The number of cases appealed to the Information Commissioner's Office of Maldives (ICOM) over the failure of state institutions to comply with requests under the right to information (RTI) law has increased 58 percent in the first three months of the year.
According to statistics shared on X by Information Commissioner Ahid Rasheed, seeking information became more challenging during the first three months of the year compared to the same period last year.
Nearly 90 percent of the 139 cases submitted to ICOM were complaints about authorities not responding at all to RTI requests, Ahid revealed.
Of the 581 RTI requests submitted to various institutions during the first quarter of the year, only 48 percent of requests were accepted, Ahid said.
Ahid expressed concern over the failure of several institutions to respond to requests submitted through the Mahoali portal.
Several requests for information submitted by Adhadhu were also not accepted by various institutions. Only a few institutions responded at all while most did not even accept the requests.
Speaking at a press conference on December 5, 2023 after assuming office, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said the public would not have to file RTI requests to seek information from his government.
"We will work transparently. There won't be anything hidden that we won't be accountable for. Information will be shared...the work of any ministry will be disclosed. It won't get to the point where you have to file RTIs. I don't think that would be necessary. You will receive all the information. There won't be any withholding over anything," the President said at the time.
