Appoint missing commissioners to keep RTI Act alive
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
Soon after the interim government assumed power six months ago, the three Information Commissioner posts in Bangladesh became vacant. Without the commissioners, the Information Commission itself—the pivot of the Right to Information (RTI) regime—becomes dysfunctional. Citizens seeking information and the authorities providing it find themselves in limbo. In the absence of the Information Commission monitoring their work, government officials feel less inclined to respond to citizens’ information requests, who, in turn, question whether it is worth pursuing a request. As a result, the entire RTI Act withers, along with the concept of citizens’ right to monitor the government’s work to improve governance. This development contradicts the aspirations of the country’s youth, who helped bring the interim government to power.
To obtain a clearer picture of the ground realities, we consulted different groups in the country engaged in promoting and using the RTI Act. Though not a scientific method, the process confirmed our fears. The following are some of our findings, albeit anecdotal.
