Freedom of Information Act: Govt slow and reluctant in answering people’s questions

KARACHI:

There might be questions swimming in your mind about how much the government is spending on a new bridge or the crime rate in your neighbourhood, yet you may think that you have have nobody to get answers from. Not many people are aware of this, but an act was implemented back in 2002, which gives them the right to ask the government these questions - and officials must give an answer within 21 days.

That’s where Shehri steps in - it has conducted workshops to raise awareness about the Freedom of Information Act. The latest one was held on Thursday at the NED University of Engineering and Technology’s City Campus.

Shehri volunteer Naeem Sadiq, who has been studying the act for the past five years, was the key speaker. “This act has been around for so long, yet people are not aware of the change they can bring if they just ‘ask’.”

The act, however, has its fair share of loopholes. The process of filling a form and sending to it the department may sound simple, but there are no appointed officials who will handle the inquiry.

“Only a few departments have designated officials who deal with citizens’ questions. The intervention of an ombudsman is highly likely.”

He added that the acti also has a section known as ‘exempt from disclosure’, which denies information to people if the issue falls within it. “Data classified by the federal government falls into this section.”

He said that around eight months ago, Shehri sent around 52 questions to different departments and only two were answered within 21 days. Around 25 were answered after an ombudsman intervened and 27 are still pending.

“If the question isn’t answered by the department or after the ombudsman’s intervention, then [the matter] can be taken to court if you have the time and energy,” he said.

The Karachi East Ombudsman, Ahmed Jamal Aijazi, was also present at the event. He told The Express Tribune that he had received between 30 and 40 inquiries from Shehri alone. “I have received two inquiries from citizens too in the past four years.” He however, did not have anything to say when asked if those inquiries had been answered.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2012.