Changes to RTI Law may embarrass govt: KPIC

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Commission (KPIC) on Wednesday sought review of the bill for amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2013 before its introduction in the provincial assembly as it would embarrass the government.

The KPIC had called for the review of the amendment bill came hours before the introduction of the bill in the provincial legislature. The bill had been put as main item on the agenda of the assembly session on Tuesday.

The provincial government had planned to introduce Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information (amendment Act 2018) which, if passed, would likely hamper the effectiveness of RTI law.

The KPIC had also sent a draft bill on August 30 last to the Information Department seeking changes to the RTI Act 2013 with an aim to make the law more effective by making the Peshawar High Court as appeal court against the orders of the KPIC.

However, to the astonishment of many the government on Tuesday put a draft bill on the agenda seeking amendments to RTI Act 2013, which civil society activists thought would make the law toothless.

An official of the KPIC said on condition of anonymity that Chief Commissioner Azmat Hanif Orakzai brought the matter into the notice of Information Minister Shah Farman and Chief Secretary Muhammad Azam Khan on Tuesday after it was reported by the media.

Sharing copy of the KPIC chief commissioner’s letter to the chief secretary, the official said that the minister had assured that the bill would be reviewed before its presentation to the provincial assembly.

He added that the KPIC had submitted a set of amendments to the Information Department to the RTI law to make it effective and remove impediments in the working of the commission. However, he added that the amendments proposed in the draft bill submitted to the assembly secretariat were not in conformity with the ones sought by the commission.

The official said the KPIC in its letter to the chief secretary pointed out that the provincial government enacted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information 2013 through the provincial assembly as part of its “Good Governance Legislative Framework”.

Quoting the letter, he said the primary objective of the law was to promote transparency and accountability in the functioning of public bodies of the province by way of enabling citizens to have access to information of public importance, subject to regulation and reasonable restrictions.

The letter said, “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa RTI Law is among the best RTI laws in the world as adjudged by the Centre for Law and Democracy Canada.”

It said that last year the KP Information Commission proposed certain amendments to the RTI Act to make it more citizen-friendly and remove certain bottlenecks in its smooth implementation.

The official said the amendments were sent to the Information Department for onward presentation before the assembly through the Law Department.

However, he said that during examination of the amendments in the Information and Law departments, certain other amendments were inserted in the draft bill, which had not been discussed with the Commission.

“These additional amendments are not only against the very spirit of the RTI law, but these will significantly weaken it, thereby causing embarrassment to the provincial government,” the letter read.

The KPIC commissioner in his letter expressed the fear that “it (amendments) would be a setback for the citizens who are now extensively using it.”

The commission asked the chief secretary to consider the matter and ensure review of the draft bill afresh by all concerned before its introduction in the provincial assembly.

The government has now decided to form a committee, which will also include representative of the KPIC, to review the draft bill in light of the amendments proposed earlier by the commission.