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First RTIC ends term, second Commission to be appointed by president
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Final public sitting of the First RTIC in Kandy this week
The Right to Information Commission (RTIC) held its final public sitting this week at the Kandy District Secretariat as the majority of its members completed their five-year terms of office on Thursday (September 30).
Among the Commissioners who will be stepping down due to the ending of their terms are its Chairman Mahinda Gammampila, Ms Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and S G Punchihewa. Justice Rohini Walgama and Ms Selvy Thiruchandran had sent in their resignations earlier.
The RTIC came into force after a landmark RTI Act enacted on August 4, 2016 and received worldwide acclaim as one of the most progressive laws of its kind, taken together with the constitutional right to information in Article 14A and the Rules of the RTI Commission. Sri Lanka’s progress on RTI was featured by UNESCO in its report to the United Nations General Assembly’s High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, 2020.
During the past five years, the RTIC has adjudicated on approximately 5,000 appeals ranging from information being asked on assets declarations of politicians, use of state funds by the national and provincial legislative assemblies, investment of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), procurements and awarding of tenders by state entities, complaints filed to police stations, promotion and disciplinary procedures in state bodies, compensation payments for landowners on acquisition of their lands, and admission criteria of children to schools.
Full or partial disclosure has been ordered in 85% of Orders issued by the Commission during 2017-2020 with relevant data up to September 2021 yet being compiled. Regional appeal sittings of the Commission have been held in Kandy, Panama, Ampara, Nuwara Eliya, Hambantota, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Puttalam, Mahiyangana, Bandarawela, Kanthale and Nawalapitiya.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is to appoint the second RTIC in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act which provides for seats on the Commission for the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), a nominee from the Media and a nominee from Civil Society groups.