Information Commission to be formed soon, secretary assures

Information Commission Secretary Shah Alam said today (29 September) that the long-vacant commission will be formed soon.

“There was a time when information was scarce. Now an excess of information is causing trouble. Disinformation and false information are making life unbearable. We want verified information,” Shah Alam said at a “Right to Information conference” organised by the Right to Information Forum.

He said the Right to Information Act, enacted in 2009, has not made the expected progress, stressing that citizens must demand transparency and hold the government accountable for the law to advance.

“The Information Commission will be formed within a short time. But just as our information supply chain is weak, the demand for information is weaker still,” he said.

Shah Alam stressed the need to strengthen public demand for information to build a democratic and accountable government.

At the conference, Right to Information Forum convener Shaheen Anam also called for the swift appointment of information commissioners.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said no country in the world has kept an information commission vacant for more than two years despite a legal obligation to have one.

He said repeated discussions were held during the interim government’s tenure on forming the commission, but no action was taken. Seven months into the elected government’s term, the commission is still vacant.

On the proposed amendment to the Right to Information Act, Iftekharuzzaman warned that using the law to curb disinformation and false information could undermine people’s right to information.