Workshop on Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act 2016 – A Tool for Social Accountability & Civic Participation in Decision-Making
Workshop on Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act 2016 – A Tool for Social Accountability & Civic Participation in Decision-Making
Date: Tuesday, 13 August 2024
Venue: Mithi, Tharparkar
Transparency International Pakistan in collaboration with Civil Society Support Program (CSSP) organized a one day training workshop on Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act 2016 in Mithi, Tharparkar, Sindh. The workshop is a series of RTI trainings regularly organized by TI Pakistan and aimed to enhance the demand side of RTI implementation in the country. The workshop focused on raising awareness on Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act 2016 and enhancing capacity on using this act as a social accountability tool and filing RTI requests.
A total number of 44 participants, 37 male and 07 females including civil society representatives, youth, women and general citizens attended the workshop and obtained a comprehensive understanding of the provincial RTI Act including expanding their knowledge of various clauses of the RTI Act, process of filing RTI request, functions, roles and responsibilities of the public bodies and the Sindh Information Commission.
The training was delivered by Mr. Kashif Ali, Executive Director, and TI Pakistan’s team. The workshop started with opening remarks and overview of Transparency International Pakistan by Ms. Nasreen Memon, Project Coordinator, TI Pakistan. A pre-workshop survey was conducted afterwards, to assess participants’ initial understanding of Provincial RTI (Right to Information) laws and their practical application.
Mr. Kashif Ali, Executive Director of Transparency International Pakistan, delivered a comprehensive session on the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act and highlighted that this legislation is designed to benefit every citizen of Pakistan. He informed the participants that under the Article 19 A of the Constitution of Pakistan, the citizens of Pakistan now have a mandatory right as a fundamental human right, to access information from the government.
Mr. Kashif Ali provided a detailed briefing on the fundamental concepts of the Act. He covered key topics including the definitions of applicants and public bodies, the role of the Information Commission, and the types of information that can be accessed or exempted under the Act.
He defined that there are three steps of filing an RTI request, determining the information needs to be required, identifying the relevant department or public body for sending the RTI request, and submitting the application to the Designated Official of the Public Body.
Mr. Kashif also discussed the penalties that departments may face for failing to comply with RTI requests. He informed the participants that, under Clause 6(1) of the Sindh RTI Act, public bodies are required to proactively disclose information to ensure that it is readily available, and if not, RTI application works as a social accountability tool to ensure transparency in governance.
Followed by the presentation, a break-out discussion was organized where participants were divided into several groups. Each group comprising of 4 to 5 participants for a more focused and meaningful discussion. During the break-out discussion, the participants worked together to discuss and identify the local issues of the district. Each group was monitored by an expert trainer from TI Pakistan and CSSP, and capacitated on how to write an RTI request. As a result, 26 RTI request were written by participants for different departments and public bodies.
Participants wrote RTI applications acquiring information about budgetary details of Union Council and District Tharparkar, number of public schools, number of male and female teachers and budget allocated for their salaries, educational budget of the district and budget utilization on maintenance of RO plants in Mithi. Female participants highlighted the shortage of female doctors and inadequate facilities in government hospitals, which contribute to higher rates of infant and maternal mortality in the district.
Mr. Subhan Sameejo, a lawyer among the participants, highlighted the delays experienced in the RTI process, noting that departments often do not respond to his RTI requests in a timely manner. He emphasized the need for more efficient handling of such requests.
Towards the end, Mr. Ashok Suthar, Representative, Civil Society Support Program discussed the importance of community engagement in decision making process. He praised the people of Tharparkar for effectively using social media to highlight their issues, noting that this approach has successfully addressed many of their problems. He suggested that a similar collective effort in filing RTI applications could further help resolve their challenges.
He also emphasized the importance of effective proactive disclosure by the government departments, ensuring that information is readily available to the public. By improving these practices, access to crucial information can be significantly enhanced.
