LAHORE, Sept 27: The Centre for Peace and Development (CPDI-Pakistan) has urged the government to take its obligation towards transparency, as enshrined in the Freedom of Information (FOI) Ordinance of 2002, seriously. The centre called for a reduction in red-tape, fees and exemptions to the FOI Ordinance.

In a statement designed to coincide with Right to Know Day, celebrated worldwide on Sept 28, the CPDI said: “The FOI Ordinance of 2002 is hugely deficient. It declares a vast range of important government records as excluded or exempt from access by citizens.

“Furthermore, it is not applicable to district and provincial governments, where citizens’ access to official records can significantly empower them to expose inefficiencies and corruption.”

The CPDI demanded that exemptions be made minimum and precisely defined; government departments have an obligation to publish important information; requested information be made accessible rapidly and fairly; cost of information requests be made small and affordable; information be provided if the public interest in disclosure outweighs the protected interests; laws that are inconsistent with the FOI, like the Official Secrets Act of 1923, be repealed; and whistleblowers be protected.

The CPDI also demanded the scope of the ordinance include provincial and district government.

Other demands include a reduction in FOI request fees, which currently stands at Rs50 for each request with the entitlement to receive information only up to 10 pages, with an additional RS5 per page. According to CPDM, “Currently applicable fee and photocopying charges are prohibitive and fail the very purpose of the ordinance.

The photocopying charges at Rs5 per page are particularly unfair, as the market rate for a page is only up to RS1 per page.”