During a query about the progress of 15 decisions taken by the Cabinet of Ministers to provide relief to the people in the first six months of 2022, it was noted that state institutions have so far failed to provide information regarding 14 of those 15 decisions. A Veritie research study states
The study was conducted by Mrs Subashini Abeysinghe, Research Director of the Veritie Research Institute, a leading independent research institute in Sri Lanka.
She joined a profile program on the Sirasa Channel. She stated that although she applied for information regarding the progress of Cabinet decisions implementation for her study only the Development Finance Department could provide a composite reply.
In a discussion with journalist Ashoka Dias, Mrs Abeysinghe further mentioned that despite the enormous difficulties suffered by the people of the country at that time and despite the fact that she inquired about 15 decisions taken by the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the lack of medicine, food, agriculture, and energy, the relevant institutions did not provide information about the implementation of those 14 decisions.
Citing two examples, the director of Veritie Research stated that when asked about a decision regarding the implementation of an agri-food crop cultivation program under the initiative of the Department of Prisons and the Commissioner of Essential Services, the authorities refused to furnish relevant information.
Also, to keep foreign exchange expenditure under check in the importation of pharmaceutical equipment needed for the country, a decision was taken to procure one product from a local manufacturer, but when I inquired about it, it was revealed that the material had not been purchased so far.
“The cabinet is one of the most responsible institutions in the country. Cabinet decisions are announced in front of the people. And the authorities announce that discussions have been held and decisions have been made.
It is very critical for the public to know whether these decisions were actually implemented.
People’s money is allocated productively. People should know how the government plans to spend the funds. Hence, it is a constitutional right to know the details through the Freedom of Information Act.
Another flaw we noticed was government agencies’ reluctance to provide information. When an applicant requests some information through the Right to Information Act, the applicant has to wait for four to six months to get a response. In one instance, I had to make several phone calls.
Another crucial matter is that the government is unaware of who would implement the decisions.
We submitted 33 requests through the Information Act for the last budget but received only 46 per cent accurate answers. It was revealed that the rest is referred to many departments, but there is no cohesiveness in finding the answers. They do not know which agency implemented those proposals.
. “But it is their responsibility to announce to the people that the Cabinet has made decisions and the progress of their implementation or why they found it difficult to implement them,” she said.
