It's not truly independent
The government must extend its best support to the Information Commission to make it “truly independent”, said the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
“The commission is yet to get government fund as per its requisition. It is not fully independent as it has to depend on the government for its manpower recruitment,” TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman told UNB on yesterday.
He identified formation of the commission to ensure people's rights to information as a good initiative, “but we need to keep in mind that this is a new field. Our commission is better than those in many other countries”.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, also a member of the Right to Information (RTI) Forum, said the commission is not capable enough to ensure the free flow of information for the lack of technically-skilled manpower and logistic support.
“The commission has to be strengthened both technically and logistically to work effectively.”
On the Right to Information Act, 2009, he said the act was passed for the benefit of the common people. “But we couldn't make people aware of the law to gain benefits from it,” he observed.
The main objective of the act is to empower citizens by promoting transparency and accountability in the activities of government, autonomous and statutory organisations, and other private organisations.
On enforcement of the law, Dr Iftekharuzzaman said there is a big problem in implementing it. “The information seekers face hindrance in getting information as officials concerned in most cases are unwilling to assist in the name of the Official Secrets Act.”
He suggested establishing the 'culture of transparency' in the country, to help implement the act and uproot corruption.
In a recent survey, 66 percent respondents identified the commission as “not a strong organisation” while only 19 percent termed it as an effective one and 14 percent did not make any comment.
The RTI Forum, in collaboration with Manusher Jonno Foundation and the TIB, conducted the survey in Dhaka, Rangpur, Cox's Bazar, Bhola, Khulna and Jossore during May this year.
Among those respondents, who admitted that the Information Commission is not a strong organisation, 35 percent said it is not financially independent, 20 percent replied that the status of the commissioners do not match with that of the other commissions and 30 percent said they have no idea about the punishment for violating the law.
Around 51 percent respondents said they do not know what initiative the commission has so far taken to implement the act and that the government has no strong will to enforce it.
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