Dhaka Tribune: Dhaka: Sunday,
October 30, 2016.
Is the
process working? Yes and no
Some have
raised questions as to whether the RTI process is working. The answer is yes
and no.
The evolving
dynamics within the New World Economic Order prompted the unelected government
of Bangladesh to adopt Right to Information as a part of its governance
dynamics through an ordinance on October 20, 2008. Subsequently, the elected
government took necessary steps to enact the Right to Information Act, 2009
during the first session of the new parliament.
This approval
came on March 29, 2009 and it became part of nearly 1,100 separate laws that
create our legal structure.
The RTI as a
measure has been adopted in South Asia by Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and
Pakistan and most recently by Sri Lanka on August 4, 2016, when its parliament
certified that they had “duly passed” their RTI Bill and henceforth it was a
law.
Unlike other
countries who follow the Westminster form of government, the bill duly enacted
by Sri Lanka’s parliament did not have to go to the head of the state for
his/her assent, to become law. A certification on the bill appended by the
speaker of the parliament under Article 79 of the Sri Lankan Constitution was
enough to make it a law.
There is
public support for effective access to information in Bhutan, but, till, now
that country’s government has refrained itself from adopting any law to that
effect. Maldives has also been hampered in becoming a partner in the RTI framework
because of the general instability in their governance structure.
Afghanistan,
a member of the SAARC, has yet to take the necessary steps to be part of the
Freedom of Information paradigm. The World Bank, on several occasions, has
tried to persuade the relevant authorities in that country to take the
requisite measures but has failed due to obdurate opposition from the existing
tribal structures.
On September
28, the Information Commission of Bangladesh published a souvenir on the
occasion of the International Right to Information day. It contained some
interesting facts and updated information.
I will refer
to some of the important points: (a) Till August 2016, a total number of 22,273
government and non-government officials have received training with regard to
various facets of the RTI process, (b) lectures on the RTI paradigm have been
given to hundreds of officials undergoing courses in institutions like BPATC,
RPATC, BCS (Administration) Academy, and NILG, (c) training has also been given
by the Information Commission to 250 officials from different districts to
create potential instructors who can disseminate information about RTI at
district level, (d) with the help of the A2I, the World Bank, and an NGO called
D-Net, the Information Commission is updating and up-linking activities related
to the implementation of the RTI process in its web portal www.infocom.gov.bd
on a regular basis, (e) the Information Commission in the past six years has
published 19 regulatory manuals and reports related to various aspects of its
functional matrix, and (f) to facilitate wider understanding of the RTI Act, it
has also been published in Braille for visually handicapped persons, and a
summary of the Act has been included as a chapter in the text book on social
science for higher secondary school students.
The
publication has also mentioned that, since 2009, till 2015, various offices all
over Bangladesh received a total of 76,043 requests for information under the
RTI process. In 2015, the number of requests to provide information is
understood to have been 5,940. Of these 96.33% were to government offices and
3.67% related to NGOs.
To ensure
greater success in the application of this Act, the concerned authorities
should try to promote greater awareness within the population about the
objectives of this law
It has also
been mentioned that from 2009 to 2015, the Information Commission received a
total number of 1,450 complaints about not receiving the necessary information
from the different offices from where they had sought information. Out of this
number, 1,393 complaints have been resolved by the commission.
In principle,
the RTI Act, 2009 in Bangladesh was promulgated with some definite objectives.
It was hoped that citizens having the right to information along with the power
of freedom of speech would help to contribute towards reducing corruption,
improving governance, strengthening democracy and accountability, ensuring best
use of resources, reducing poverty, and strengthening service providers.
However,
after seven years, despite political will of the government, several challenges
still affect the effective implementation of the RTI Act. They include (a)
guaranteeing appointment of designated officers and alternate designated
officers, responsible for providing information asked for in all
public/autonomous and non-government offices as covered under the Act, (b)
functional development of digital record management through scanning of
archives and records, (c) web-based database for all public institutions and
existing NGOs covered under the Act, (d) establishing the required number of
community e-centres at all levels for easy access to development-related
information and public services, (e) strengthening the demand side of RTI, (f)
being able to fully transform the attitude of the bureaucracy, (g) voluntarily
updating disclosure of information on a pro-active basis through respective web
portals, (h) making deliberate denial subject to higher fines and recognising
good performance through rewards, (i) inadequate awareness and knowledge of RTI
among designated officers and appellate authorities, and (j) developing greater
digitalisation and preservation of documents in a comprehensive manner,
particularly in ministries like Land Records and Home, institutions associated
with the judicial process, city corporations and in all local government
offices.
At the same
time, to ensure greater success in the application of this Act, the concerned
authorities should try to promote greater awareness within the population about
the objectives of this law. Most of our citizens appear to still lack
confidence in seeking and obtaining information as being a part of their
inherent right.
There have
been revelations in the electronic media that many citizens still want to keep
themselves at a safe distance from the authorities to avoid complications.
This is
happening despite existing provisions in our RTI Act which is aimed to help
citizens in crucial areas. I refer here to Section 9 (4) which stipulates that
notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) and (2), if a request is
made under sub-section (1) of Section 8 relating to life and death, arrest and
release from jail of any person, the officer-in-charge shall provide
preliminary information thereof within 24 hours.
Unfortunately
this is not happening most of the time as outlined. In addition, there have
also been reluctance on the part of the general citizens in Bangladesh to seek
information and re-dress by referring to the provisions in Section 32 (2) which
stipulates that notwithstanding anything contained in Section 32 (1), this
Section (regarding inapplicability of the RTI Act in case of eight government
state security and intelligence agencies) shall not apply to such information
that are pertaining to corruption and violation of human rights in these
organisations and institutions.
One also
needs to refer here to certain other legal provisions and see if action can be
taken to amend them: Sections 123, 124, and 125 of the Evidence Act, Section 99
of the Penal Code, 1898, and certain provisions of the Rules of Business, 1996.
These sections are affecting the gathering of information.
These issues
need to be addressed sooner than later.
(Muhammad
Zamir, a former Ambassador and Chief Information Commissioner, is an analyst
specialised in foreign affairs, right to information, and good governance.)
.JPG)
.JPG)
