RTI bill unanimously passed in Parliament without a vote

The Right To Information (RTI) bill was unanimously passed in Parliament today without a vote being taken.

The RTI bill was passed at the end of the second day of a two day debate.

Parliament yesterday began debating the amended Right to Information (RTI) bill.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the amended bill was submitted to Parliament after extensive discussions with several political parties and civil society.

He recalled that since 2004 several attempts were made to bring the RTI bill to Parliament but those attempts were unsuccessful.

The Prime Minister said that right to information is a right of the public and so the current Government took the initiative to push for it.

?The failure to access information led to several issues over the past 10 years,? he said.

The Prime Minister said that if access to information on public institutions was available to the public in the past then some public institutions could have been saved from suffering losses.

Wickremesinghe urged the opposition to support the bill when the vote is taken despite differences of opinion.

Media Minister Gayantha Karunatillake said that President Maithripala Sirisena had given an assurance when he took office last year that the RTI bill will be brought to Parliament.

He said the presentation of the bill in Parliament is a historic occasion for Sri Lanka and the region.

The Government said the RTI bill is expected to make changes in a moderate way to uphold good governance and the state functions.

The Government also affirmed the bill will allow the public to get information on public officials and will be an important feature for the Government to be responsible at a higher level.?(Colombo Gazette)