‘Information right trapped in tangles, secrecy’

Fear of procedural tangles, a not very forthcoming bureaucracy and a hangover from the culture of secrecy deter Bangladeshis from getting information using the right to information law, a discussion heard.

bdnews24.com co-organised the discussion at its Dhaka office with Information Commission on Saturday to shed light on the five years of the independent statutory body.

It was a big challenge to provide information to the people in line with their demand, members of the commission, government representatives and political leaders admitted.

The present system, which has caused many to neglect their right to information, was undergoing reform, they said.

Discussants said there was a strong need for raising public awareness about the Right to Information Act, simplify the process through which people collect information and change the attitude of the officials who provide the information.

Even a minor can seek information from the commission, the roundtable styled, ‘Information Commission: Five years on’ was told.

Kaspersky Lab supported the event.

Response 97%

The Right to Information Act was a people’s law applied on government officials, said Chief Information Commissioner Mohammed Farooq.

He claimed some success in the five years of the commission’s existence.

Mohammed Farooq

“It took two years to set up the structure. In fact, the commission has been working for just three to three and a half years.”

“We made five units in five years, it’s a big achievement. We received 25,410 requests in our first year.

“Among them we gave services to 99.70 percent. Five years have brought 61,000 applications, of which we served 96.91 percent.”

He said it will be easier to provide smooth information services if more officials worked in the commission.

After the Awami League government took office, it passed the Right to Information Act on March 29, 2009. The commission was formed on July 1.

‘Challenges remain’

The government is working to remove problems within its system and have people believe that their rights will be ensured, said Additional Cabinet Secretary Nazrul Islam.

Nazrul Islam

“Implementing laws, reaching its depths, are always challenging. Much more is possible with this law.”

One must also check if there was the intent to implement it, he said. ‘Gaps’ sometime remain even when officials are given training.

“We are working to sensitise those involved. It’s also possible to provide answers to some of the questions on the government websites,” he said.

“Information sometimes is not properly arranged. Asking a proper and accurate question is also an issue.”

“More time is needed to have the administration provide the kind of service expected of. We are trying.

“This law has made it possible in a lot of ways but other laws must be reformed for it to be fully implemented. We are doing that,” the additional secretary added.

‘Something is amiss’

Khushi Kabir, who campaigned for establishment of Information Commission, said there must be ‘something missing’ because people, despite the law, are refusing to knock on its door.

Khushi Kabir

The law institutionalised accountability to further public interest, she said.

“There is a type of reluctance among the people. I feel that people think its trouble, and there is no point – so something is amiss. There should have been waves of applications in response to this positive law,” said Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori.

The commission was liberal, she said, “but there might be issues within the bureaucracy.”

Change in mindset needed

At this point of the discussion, Awami League MP Abdul Matin Khasru said bureaucrats needed to change their mindset and stop stonewalling information.

Abdul Matin Khasru

The chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Estimates said people wanted information but did not know how to get it.

He advised bureaucrats to tell people how to go about it.

Bureaucrats were public servants, the former law minister reminded them. “The mentality – ‘we will not let people know’ - should change.”

The Right to Information Act was not being implemented fully, Khasru said, adding that a monitoring team was needed to ensure that it did.

“You are servants of the republic. You don’t have the right to deny the rights of the people. People need to be informed,” Khasru told government officials.

'Lots of reasons for reluctance'

Information Commissioner Sadeka Halim said when citizens wanted easy access to information they simply asked.

"So the 62,000 information requests made so far are only a part of the real picture," she said.

Sadeka Halim

"We don't have the mechanism and the system needed to deliver information all over the country," she said.

The commission needed more research and training to better carry out the process.

There were many reasons why people disliked seeking information from the government, she said.

"At the field level, we see a very different picture. When marginal people go to an official for information, they make excuses to evade that task. This is one of the reasons behind reluctance," she said.

Hearings at divisional level

Research Initiative Executive Director Meghna Guhahtakurta recommended that Information Commission's hearings be held at the divisional levels in order to reach out to people.

Meghna Guhahtakurta

"The commission has to take information to 160 milllion people. So they have to go to each division," she said.

"People want to get their information legally, but it's a difficult challenge," she said.

'Culture of fear' needs to go

People’s right to information has a significant barricade in how questions are treated in Bangladesh, a leading rights activist said in the discussion.

Tahmina Rahman, director for Bangladesh and South Asia of London-based Article 19 that campaigns for the right to free expression and information, said there were many failures in taking the right to information law to the people.

“We are trapped in a culture of fear. People don’t feel they have the right to go into government offices, so they lack the courage.”

“The offices are austere and their protocols are far from people-friendly.”

Information Commission in its five years has responded to 97 percent of queries, but the number of people seeking information has declined with time.

Tahmina Rahman

The process to seek information from the commission could be shortened and made simpler, said Rahman, and if applications were rejected the technical aspect behind it should be explained.

“Bureaucrats are often trained but for technical skills. They are not trained in a way that can change their mindsets for the better.”

“Culture plays a massive role in how we treat information and its seeker,” said Rahman.

Going back to schooling in Bangladesh, she said the system, especially the public ones, were “cramming and non-interactive”.

“We aren’t habituated to asking questions,” she said, and if someone did that, the authorities might feel intimidated.

Content despite all the harassment

Sheikh Ali Ahmed from Narayanganj spent a year running after a single piece of information.

Sheikh Ali Ahmed

While filing a case for his brother's murder, he asked an Upazila health officer whether the prime accused had been admitted to a government hospital. He had to spend a year and take the issue to the commission to get the information.

Despite the delay, Ali was happy that he got the information, but said he was enraged to learn that the negligent health officer had been fined only Tk 1,000.

Worse, that officer has been promoted to a deputy director in the health directorate.

Info Commission on Ali Ahmed's case

Abu Taher

"We have taken his issue seriously from the very beginning. The responsible officer was fined Tk 1,000," said Information Commissioner Abu Taher.

Ali Ahmed cut in Taher and said that specific officer was promoted later.

Prior to that, Additional Cabinet Secretary Nazrul Islam told the discussion that the Annual Confidential Reports (ACR) of governmernt officials contained all sorts of information, even that of the specific officer being fined.

Awami League leader Abdul Matin Khashru MP, however, said that the officer in question will be tried,

The former law minister urged the media to raise awareness about the Right to Information Act.

The Right to Information Ordnance was passed in Oct 20, 2008. After the Awami League-led government took office in 2009 it was passed as a law on Mar 29.

The Information Commission was formed in July, the same year, which is set to finish its fifth year.