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Information Disclosure in RTI

Exemption should be specific to stop misuse

Staff Correspondent
Instances of exemption from disclosure of information should be specified in the proposed Right to Information (RTI) ordinance to prevent its misuse, said visiting Indian Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah yesterday.
He put emphasis on computerising all government records and connecting them to a network for easy access and said the success of
the law depends a lot on it.
Habibullah, who has been leading Indian Central Information Commission since October 26, 2005, was sharing experiences of implementation of the Indian RTI Act at a roundtable meeting in Dhaka.
He described the draft RTI ordinance as stronger than the Indian act in terms of making the information commission more autonomous and holding accountable the entire private sector under
the RTI law. But he cautioned about the huge task of bringing the whole private sector under the law.
"My personal feeling is that it is desirable. But you need to think yourself whether you can manage it," Habibullah said.
While the Indian act only makes disclosing information to public compulsory only for government offices and other organisations that receive public fund, the draft of the RTI Ordinance 2008 covers
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public offices, any company, corporation, trust, firm, society, cooperative society, NGOs, private organisations, associations and organisations registered under any law of the land.
Manusher Jonno Foundation organised the roundtable at Brae Centre Inn. Its Executive Director Shaheen Anam moderated the programme.
Terming the RTI law an instrument for realising people's rights, Habibullah said the concept of RTI stemmed from bringing transparency and accountability in the working of every pubic authority.
"We are trained not to give information. And after enactment of the RTI law, it has become like a paradigm shift," he said on the practices in public offices in India.
"Open the lid," he said, asking to proactively make key information available for the people.
Exemption is overridden for public interest, he said, pointing out that article 10 of the draft contradicts section "jha" of article 8 that says there shall be no obligation to disclosure of information "that would be contrary to public interest".
According to article 10, "Notwithstanding the provisions of this ordinance or any law of Bangladesh to the contrary, the government/authority shall disclose any information of public interest."
"Since the law is about disclosure and since in certain cases you can't disclose everything, details exempted from disclosure need to be worded specifically and carefully," the Indian CIC said, adding.
'Vague description is subject to misuse."
Asked if defence budget is accessible to people, he said, ".Anything that can be disclosed before parliament can be open for people."
On the challenges of implementing the RTI act, Habibullah said primarily the officials were not serious about it and changed their attitude when they had to pay penalty for it.
"There was a general lack of awareness both among the officials and the people about the law," he said, adding that the NGOs and the media are playing a vital role in making people aware of the law and helping them with information about where and how to contact.
Habibullah said the draft needs some polishing in some areas.
"You may build in the question of computerisation and networking so that the records are kept in a manner that makes it more easily accessible," he said.
On the fees for getting information, he suggested the government can give concession to those who cannot afford.
Farooq Sobhan, president of Bangladesh Enterprises Institute, said changing the attitude of government officials who have been keeping information secret will be a major challenge and in parallel to working to enact the R11 ordinance the government needs to launch a campaign to sensitise public servants.
I le stressed die need tor introduction of e governance in all sectors for free flow of information.
Kamal Uddin Ahmed, a joint
secretary at the information ministry who headed the eight-member RTI ordinance drafting committee, said. "We agree that there are some critical areas that require further improvement and, for that, we are closely monitoring the initiatives to gather pubic opinions on the draft."
He said the government is thinking about reaching people outside Dhaka through NGO networks and government stakeholders.
Former minister MK Anwar suggested instead of the information seekers the officials declining to disclose information will have to go to the information commission to explain why they are not disclosing the information.
Awa mi League leader Asaduzzman Noor stressed the need for involving politicians in discussions as "they are the people who will have to pass the law in parliament and implement it".
Shaheen Anam underscored the role of the NGOs and civil society in creating mass awareness about the implications of the act and how it can be used as people, especially the vulnerable groups, need the access to information most.
Rashcd Khan Menon, president of Workers Party, Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, chief news editor of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Shyamol Dutta, editor of Bhorer Kagoji former MP GM Quader, economist Atiur Rahman. Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of S u j o n, and R e z a u 1 Karim Chowdhury, convenor of Equity and Justice Working Group, also took part in the discussion