‘Freedom of Information Ordinance not implemented’

Government departments do not follow the act, claims NGO.

KARACHI: The Freedom of Information (FoI) Ordinance is not implemented and people have no clue about their right to information and the advantage of holding the government accountable. This was the topic of discussion at the seminar on FoI organised on Monday by Shehri here at the Avari Hotel.

Shehri vice-chairman Sameer Dodhy said the FoI legislation guarantees citizens access to data held by the state. Under FoI rules, requests may be made for government held information which is to be received at no charge or at minimal cost. Every department is to designate a senior officer for delivering this information within 21 days. If the time period passes without the information being received, the head of the department has to respond within 30 days. Failure to do so means the matter can be taken to the ombudsman.

Naeem Sadiq, an activist, made 16 requests under the FoI Ordinance to various government departments but did not get a single satisfactory response. He said that the law should be amended and implemented in such a way that departments have to display certain basic information.

Helpline Trust chairman Hameed Maker compared India’s Right to Information (RTI) Act with the FoI Ordinance and said that the RTI is much stronger as it was started at the grassroots level. He said that in India, the act combined with judicial activism and the bureau of investigation has collectively put the government, parliamentarians and the business community under the microscope.

Former federal minister of information Javed Jabbar said that access to information has always been an essential part of human life. Pakistan’s system of controlling information was inherited from the British who was very guarded, he said. Jabbar added that the law was first passed in 1997 and was rejected by Nawaz Sharif’s government. Finally, it was passed again in 2002.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2010.