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RTI in force now, get information for free
View(s):Citizens making requests under the Right to Information (RTI) Act must not be charged application fees, according to Gazette regulations issued on Friday.
The regulations also list several instances where information must be provided free.
For instance, all information sent in response to a request by email is free. If information is provided by printout or photocopy, the first four A4 pages will be provided free. If inspection of a record is requested, the first hour is free. If an appeal either to the Designated Officer or the RTI Commission is successful, the information is also to be given free.
The regulations have also brought in an open re-use policy of all information obtained under the Act. The RTI Commission has imposed accountability criteria in regard to the appointment of information officers by public authorities (PA) — not only ministries — and requested them to pro-actively disclose information, including Budget information. This includes salaries, emoluments and allowances of officers and employees of executive rank and above, procurement information and audit reports. Periodic updating is required. The Commission has the power to direct a PA to provide information in a particular form and to specify report formats.
In terms of Friday’s Gazette notification, an easy-to-use RTI policy is put into place with the citizen empowered to make the request even by letter, email or verbally to information officers. However, Information Officers are strictly required to comply with the filling and filing of forms, including acceptance of a request, rejection of a request with reasons given and requests for extensions.
Further, if the information requested is held by another PA, the duty is on the Information Officer to transfer that request in writing and inform the citizen within seven days rather than the citizen being required to go from one PA to another. The RTI Act specifies PAs to include all bodies set up under the Constitution or statute, government, provincial and local bodies, corporate bodies which collaborate with government, non-governmental organisations and educational institutions.
The independent RTI Commission is a five-member body tasked with monitoring RTI complaints and adjudicating disputes. Three Commissioners were appointed by the President with effect from October 1, 2016. Recommendations by the Constitutional Council in respect of appointment of the two remaining Commissioners were sent to the President by the end of October 2016 but the appointments were made only by the end of the year.
The Commission is required in terms of the Act to have a separate Fund into which all money voted in by Parliament must be put. However, the 2017 Budget did not contain a separate line item for the RTI Commission, unlike for other independent Commissions.
The Sunday Times reported last week that the Government had submitted a supplementary estimate to Parliament seeking approval for an additional Rs 1.8 billion to cover the expenses of the President. Of this, Rs 3 million is to meet the recurrent expenditure of the Commission.
Responding to a question posed by the Sunday Times as to why a separate allocation for the RTI Commission was not made in the 2017 Budget, Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilake told a news conference on Friday that this was because there was a delay in appointing all members of the Commission.
He said a supplementary allocation for the Commission could be sought from the Finance Ministry if needed while Rs. 25 million had been allocated for the Ministry in the Budget as it had to carry out the implementation work of RTI in the country.
However, the Ministry has been allocated all necessary funds to effectively implement the RTI Act, he insisted. He said the RTI Commission is expected to be allocated funds separately in the budget from next year.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake confirmed on Friday that there was no provision in the 2017 budget for the RTI Commission. All other independent Commissions got their funds from the budget. “Part of allocations made to the President and the Prime Minister is meant for the RTI Commission,” he told the Sunday Times. “I will make sure they receive it.”
“There was a misconception earlier that the RTI Act was brought for the media,” Minister Karunathilake said at a media briefing. “This is not the case. The primary beneficiaries of this Act are the country’s citizens.”
He cautioned that its effects may not be felt for some time. It will be some time before people see and appreciate how beneficial the Act is to them.
The Government was also under no illusions that the implementation of the Act would be “100 per cent effective” from day one. It was a new experience for both Information Officers and the people. The Minister said shortcomings would be rectified with time. Around 1,500 Information Officers have already been recruited and are being trained, he added.
On February 17, the Ministry of Mass Media will host a conference at ‘Temple Trees’ for the new recruits. It will be presided over by President Maithripala Sirisena who will formally induct them. The RTI Act gives the public access to records that go back ten years from the date of the Act coming into force, Ministry Secretary Nimal Bopage said.