RTI will facilitate foreign investments - Biz reps

By Sanjeevi Jayasuriya and Lalin Fernandopulle

The Right to Information (RTI) Act will give a lot of leverage for many sectors of the economy and it will also facilitate attracting foreign investment.

The Act will ensure the transparency of a transaction and foreign donors will look at the country in a more positive manner, Senior Vice President of the National Chamber of Commerce (NCCSL) Sujeewa Samaraweera said.

Noting that the Bill was presented by a former President of the NCCSL, the present Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, he said that as a developing country Sri Lanka needs to have stable policies and this is a step in the right direction.

The Act will help support to increase the rating in doing business as information is important to the financial sector in tenders and procedures.

This will lead to fair play and most importantly will ensure a level playing field.

The RTI is necessary when competing with each other and the Act will provide the impetus that is needed to move forward, he said.

The Act is a step towards right administration of matters and the cascading effect to the country and the people will be positive with correct strategies to derive the benefits of the Act in financial dealings.

As the transparency and accountability are two key areas of governance the Act will also help improve good governance practice, he said.Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, CEO Dhara Wijayatilake said a nation that’s deeply committed to democracy must have a culture of providing access to information fortified by a statutory right to information.

When formulating a statutory framework it is vital to provide a balance between recognizing the right of citizens to access information and a right to privacy in appropriate circumstances and the right to maintain confidentiality from a national security perspective.

Incorporating the right balance is a challenge to policy makers and the draftsmen.

The views on what is a right balance are diverse and the debate is serious. From a business perspective, the statutory recognition of a right to access is most welcome. Given that businesses are also interested in good governance, the agitation to have access to information is also based on the premise that it enhances a more wholesome regime in which business can thrive and corruption can be minimized.

At a point in time when businesses are calling for policy stability, timely information on regulatory directives, as well as the thinking behind policy that impacts on them, providing access to information offers hope that Sri Lanka is serious about accountability.

“The challenge, however, is efficient implementation of the provisions of the RTI Act.