Editorial
Public awareness of RTI
Synergies needed
Following the introduction of the RTI Ac in 2009, an RTI Commission was constituted comprising a Chief Commissioner and two other Commi-ssioners. They are now in the midst of implementing the Act, a task which without cooperation of government offices and the citizens appears difficult to fulfill. In other words, we are in a rudimentary stage which might as well be termed a teething period.
In view of this, Orissa's awareness building campaign, alluded to by the visiting Orissa Information Commissioner, provides some cues as far as awareness building to ensure citizens' participation in implementing RTI goes. His idea of setting up camps sounds good as an awareness building device. The result in Orissa was that waves of ordinary citizens searched for information and the media gave live coverage leading to a vast public awareness of their rights and the obligation of institutions, government and private, to provide answers.
The information Commission in Bangladesh needs its own network throughout the country. The volume of information demanded is in no way comparable to any country in the region.
As for the institutions, they need to be more robust. There seems to be a laid back attitude of government officials which must be replaced with a hands-on approach now that an RTI Act is under implementation because the role of governance and the delivery of service are vital in society.
One important solution in creating awareness even in the rural areas is to employ a large number of the unemployed youth to sensitise people about protecting their rights.
We feel that should there be the beginnings of an implementation of these methods in Bangladesh, steps could be taken in a positive direction to create a system and culture in which there is a steady flow of information.
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