Using the right to information laws
Most government departments are not playing their due role in support of the basic objective of the Act. There is visible reluctance to providing information, appointing permanent public information officers and maintaining accessible official records in real time
Using the right to information laws
A lot of information is easily accessible on social media these days. It is quite hard sometimes, however, to judge the authenticity of the information coming from random sources. The Right to Information Act(s) promise a potential solution. The laws have been made by the federal and provincial legislatures to ensure citizens’ access to authentic sources of public information.
Shahzad Yousafzai, the founder of the news website The Reporters.pk, says that the laws have enabled him to expose mismanagement of public funds in government departments. In one case, he says, he obtained information about the expenses of the provincial and federal government heads spent on the use of helicopters. The information was eventually provided to him on the instructions of the Information Commission. The misuse of public funds for private helicopter rides revealed by the request was widely reported on in the media.
According to the Pakistan Information Commission’s annual report last year, major issues in improving the efficacy of RTI laws include the non-recruitment of permanent public information officers, the lack of interest shown by some government institutions in better implementation, resistance to RTI requests by civil servants who see public scrutiny as interference in official work, poor compilation of records and in some cases, deliberate non-disclosure.
To solve these problems, it is necessary to create awareness about the importance of the laws at the public level. Government departments should be made aware of the need to publicise their activities and information proactively. The provision requires the appointment of public information officers in each district at the departmental level, allocation of budget and staff to the Information Commission, and elimination of conflicts between relevant laws. Some departments resort to the Official Secrets Act, 1923, to deny access to information and declare the information required to be part of official secrets.
Lawyer Sajid Mehmood, an advocate of the High Court, says the RTI Rules, 2021 were a turning point in the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2017. The citizens do not have to pay an upfront fee to get the information they request. Also, they are not required to explain their reason for seeking the information. The institution from which the information is requested must provide it within 10 days; if it relates to a sensitive matter, the information should be provided within three days. This Act also requires all government departments to maintain records at all times.
Sajjad Akbar Shah, a news correspondent in Khanewal district, says many public servants hesitate to provide information. He says the fact that RTI requests are processed at a very slow pace often forces journalists to extract information by leveraging personal sources in government departments. Shah says if the information is obtained from a formal document, it cannot be denied by the department or the official concerned. This improves public accountability and transparency.
Some journalists have been using RTI laws for investigative work more efficiently than others. Shazia Mehboob, Pakistan Press Foundation fellow, was presented the RTI Champion award in 2021 by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives. She says that while working on any report of a sensitive nature or in which the credibility or performance of an institution is questioned, investigation through RTI is safer. Giving an example, she says she reported a story on FIA’s four-year performance in terms of solved cases of cybercrime, in which a document obtained from the agency through the RTI Act was also published. The agency later asked for the official document to be removed and threatened legal proceedings.
According to Mehboob, many government departments only provide information when compelled by the law. Many public servants do not consider it is their responsibility regardless of the law.
Geo News reporter Maimoona Saeed says that in December 2018, she was covering a story on the death of mothers and infants during pregnancy and childbirth. For this she was provided information in response to an RTI request. However, the chief executive officer of the department concerned flatly refused to comment on it.
Anjum Bashir, a The Nation correspondent, says that given the freedom of expression and access to information, journalists must be careful and follow professional ethics. He says information obtained from any institution should come through authorised procedure.
Alweera Rashid, the former regional coordinator for Punjab Lok Sujag, says that several NGOs played a significant role initially in the enforcement of the RTI Act. Some of those even arranged training for public awareness and utilisation of the RTI. However, she says, most government departments are not playing their due role in support of the basic objective of the Act. There is visible reluctance to providing information, appointing permanent public information officers and maintaining accessible official records in real-time. She says citizens in general and reporters in particular must keep pushing for the information for the law to become more effective. RTI, she says, is a simple and effective way to improve governance.
According to the annual report of the Information Commission for the year 2021, the organisation received 1,734 requests, of which 695 were provided with complete information, 395 requests were provided with information with slight changes, and other requests were being processed. It is worth noting here that 713 applications were received in respect of federal ministries, 72 power supply companies, and 85 educational institutions. 141 applications were received in the federal ministries regarding the Department of Defence. The applications sought information regarding labour rights, development projects and transparency in recruitment.
The right to access information is a vital mechanism for transparency and accountability in government institutions. However, it is still not being used by the media routinely and effectively.
Source: The news (Dialogue) Writer Faisal Saleem
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