The Right to Information (RTI) Act has inspired people from all walks of life to recourse in it. Although no successful responses are always received, people are encouraged to seek answers through RTI and hold state authorities accountable for their activities.
A set of youngsters in Anuradhapura District learnt about RTI through a workshop conducted by SLPI which was funded by USAID-SDGAP activity. They not only learnt of the Act but also made it a point to share their knowledge with others in their area of residence.
Gunawardena* is a vegetable merchant who conducts his business at the Anuradhapura Weekly Fair. He buys vegetables from farmers in Sippikulama, Ranpathvila, Galkulama, Maradankadawala areas and sells them in various places in and around Anuradhapura, Rambawa, Kekirawa and Mihintale.
After learning about RTI through the youth in his area he filed an RTI application in December 2018 in order to draw attention of the authorities to the appalling conditions of the market premises that they have to engage in trade activities.
According to Gunawardena, the fair is held twice a week and is a boon to vegetable merchants. However, poor maintenance causes many hardships for the merchants. The under-repaired roofs and poorly maintained floors that easily fall prey to the floods during rainy days cause absolute mess in the market premises.
Therefore, these matters were brought to the attention of the Anuradhapura Municipal Council who decided to modernize and reconstruct the market premises. The development programme of the weekly fair commenced under the financial allocations from the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and about 800 traders had to leave the place to allowing space for the construction activities.
The vendors did not complain about the amount of Rs. 700 they had to pay as rent for these temporary spaces thinking that they were investing in a better space that would facilitate them in the long run.
But they soon realized that the promises of a speedy construction of a new fair had fallen by the wayside. The renovations to weekly fair, launched in July 2017, at a cost of Rs. 90,800,000.00, was not completed by January 2018. The work was abandoned halfway.
Although Gunawardena did not receive a reply to his application soon after it reached the Municipal Council of Anuradhapura the construction work of the weekly fair recommenced.
However, a few weeks later the contractors left the place leaving the project completed halfway.
Gunawardena is hoping he will get a due reply for his RTI application and that the Mayor of Anuradhapura Municipal Council and its officials will rectify the matter promptly.
The youth say that they felt how importance the RTI Act is when it comes to situations like these. For innocent, hardworking people like Gunawardena RTI is a truly an empowerment.
This update was prepared by participants of the Information and Communication Training Workshop conducted by the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) through a grant funded by the United States Agency for International Development through the Strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project Activity.
“The contents of this post are the sole responsibility of SLPI and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”
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