A day-long training workshop on “Right to Information Act, 2009” was organised for senior journalists of print and electronic media on Sunday in the conference room of Information Commission Bangladesh.
Chief Information Commissioner Abdul Malek inaugurated the training programme.
In the opening speech, he said that the government has ensured access to information as a right, not as a privilege of the people by enacting the Right to Information Act in 2009.
“At the juncture of transition from Digital Bangladesh to Smart Bangladesh, there is no alternative to free the information. There is no chance of forgetting the mantra “If the people want information, the administration is bound to give it”, he expressed. He mentioned that, according to statistics, journalists have filed about 30% of complaints with the commission since 2009. He called upon the journalists to prepare reports containing accurate information.
Commissioner Shahidul Alam informed the journalists that which types of information is not mandatory to disclose or provide, including the provision of fines and punitive measures due to receive information and file complaints.
