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Sri Lanka's cabinet approves legislation on right to information

Xinhua, December 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lanka's cabinet has approved a key legislation which will ensure the public have access to information from state institutions.

Cabinet Spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne told journalists at a weekly media briefing here that the Right to Information Bill has been approved by the cabinet and would soon be presented to parliament.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament earlier in the day that the bill would be discussed at provincial level and then be presented to parliament to be approved and made law.

Several attempts have been made in the past to have the Right to Information Bill passed by parliament but it was always opposed by most lawmakers.

However, the new government which took office in August assured it will back the implementation of the Right to Information Bill in order to ensure transparency at state institutions.

The bill will force any public authority to make sure that the public are enlightened about relevant procedures or decisions that could affect them.

Hence it guarantees citizens access to information from all public authorities unless the information could damage state security. Endit