A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Sunday, June 25, 2017
Sunday, April 23, 2017
In a note presented by President Maithripala Sirisena and approved by
the Cabinet recently, the President has informed all Ministers that all
Cabinet decisions and Memoranda not falling within excepted categories
under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, No 12 of 2016, have to be made
available to a citizen upon request.
In terms of this note, the Cabinet has also been formally apprised of
the appointment of an Information Officer (IO) and a Designated Officer
(DO) for the Cabinet in terms of the RTI Act. The President has stated
that previously, all Cabinet decisions were considered as confidential
documents, conveyed only to the Secretary to the relevant Ministry, the
parties who are directly involved in the implementation. These decisions
were also informed to a limited number of others, including the
Attorney General when required in regard to legal matters.
However, with changes brought about by the passing of the RTI Act,
President Sirisena has noted that when requests are received from a
‘citizen’ in accordance with RTI Regulations and Rules, necessary action
needs to be taken by the Secretary to the Cabinet. He has also pointed
out that in conformity with proactive disclosure obligations under the
RTI regime, Cabinet decisions and other facts required to be published
therein are carried on the website of the Cabinet Office.
Sri Lanka’s RTI Act, along with Regulations and Rules on Fee and Appeals
of the independent RTI Commission, was operationalised on February 3
this year. According to Section 23(1)(a) of the RTI Act, every Public
Authority must appoint within three months of the date of
operationalising the Act, one or more IOs as well as a DO to hear the
first appeal. Where an IO and a DO are in place, it is mandatory that a
citizen seeking information should approach those officers first and
then only appeal to the RTI Commission and thereafter, to the courts.
In terms of a government policy decision, in instances where a Public
Authority has appointed an IO but has failed to appoint a DO, the
relevant administrative superior will become the DO. The Act, meanwhile,
provides that if an IO is not appointed, then the Head or the CEO of
the Public Authority is deemed to be the IO. In this case, appeal from a
decision of the IO will lie directly to the Commission.
Following inquiries made to the Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs
Ministry which is the implementing nodal agency, the Sunday Times learns
that a considerable number of Public Authorities and other private
entities falling within the Act have complied with the mandatory
requirement to appoint IOs and DOs. However, Public Authorities still
failing to comply include the University Grants Commission (UGC), the
Higher Education Ministry, ‘all courts, tribunals and institutions
created for the administration of justice’ and the Judicial Service
Commission (JSC). Other independent constitutional Commissions and
Commissions created under written law have also complied with the
requirements of the RTI Act.