Ensuring Right to Information (RTI) can be the crucial means of establishing transparency and accountability in public services together with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Utmost emphasis should be given on unhindered flow of information by all government and non-government organisations concerned for expediting development and ensuring good governance everywhere in the society.
Experts and government officials came up with the observation while addressing a seminar titled 'Right to Information' at the conference hall of Regional Public Administration Training Centre (RPATC) in Rajshahi City on Thursday.
Government officials from all 16 districts in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions joined the seminar hosted by the RPATC. Ensuring the responsiveness of the public offices for providing information in an efficient and equitable manner was the main objective of the seminar.
During his keynote presentation, Deputy Principal Information Officer Muhammad Towhiduzzaman highlighted the importance of RTI in public life.
With RPTAC Deputy Director ATM Aabdullahel Baqui in the chair, the seminar was also addressed, among others, by Professor Mahmudur Rahman from the Department of Political Science at Rajshahi University and Deputy Director of District Information Office Nafeyala Nasrin.
In the seminar, various issues related to RTI in International charters, importance of RTI for good governance, preservation of information, preparation of information index and catalogue and publication of information were discussed elaborately.
Taking part in five separate group discussions, the attending officials put forward a set of recommendations on how to expedite the free flow of information for betterment of the public in general. —BSS
