News
Information Dept. stops release of Cabinet papers
The Information Department has halted the practice of releasing to the media Cabinet papers submitted by ministers after they are approved by the Cabinet. The move comes despite the Cabinet in April approving a note submitted by President Maithripala Sirisena informing all ministries that Cabinet decisions and memoranda not falling within excepted categories under the Right to Information (RTI) Act have to be made available to a citizen upon request.
However, the practice has now been halted on a directive from the Information Department Director General Ranga Kalansooriya. He confirmed the directive and said it had been issued due to advice given by the Secretary to the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers. The DG said he had sought clarification from the Secretary regarding the matter and had been informed that the practice of the Information Department providing detailed Cabinet papers to the media was wrong. “Hence, it was stopped.”
However, Cabinet Secretary Sumith Abeysinghe said he did not issue any directive, but it was up to the relevant ministry to decide whether to release Cabinet papers. Mr. Abesysinghe, explained that papers submitted to Cabinet belong to their respective ministries and that the Information Department could not issue them directly.
He said there were provisions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act for a citizen to obtain any document which did not fall under excepted categories.