তথ্য অধিকার আইন

December 15, 2024

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

Over one hundred days have passed since an interim government took over the reins of power in Bangladesh, promising a more just, democratic, law-based, and discrimination-free society. Fulfilling such expectations is not easy, as the transition from the violent overthrow of the previous regime is challenging and time-consuming. The new government soon recognised that a priority area for its attention would be governance and restoring governmental authority to ensure a smooth transition.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act 2009 has rich potential to contribute to good governance at this critical moment in our history. There can be no better law to promote a collaborative interaction between public authorities and citizens for transparent and accountable governance. But it needs guiding hands.

Like many other institutions of governance in the country, the RTI regime was disrupted in the aftermath of the July-August mass uprising. Following the spate of resignations or forcible removal of high officials of key public bodies, the country’s three information commissioners also had to go. The Bangladesh RTI Commission was thus left rudderless and remains so till date. This must end quickly as citizens’ role in utilising the law to monitor the work of all public bodies is crucial at this critical juncture of the nation. The Information Commission must be reconstituted as a matter of priority.  Read more