How you can prevent corruption

The Right to Information Act, 2009 (RTI Act) empowers all citizens of Bangladesh to stand up to corruption, clientelism and secrecy for societal and own benefit

  • RTI act can only unfold its full impact on society, if it gets use massively, if the educated middle class gets involved and ask serious questions like journalists do
  • So far, more than 12,500 designated officers have been appointed throughout the country. Everyone can be an agent for change by using RTI
  • RTI act can only unfold its full impact on society, if it gets use massively, if the educated middle class gets involved and ask serious questions like journalists do
  • So far, more than 12,500 designated officers have been appointed throughout the country. Everyone can be an agent for change by using RTI

“I did not know until now that the RTI Act can be so powerful,” said Mohammad Saud Khan, after getting an Agriculture Input Assistance Card and Tk800 for one bag of fertiliser and 2kg seeds.

Bangladesh’s Right to Information Act was adopted by the Jatiyo Sangshad in 2009. It is among the more elaborate RTI laws around the globe. As the law provides a great opportunity for citizens to change their personal situation and to get involved with transparency and accountability of public authorities, it is a commendable step towards good governance.

Under the law, every citizen has the right to access information from any public authority and their private contractors. Upon demand of the citizen, the authority is bound to provide this information.

At best, only one form has to be filled and delivered to the designated official, to request the information and receive an answer within 20 days. However, some exceptions exist – ongoing police investigations, personal data and information that pose a threat to public security and international relations.

Mohammad Saud Khan is a nomadic river gypsy belonging to the Bede community in Munshiganj district. He has been farming alongside the Padma River for a long time. Due to lack of agricultural utilities including seeds, fertilisers and equipment, his harvest has always been scarce. He repeatedly sought help from the local agricultural officials, who promised him financial support if money was officially sanctioned. He soon gave up all hope for assistance.

In 2010, Khan became an animator in a non-governmental organisation’s (NGO) Right to Information project. It was only then that he became aware of the Agriculture Input Assistance Card, which the Government of Bangladesh issues to small farmers to provide them with cash subsidies. He felt that he had been denied this assistance because he belongs to the Bede community.

After learning about the RTI Act, he requested for a copy of the rules to obtain a card and a list of most recent recipients in his area from the designated officer of the Upazila Agriculture Office. Khan received part of the information and was invited to the office, where he was informed that his name would be added to the list of beneficiaries. Since he was not satisfied with the information he received within the RTI Act’s time limit, he decided to file a complaint to the Information Commission. A few days before the scheduled hearing, he finally received the missing information.

The establishment of the Information Commission as an overseeing public body, is an important step towards properly implementing the RTI Act. An RTI applicant who was denied information, or is dissatisfied with the information received, can file a complaint with the commission.

The institution then makes the final decision, if and which information is to be disclosed. The Information Commissioners can exercise the power of a civil court and therefore enforce the attendance of officials and compel them to give testimony. If the Commission is convinced that an official or an authority has violated duties under the RTI Act, it can take action against them.

“After Mr Saud Khan applied for the information, we started collecting it. Since the RTI Act was new and we were not really aware of it, we did not furnish all the information in a proper manner. Now that we are aware of it, we will furnish all information requested,” stated the Upazila Agriculture Officer. The Information Commission admonished him for not caring to learn about the law when it was announced by the Government.

The reaction of the Upazila Office to Saud Khan’s request shows two shortcomings lingering since the adoption of the RTI Act – a lack of awareness not only among citizens but also among designated officers and an insufficiently effective information management system.

To overcome these and other shortcomings is not only a responsibility of public authorities themselves but also of citizens. While training designated officers, creating awareness of the RTI Act, enhancing proactive disclosure and removing bureaucratic hurdles are public duties; making regular use of the RTI Act will inevitably compel officers to develop a habit of properly responding to requests from citizens and to resort to good practice.

Authorities will lack motivation to make a big effort towards properly implementing the law if there is no serious demand.

According to the Information Commission, Bangladeshis submitted 16,475 RTI requests in 2012. But many requests were not related to the aim of the law.

The Information Commission takes any request into account which is delivered on an RTI form, although information on how to open a bank account or how to get a passport are matters relating to proactive disclosure and can be enquired over the telephone or through face-to-face conversation with an employee of the concerned authority.

So far, more than 12,500 designated officers have been appointed throughout the country. Many of them were not concerned with a single RTI request. As being responsible for responding to these requests is an additional task for an officer who already has other duties, it loses significance for him if there is no demand.

A 2013 study conducted by The Nielsen Company revealed – 38% of the designated officers who received training on RTI, have forgotten most of what they had learnt since they handled no RTI application following the training.

Furthermore, case studies conducted by NGOs point out that an initial hostile reaction to a citizen’s request is often derived from a lack of awareness regarding the RTI Act among officers and this behaviour changes as soon as they get to know about the law.

Bangladesh has a long tradition of government secrecy. The efforts taken in recent years to make governance, bureaucracy and public private partnership more transparent and accountable to citizens are highly commendable. But if public officers are not aware of their new duties they will act according to old patterns. An increasing number of RTI applications can serve as a catalyst to change their mentality.

An extrapolation conducted by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative indicates that Indians filed around 40 lakh RTI requests in the business year 2011-12. That is about 32 times as many applications per capita as in Bangladesh. This success story can be traced back to grassroot activities dating back to the mid 1990s. The government facilitated the movement by institutionalising the right to information. The Indian RTI Act in its current form was adopted in 2005.

Indian citizens since then uncovered fraud in the construction sector, healthcare system and the Public Distribution System among other things. Using RTI has become very popular in India.

Examples from India and Bangladesh show that RTI can make a difference. Not only restricted to a person’s life, it can also affect society as a whole. Misuse of public money and bad governance in general are less likely, if the designated personnel fear that their misdeeds have a high probability of getting discovered. Additionally, RTI is a gain for authorities as well – it provides an easy way to assess the citizens’ needs and wishes. Apart from that, reducing corruption should be a shared goal.

RTI-related success is possible in Bangladesh, as the story of Mohammad Saud Khan shows; but it is a rare example. Today, RTI is mainly used by marginalised people for personal benefit, if they get facilitated by NGOs. It can only unfold its full impact on society, if it gets used massively. NGOs can play a key role in promoting RTI, especially when it comes to raising awareness; what really counts is the people’s commitment.

To go beyond personal benefit, it is inevitable that the educated middle class gets involved and asks serious questions like journalists do for research purposes. One might ask to see documents, which show what designated authorities are doing to assess environmental pollution by tanners in Hazaribagh of Old Dhaka, to monitor workers’ rights in the garment sector or to monitor its contract partners in the construction of the Padma Bridge. Everyone can be an agent for change by using RTI.

Source: Dhaka Tribune