Right to Information bill blocked by SL government

by admin
May 11, 2012

The Right to Information Act proposed by the UNP has been blocked by the government, according to UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Jayasuriya said that he was informed the bill could not be presented as it had already been defeated in 2010.

“After the Bill was defeated in June 2010, I worked alongside members of the civil service to amend it and bring it more in line with modern versions seen in countries such as India,” he said.

“There are 90 countries worldwide which have passed similar legislation. Out of the SAARC countries only Bhutan and Sri Lanka do not have a Right to Information Act,

“It is important that this Bill is passed as the people have the right to be given all the information about their own country.

“In 2009 the UNP withdrew the Right to Information Bill as we were promised the government would present their own, this never happened."

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