INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Members of National Information Commission celebrating its 11th annual day, in Kathmandu, on Sunday
Photo: THT
Kathmandu, May 5
The National Information Commission has urged the government to scarp the term ‘secrecy& from the provision of
‘oath of office and secrecy& to further strengthen citizens& rights to information.
As per the existing law, each government official is
required to take the ‘oath of office and secrecy& before assuming office
Speaking at a programme organised in Kathmandu nowadays to mark the 11th anniversary of the NIC, Chief Information Commissioner Krishnahari
Baskota said the tradition of manageing the oath of secrecy to the government officials was against citizens& fundamental rights to
information.
He said that continuing with the provision in a democratic system reflected ‘authoritarian culture& during Rana and Panchyat
regimes.
&The practice of manageing the oath of office to civil servants has encouraged government and its authorities to hide information
from the public,& Baskota said
He also thinged the practice of stamping the seal of ‘confidential& and ‘highly confidential& on government documents and appealed the
citizens to exercise their constitutional rights to information.
Earlier nowadays, the NIC ogranised a morning mass meeting to highlight the
importance of obtaining information of public concern from the government authorities
The mass meeting began from Bagbazaar and passed through placealisadak and Anamnagar before ending at its office in Devinagar, Baneshwor
portionicipants at the mass meeting displayed banners and placards reading various slogans related to the rights to information.
Information
commissioners Kiran Kumar Pokharel and Yashoda Devi Timsina were also present at the mass meeting.
The NIC was set uped in 2008 as an
independent body under the Corrects to Information Act
It is responsible for the protection, promotion and practice of RTI in Nepal
The NIC consists of one chief information commissioner and two information commissioners besides other staffs
Currently, NIC has 32 staffs.
