network has helped nearly 1,500 people across the country file RTI
petitions. Most of the applications from people in the Tamil-majority north are
about military-occupied land, documentation pertaining to ID cards and birth
certificates and information on forcefully disappeared relatives some of the
key post-war concerns of the community.
“A lot of
times it is evident that the responses from officials are fake or unacceptable.
While we are not too optimistic about the answers we can elicit, we are keen on
exposing the extent of corruption in the system and pushing for more
transparency,” its spokesman Ravindra de Silva said. According to Ms.
Pinto-Jayawardena, the law is strong on the reactive use of RTI. But she thinks
the real strength of RTI is in the proactive disclosure requirements where
authorities voluntarily disclose information, increasing public trust and
confidence. “A law alone cannot change the mentality of people or the culture
of secrecy in institutions. The evolving RTI process in Sri Lanka must go
beyond the theory of the law to challenge the culture.”
Sri Lanka was
quite ambitious in commencing the full implementation of the RTI Act after six
months of preparation, observed Mr. Gunawardena. While there are gaps in
awareness, capacity and funding, he is hopeful that the “teething problems” can
be overcome soon. “RTI in Sri Lanka has not yet opened the floodgates of public
information, but the dams are slowly but surely being breached.”
(Meera
Srinivasan works for The Hindu and is based in Colombo.)
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