Editorial
Towards a new era for people's right to know
Good measure that political parties must endorse
We welcome the council of advisers' giving final approval to the Right to Information Ordinance 2008 and commend the government for this action. Now, we believe, it is important that as soon as the ordinance is promulgated through presidential assent, instructions must go out to all ministries, directorates, departments, corporations and outlying offices for getting ready and set to provide information to the public on demand. To this end, government offices must be prepared, equipped and trained to cater to demands for information that are bound to arise in consequence of the law. No gaps should be allowed to develop around the links to the chain of information. It is also crucially important that a level of receptivity to requests for information be built into the system by undertaking motivational activities aimed at changing the mindset of government functionaries.
There are, even as we welcome the adoption of the RTI, concerns for implementation remain that need to be addressed. In the first place, the sprit needs to be instilled in the public that they now have the right to seek information about matters affecting their lives but that they have to fall into a habit of invoking it. Secondly, they will have to be acquainted with the procedures for seeking information. Furthermore, it should be ensured that queries for information are not hamstrung by bureaucratic procedures. The sad legacy of the past is that red tape has always acted as a barrier between the people and the government, all the way from British colonial times right down to the present. If the RTI is to prove effectual and productive, all those barriers must be done away with.
We must remember that no matter how forward-looking or modern a law is, it is rendered meaningless when the machinery to implement it is either not there or exists in toothless fashion. The RTI must buck this trend and the mechanics of its operation must be made functional. The encouraging part here is that new posts will be created in most government offices and NGOs with the specific purpose of supplying information to those who ask for it within twenty days of the receipt of applications for such information from them. Another good bit is the provision relating to issues of life and death and arrest and release from prison. With the authorities obliged to provide primary information on these issues within twenty four hours, this surely is symbolic of progress.
While we congratulate the caretaker government on taking such a crucial step in the public interest, we expect that the political parties will in the coming days not only endorse the RTI but also own it as one of the pledges in their election manifestoes. Their commitment to the measure must be total, in the larger interest of democracy.
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