Promotion of Peace and Tolerance

ISLAMABAD: Since January 16, 2016 when federal government announced formation of special committee to review right to information bill approved by Senate Committee on Information and Broadcasting on July 15, 2014, there is no word about deliberations or recommendations of this committee.

PML-N government has been delaying the enactment of right to information law on one pretext or the other, says a press release on Tuesday. This time around, PML-N government has raised the bogey of security as a delaying tactics. Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) believes the bill approved by the Senate committee contains sufficient safeguards to protect any type of sensitive information from disclosure.

In fact, this bill has been praised by local and international right to information experts as one of the best laws in the world. The delay in the enactment of right to information law for federal public bodies has raised serious questions about federal government commitment to transparency. This is especially ironic given the fact that PML-N committed in Charter of Democracy signed on May 14, 2006 that it will enact right to information law and repeal Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002.

It is unfortunate that PML-N government is almost half way through its tenure and has failed to table right to information bill unanimously approved by Senate Committee on Information and Broadcasting. The CPDI urges federal government to table right to information bill without further delay.

Right to information is constitutional right of Pakistanis and it is included in the chapter of fundamental rights in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is duty of federal government to put in place an easy and cost effective mechanism so that citizens can, exercising their right to information, know how their federal government is putting to use national resources by getting certified information from public bodies. Tall transparency claims are not good enough and federal government should demonstrate its commitment to transparency by enacting right to information law.

LAHORE: The Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) has demanded a thorough review of rules of parliamentary procedure to bring them in line with democratic traditions.

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Other than the insertion of Article 19-A in the Constitution through the 18th Amendment, major political parties have sadly done nothing of significance with regard to ensuring citizens’ right to information. Explicit constitutional protection accorded to the right to information is commendable, but the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court have clarified that the freedom of expression, protected under Article 19, is incomplete without the right to information. Furthermore, constitutional protection notwithstanding, in the absence of effective legislation that ensures the right to information and implementation of these laws, citizens, journalists and civil society groups cannot access certified information held by government departments on the time of their choosing, as is their right. Seen in this context, major political parties have failed miserably and there is a yawning gap between the public pledges of their leaders and concrete actions on the ground.

For details Following is the link

Tribune

ISLAMABAD: Despite passage of almost one-and-a-half years and various assurances on different public forums including the parliament, the government still has no intention to present the Right to Information (RTI) Bill before the cabinet for its approval.
The draft law of RTI was approved by the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on July 15, 2014. However, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid says soon the bill will be presented before the federal cabinet.
The Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, (CPDI) has lamented the failure of the government to introduce the RTI Bill in the parliament. “The government’s dilly-dallying on the issue of RTI legislation needs to be seen in the context of the Charter of Democracy signed in 2008 in which the party committed that Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 will be repealed and that a new Right to Information law will be enacted,” the CPDI said in a statement.
Similarly, a Canada-based Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) that does international ranking of the RTI laws in different countries has examined the draft bill to conclude that it will be the best law in the world pushing Pakistan atop in the country-wise ranking from the bottom position allocated due to the existing Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002, introduced by Pervez Musharraf.
A senior parliamentarian told The News the government looks in no hurry to pass the bill in its tenure. It seems it would pass the bill at the end of its tenure so that it should not face any harm.
The source said the RTI Bill has full support of not only political parties but also civil society. However, the government is dragging this issue and adopting delaying tactics to deprive the public of its right to have access to information, he added.
The federal information minister had promised on the floor of the house that soon the bill would be presented before the federal cabinet for its approval in July 2015. However, despite passage of even five more months, the bill has not been presented.
When contacted, the minister said the government is very much interested in passing the Right to Information Bill. He said the government has to face many challenges during the recent past due to which the RTI Bill could not be presented before the cabinet.
“Recently, we were about to present the bill in the cabinet meeting but the earthquake in the country diverted the government’s attention towards this issue. “However, soon they would send the draft bill to each member of the cabinet and later it would be presented for approval,” he claimed.
He, however, once again gave no cut-off date for presenting the bill before the cabinet and then in the parliament.
Fakhar Durrani
– Thursday, November 05, 2015

The News

Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) demands transparency and citizens’ participation in the budget-making process at district level in Punjab. Punjab Assembly should present budget in the month of April every year to ensure proper debate by the opposition members and treasury benches in the budget session, said CPDI Programme Manager Syed Kausar Abbas.

CPDI launched report on ‘Study of Budget Making Process at District level in Punjab’. The objective of this study is to analyse the processes of budget making at district level and to highlight the status of compliance with the timelines provided in the Budget Rules 2003. Empirical data has been collected from all districts through a network of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from all districts to determine this. The purpose of this exercise is to determine the level of public participation in the budget-making process and also to help the CSOs in identifying the gaps in the process.

Syed Kausar Abbas said that budget is the most important policy document of the government. In the modern day states all policies are supposed to be formulated through active public participation. The federal and provincial budgets are hotly debated in both provincial and national assemblies and discussed in electronic/print media, however, the district budgets are approved in quiet isolation. He said that the Punjab Assembly should present budget in the month of April to ensure proper debate on the budgetary allocations in the public sectors.

Kausar Abbas said that Budget making is a continuous process. The Budget Rules provide a step by step calendar for budget making. The very first step is the issuance of Budget Call Letter which is to be issued in the month of September. It is noted with concern that only one third of the districts issued the BCL on the stipulated time. The next important element is the submission of estimate of expenditures/receipts and the excess/surrender statements. The former makes the basis of next year budget and the later makes the basis of revised budget. It has been observed that only 11 districts were able to complete the exercise of revised budget in time. It is observed that most of the districts did not pass the budget of 2015-16 in time. That is to say that the budget was passed in the month of July (and even later) in these cases.

He said that there has been total ban on CCB schemes, thereby reducing the level of public participation in development planning. Less than half the districts were able to launch ADP schemes while the rest had zero districts ADP. This is largely due to the fact that the PFC shares have not been able to cope with the ever rising current/salary expenditures. Only 14 districts have their own websites while the rest do not have any website. This situation also creates hindrance in sharing of information with the public thus affecting the level of public awareness and facilitation adversely.

The overall lack of public participation at the district level has created alternate modes and forums of public consultation like DCC (District Coordination Committee) wherein the elected parliamentarians play the role of sharing the public voice with the state functionaries. The government is all set to launch the new local government system. The proposed system of local government is a major shift away from the present system. The mandate of the new local bodies has been reduced to merely municipal functions.

In order to plug the gaps in district budget making it is important to enhance the capacity of the budget wing, following the budget calendar, share information with the public through internet and other sources, encourage public participation and discourage political interference in district budgets.

Survey on budget making process was conducted by member organizations of ‘Citizens’ Network for Budget Accountability (CNBA)’ in all 36 districts of Punjab. CNBA is a network of 25 civil society organizations working for budget reforms and accountability at district level in Punjab.

The News