Newsletter 111

A newsletter containing news

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A newsletter containing news, views, articles, investigative stories in the field of

Right to Information

From

Around the World

Issue No: 111

E - Alert

Issue Date: 18-11-2015

 

 

Editorial:

Greetings from the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, (CPDI).

 

Transparency is a beloved child of politicians when they are out of power. When politicians come into power, they disown the very child they are so fond of when they are bereft of power. This is paradoxical but understandable when seen in the context of political economy of elections. The cost of competing as a candidate for provincial or national assembly seats has skyrocketed as now candidates spend tens of millions in elections. Political parties return the favour by allocating development funds for schemes identified by the members of assemblies. This is where profit is allegedly made on the investment carried out during elections. This is, perhaps, the reason why there is no real devolution of power at the local level and elected representatives are more interested in carrying out development schemes than spending time on legislation.

Politicians do not like transparency because it brings out dichotomies between what they say for public consumption and what they actually end up practising. One such dichotomy has been brought to the fore recently by Centre for Governance and Public Accountability, (CGPA).  Addressing a press conference in KPK’s capital city of Peshawar on October 24, 2013, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief had said that MPAs of KPK assembly would not get development funds. However, CGPA has now established through information received under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa  Right to Information Act 2013 that PTI led KP government has allocated   development funds to the tune of 8.5 billion for MPAs. No wonder, there is political consensus across the board on the need for these development funds for elected representatives. One can imagine why PMLN is dragging its feet on the issue of enacting effective right to information law at the federal level. It is through the use of right to information laws that people start asking awkward questions like how public funds are allocated and spent. No right to information law, no awkward questions.

 

Happy reading,

CPDI

 

India

Another Ink Attack: Shiv Sena Workers Assault RTI Activist With Iron Rod, Blacken His Face

Scoopwhoop

Shiv Sena workers on Friday assaulted and blackened the face of a Right to Information activist at Latur in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, after he …

 

India

RTI needs to move beyond request driven process, says prominent activist Venkatesh Nayak ...

NYOOOZ

... at Indian Merchants Chamber on FridayThe Right to Information Act needs to move beyond the request driven process of seeking information to suo ...

 

 

Pakistan

Dilly-dallying on Right to Information law deplored

The News International

ISLAMABAD: Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, (CPDI) has lamented the failure of federal government in introducing Right to Information ...

 

India

Officers, clerks to compete over RTI knowledge

Deccan Herald

Babus and clerks in the Delhi government are being put to test over their knowledge of the Right to Information Act in a move to encourage ...

 

UK

Thousands of infertile couples denied IVF because of amounts paid to clinics

Daily Mail

... to IVF clinics for a single IVF 'cycle' varies fivefold – from £1,300 to more than £6,000, according to responses to Freedom of Information requests.

 

UK/USA

Ministers were told to destroy key evidence which showed Iraq War was ILLEGAL

Daily Mail

American officials have finally released 13 pages of heavily censored documents in response to a Freedom of Information request made by The Mail ...

 

India

5 ministers, 37 MLAs yet to furnish asset details

Chandigarh Tribune

This has been revealed in the response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act (RTI) by advocate Nadimuddin from Kashipur recently ...

 

UK

Freedom of Information Act misused by media to create stories, says Grayling

The Guardian

A Conservative cabinet minister has signalled a crackdown on the “misuse” of freedom of information requests as a means of researching stories for ...

 

Australia

Taxi industry urged to improve its customer service to compete against Uber

Courier Mail

New Right to Information documents, published by the Department of State Growth, show Rene Hidding warned the industry about the emergence of ...

 

UK

Civil Servants Support CHARGING For Freedom Of Information Requests

Breitbart News

The majority of Britain's civil servants back charging the public for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, with some even favouring restrictions on the ...

 

Ireland

DCAL took 552 days to respond to Freedom of Information request

Belfast Newsletter

One less-than-transparent Stormont department took more than a year-and-a-half to respond to a Freedom of Information request, it has emerged ...

 

India

SDM gets construction of shops stopped

Chandigarh Tribune

... on a complaint filed by Right to Information RTI and social activist Ajay Uniyal, here today got stopped the alleged illegal construction of 12 shops by ...

 

USA

Attorney Attacks Montana's New 'Top Secret' Info Rules

Newstalkkgvo

But the new filing system has received blowback from freedom of Information attorney Mike Meloy, who has bend handling FOIA requests in Montana ...

 

USA

Search warrants reveal discovery of camera, photos in Dylann Roof case

Charleston Post Courier

Fifth Circuit Judge Robert Hood released the search warrant returns Tuesday in response to a S.C. Freedom of Information Act request from The Post ...

 

USA

The only thing more absurd than the $43 million gas station in Afghanistan is why we don't know ...

Quartz

That incident was part of the release of data on $2 billion in discretionary spending in Afghanistan after ProPublica filed a freedom of information act ...

 

USA

IRS use of 'Stingray' devices to track cellphones sparks Senate inquiry

USA TODAY

The newspaper cited documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Lawmakers said they were unaware that the IRS had the devices ...

 

Pakistan

Govt yet to pass Right to Information Bill

The News International

ISLAMABAD: Despite passage of almost one-and-a-half years and various assurances on different public forums including the parliament, the ...

 

Pakistan

Expenditure patterns: Govt allocates development funds worth Rs8.5b to MPAs

The Express Tribune

The details were obtained by CGPA under the K-P Right to Information Act 2013.

 

Pakistan

The News staffer wins RTI award

The News International

ISLAMABAD: Investigative journalist of The News, Waseem Abbasi has won the annual RTI (Right To Information) Champion Award for his work on ...

 

India

Select three information commissioners in six weeks: Delhi HC

Economic Times

NEW DELHI: With the Central Information Commission facing a huge pendency of cases, the Delhi High Court on Friday directed the centre to finalise ...

 

India

CIC returns 12% of pleas

The Hindu

An analysis by Right to Information activists confirms that the Central Information Commission is returning requests for information at a high rate to the ...

 

Mexico

Information freedom new era for Mexico

Mexico News Daily

Thanks to its freedom of information laws Mexico has come to be regarded as an exemplar of transparency with a healthy culture of investigative ...

 

Canada

Lack of information on bridge concerns MLA

Delta-Optimist

According to Huntington, a freedom of information request, filed last year by Delta South constituent and Optimist columnist Ian Robertson, requested ...

 

USA

Ronald Koven, foreign correspondent and media freedom defender, dies at 80

Washington Post

Simon also credited Mr. Koven with identifying in the early days of the Internet the need to ensure freedom of information and expression online.

 

UK

Child abuse cases delayed by police backlog

BBC News

More than half of the 40 UK police forces that responded to a Freedom of Information request from the programme reported delays of at least three ...

 

India

No passport for PM's spouse, as she has no marriage certificate

The Hindu

Earlier, she had applied under the Right to Information (RTI) seeking details of her security and order of the government of India to provide her security ...

 

UK

Theresa May has to recognise that questions over the Bradford fire disaster will not go away

The Independent

... that the West Yorkshire Police force seemed breathtakingly indifferent to when I asked them, through a Freedom of Information request this summer, ...

 

India

RTI Reveals Lies by Corporation Officials

The New Indian Express

... a blind eye to unauthorised buildings in Sowcarpet, and often provide false information under the Right to Information Act to shield illegal structures.

 

UK

Labour criticises plans to exclude universities from FOI requests

The Guardian

Government plans to exempt universities from freedom of information (FOI) requests have been condemned by Labour. The government's higher ...

 

Ghana

Ghana Right to Information Bill to be passed next year – Majority Leader

Ghana Business News

Mr. Alban S.K. Bagbin, Majority Leader in Parliament, has said the Right to Information (RTI) Bill would be passed in the first quarter of next year.

 

India

MEA denies information under RTI Act

Daily Excelsior

Srinagar Nov 10: The Union Government denied information under Right to Information Act about those who have been denied passport since 1990 ...

 

India

Palaszczuk government unable to fill science, technology vacancy

The Australian

Right to Information documents obtained by The Australian reveal a $10,000 international recruitment campaign was launched in July after a fruitless ...

 

India

Study finds MP govt depts lag on RTI proactive disclosure front

Hindustan Times

... schemes and administrative set-up, as required under the proactive disclosure rule of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, a web research conducted ...

 

India

City police register fifth offence in a row against Mukesh Sahu

Times of India

Nagpur: Right to information (RTI) Act activist Mukesh Sahu has been booked in the fifth case on the trot by the city police. The latest case, charging ...

 

USA

In freedom of information triumph, Chicago police misconduct complaint records now online

Chicago Reader

Tuesday morning's publication of the records is a triumph for freedom of information

 

India

Maharashtra leads in number of custodial death cases

The Hindu

After several rounds to Mantralaya, letters to the Chief Minister and scores of Right to Information pleas to know the stage of investigation, the State ...

 

UK

Sir Jeremy Heywood wants to limit our Freedom of Information Act

Daily Mail

... and added: 'The prospect of restricting citizens' right to information following the commission's review [into FoI] sends the wrong signal to developing ...

 

India

No need to impose fine in every case: HC

Bangalore Mirror

... need to impose a fine every time there is a delay by a competent officer in issuing information under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. An education ...

 

UK

Daily Mail comments on why the public sector fears the Freedom of Information act

Daily Mail

But how ironic that those same ministers are hatching plans to curtail the Freedom of Information Act, without which this vital investigation into how our ...

 

India

UT education dept falls short of tabla instructors in schools

Hindustan Times

As per information received under Right to Information (RTI) in September this year, only eight local schools have table instructors. These include: ...

 

India

Talks to end strike cost FTII Rs 4 lakh

The Indian Express

A Right to Information (RTI) plea filed by The Indian Express has revealed that the institute also spent Rs 4.04 lakh on travelling, food and lodging ...

 

India

State, Centre 'delaying' compensation for Bhopal Gas tragedy survivors: NGOs

Economic Times

... Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha, Balkrishna Namdeo, said that documents obtained under Right to Information (RTI) Act show that the experts of ...

 

Bangladesh

Changing Contours of RTI

The Daily Star

The Right to Information (RTI) or Freedom of Information (FOI) regimes evolved globally following the end of World War II premised upon people's ...

 

India

Bhopal: PMO conducts RTI first appeal hearing over telephone

Hindustan Times

In a trendsetting example, the Prime Minister's office conducted hearing for a right to information (RTI) first appeal by an applicant from Bhopal on ...

 

India

Mumbai University VC Deshmukh fails to clear LLB exam

Moneylife

... to clear his LLB examination, he appeared before being appointed as the VC, reveals a reply received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

 

USA

Chicago Police May Have Spied On Black And Left-Wing Activists

Chicagoist

The Sun-Times, based on internal CPD documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, argues otherwise. At its core, this is a controversy ...

 

USA

Illinois Lottery sales plummet to lowest point of year after payout delays

Fox News

The high was about $260 million in March, according to data obtained in a freedom of information request. ADVERTISEMENT. The figures confirm ...

 

India

Positive trend: 60 percent of children adopted in India over three years were girls

Firstpost

These three states accounted for 40% of female adoptions, according to information obtained under the Right to Information by Bangalore-based ...

 

India

301 Doc Posts Vacant in 9 Dts: RTI

The New Indian Express

According to the data compiled from Right to Information (RTI) responses over the last 10 months, the backward Ramanathapuram district topped the ...

 

 

 

 

Transparency and Right to Information Program
-------------------------------------------- 
Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, Pakistan (CPDI-Pakistan)
Tel: +92 (0) 51-2375158-9; 4319430
URL: 
www.cpdi-pakistan.org