Making right to information laws effective

THE much-awaited Right to Information (RTI) Act 2009 has come into full effect from July 1, aiming to ensure people's right to information and to establish good governance in government offices and NGOs, thus increasing transparency and accountability.
The president appointed M. Azizur Rahman, a retired secretary, as the chief information commissioner (CIC), while former secretary Mohammad Abu Taher and Prof. Sadeka Halim of sociology department of Dhaka University were appointed as the two commissioners from a panel of six persons earlier nominated by a selection committee.
The RTI Ordinance was originally promulgated by the caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed on October 20, 2008, and was ratified by the new parliament on March 29 this year. The president signed it into an act on April 5, and a gazette notification to that effect was published on April 6.
Though it is mandatory for every government office and NGO to depute one official to their "information delivery unit," who will be basically responsible for providing people with the information within 20 days of receipt of application from them, no such initiative has been taken as yet.
The most frustrating part of it is that the government has neither framed any rules nor given an office and staff for the newly formed information commission, though the law was enacted on April 6 with retrospective effect from October 20, 2008.
Many people are doubtful about the sincerity of the officials who have been assigned to provide information to people, as the officials are accustomed to acting as a barrier between the government and the people because of their bureaucratic background.
Therefore, the information commission should make it clear that aggrieved members of the public can seek enforcement of their "right to know" only through it. It will also be a trial for the commission, how best it can perform in a deep-seated culture of official secrecy.
Though the RTI started its official journey after enactment of the Act on April 6, no move is seen as yet to equip the government offices with information delivery units in line with the law, though setting-up of such units within 60 days of enactment of the Act is mandatory. It is crucial for government functionaries to be well-equipped to cater to the people's need for information if the RTI is to be effective.
According to the UK's freedom of information laws, anyone of any nationality, living anywhere in the world, may ask for information held by more than one hundred thousand public authorities and other designated non-governmental organisations in UK, and expect an answer within 20 working days, usually free of charge.
Most of the central government departments in UK are well geared up with a mass of easily accessible information already on their websites. India has also implemented its RTI laws by successfully creating an information bank.
It is a commendable development that the government has finally enacted the RTI Act-2009, which meets one of the long-standing aspirations of the people. But implementation of the RTI laws remains a big hurdle, as a change in the mindset of all the government functionaries is needed to provide people with information affecting their lives and living.
The experts recommended that the process of empowering people through the RTI Act should start at grassroots level by providing them with all the information they need. The recommendation came from a two-day conference jointly convened by the RTI Forum and Manusher Jonno Foundation, which was attended by the experts from UK, Mexico, New Zealand, India and Pakistan.
The RTI Act was embodied after an arduous struggle by the civil society, media, NGOs and human rights organisations. But it will bring no benefit to the people unless the RTI laws are implemented, creating wider awareness among the people regarding their right to information and sensitising them to exercise it judiciously.
RTI and good governance are intertwined aspects of the same factor, i.e. a driving force in democracy. So, the RTI Act bears significance for a country like Bangladesh, where the people have been struggling to strike a balance between administrative transparency and accountability and their access to information.
A culture of seeking information must be developed in the society for effective implementation of the RTI law. In a country like ours, with a high rate of illiteracy, RTI will have a very little impact if the common people are not acquainted with the procedures of seeking information. The information commission, media, human rights organisations and other stakeholders can play this vital role by arranging campaigns to educate common people on how to exercise the right judiciously.

A.N.M. Nurul Haque is a columnist of The Daily Star.
E-mail: [email protected].