Govt officials urged not to hold back information
Speakers at a programme yesterday said the malpractice of denying people information had been going on in the country since the British colonial period.
They termed access to information a basic right and urged the government information officials to stop depriving people of information they need.
Some of the participants at the programme aimed to raise people's awareness about the Right to Information (RTI) Act alleged that they faced harassment by officials while seeking information.
Speaking as chief guest, Information Commissioner Prof Sadeka Halim highlighted the importance of implementation of the law, passed in 2009.
“If the act is properly applied, both transparency and accountability will be ensured in the country, and corruption will be eliminated.â€
She hoped that there would be a smooth flow of information from the top ranking officials of the administration down to the bottom level employees.
She also called on people to help make the act more effective and cooperate with government and non-government officials in this regard.
The information commissioner urged the media outlets, and private and multinational companies to employ information officers as in government offices.
Prof Sadeka said a brail version of the act would be sent to the social welfare ministry in December so that the visually impaired people could know about it.
The professor, who also teaches at Dhaka University, criticised a recent report of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), which says 97 percent of the current lawmakers of Bangladesh are somehow involved in "negative activities".
Terming the study methodologically flawed, she said the researchers surveyed only the well-off section of the society and built the results only on opinions.
Information Providing Unit of Chittagong District Administration with support from Information Commission organised the programme at Chittagong Circuit House.
Government officials, school and college teachers, lawyers and public representatives, among others, attended it.
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