Lanka’s ‘tryst with its (RTI) destiny’
It may be a forgivable overreach in dramatic flair, but to paraphrase independent India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s stirring words to the Indian Constituent Assembly on the eve of shaking off colonial fetters in 1947, Sri Lanka’s ‘tryst with its (RTI) destiny’ will occur on Friday. This is when the Right to Information Act, No 12 of 2016 becomes operative to all Public Authorities on February 3, 2017, the day before we celebrate the 69th year of our own Independence.
In this case, the long established fetters that Sri Lanka hopes to shake off will be the decades of stubborn bureaucracy in denying information to our citizens. Typically, these denials range from plundered monies in the construction of village roads to multi-millions squandered in sophisticated high finance deals, from embarrassing Government mistakes being hidden as ‘official secrets’ to a complainant in a local police station and much more.
As Sri Lanka sinks to a morass of ‘politics as usual’, the RTI Act is unquestionably a signal exception to that cheerless record -though late, at least it is one election promise that the National Unity Government has fulfilled.
This was a law that was relatively easy to draft because much of the groundwork had already been done with the draft Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill of 2004 under the then - and present Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s watch. If that Bill had not been callously brushed aside by Presidents Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa as it posed an obstacle for politicians to rob public money, we would have had an RTI Act at the same time as others in the region. Though the media spearheaded Sri Lanka’s RTI Act, this is a law for all citizens, not only journalists. Ranked high on the index of RTI legislation internationally, it ensures an independent RTI Commission tasked with monitoring RTI compliance and adjudicating on disputes. There has been a pitiful lack of time to prepare Rules and fine-tune Regulations to give effect to the Act as the Commission became functional just over a month ago though we are made to understand that these duties have been complied with. The ball is now in the court of the implementing agency, the Ministry of Mass Media, which has to gazette these Rules and Regulations.
The country will be closely watching as to how the RTI Commission is enabled by the Government to function properly. We must not forget Sri Lanka’s first National Police Commission supposed to be unique in the region. Functioning with integrity, it was gradually undermined by politicians even before the 18th Amendment put paid to all independent commissions. Even though the 19th Amendment restored the to some extent, the Police Commission remains a shadow of its original self. This is not encouraging. The Government cannot set up commissions, boast to the world about this and then starve such bodies of adequate resources, refuse to financially support the commissioners or deprive them of the capacity to function independently. That will be a farce and worse, a betrayal of all the peoples’ struggles. Lanka’s ‘RTI destiny’ will finally be measured only by the people’s wise and strong use of their right to know. Public servants, the media and the citizenry remain to be properly educated about the force of RTI which, in other countries, has brought corrupt politicians to account. We witness the agonising wait to bring these corrupt politicians to book partly due to the secrecy associated with the workings of the government which permitted Presidents, PMs and Ministers - and bureaucrats to escape with impunity the basic public responsibilities they owe to the people they represent.
Hopefully, the RTI Act -- a great and long overdue gift to the people -- will show us the way, No. 08, Hunupitiya Cross Road, Colombo 02. P.O. Box 1136, Colombo editor@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2331276 news@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479332, 2328889, 2331276 features@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479312, 2328889,2331276 pictures@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479323, 2479315 sports@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479311 bt@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479319 funtimes@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479337, 2331276 2479540, 2479579, 2479725 2479629, 2477628, 2459725