Amidst the Government’s Independence Day events and excitement over next week’s elections to341 local councils, quiet and gradual steps in bringing about a better standard of governance have gone almost unnoticed during the previous months.

A special forum of national level civil society organizations on  RTI act and its implementation organised by the RTI unit of the ministry of finance and media was held on 10th October at the Media Ministry.

The Commission issued an Order to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment to release the Memoranda of Understanding and/or Bilateral agreements pertaining to migrant workers between the Governments of Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait in view of the public interest in protecting the rights of Sri Lankan citizens who work in those countries

The ‘Best practices sharing Forum on RTI of Sri Lanka’ organized in parallel to the World RTI Day was held today (28th Sept.) at Global Tower Hotel in Colombo under the patronage of Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera.

All those who wish good governance to flourish in Sri Lanka must welcome the RTI Commission’s recent orders directing the Northern Provincial Council to give information on appointments of management assistants and office assistants to the provincial councillors.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In general terms, the Right to Information is a right of citizens. In Sri Lanka, there is a perception that it is the media which was foremost in fighting to bring about that right into law. That perception is correct to a large degree.

The Right to Information Commission on Monday (16th) released information of admission of school children to Grade One of Vishaka Vidyalaya in 2014 along with directions and instructions issued by the Ministry of Education in regard to the said admissions.

On the 8th of August, 2017, the RTI Commission held a Consultation on drafting Directives on Record Management under Section 7 of the RTI Act.