Govt responds only to valid RTI requests, spokesperson says

Government Spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef has said state institutions will respond only to requests submitted under the Right to Information (RTI) Act that are considered valid.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Shareef said government agencies had been receiving an increasing number of anonymous and invalid RTI submissions.

The remarks come amid criticism directed at state institutions over delays and failures in responding to requests submitted under the Access to Information Act.

According to the Information Commissioner’s Office (IMCOM), it receives about 600 complaints annually regarding RTI matters, with around 90 per cent related to unanswered requests.

Home Minister Ali Ihsan had earlier stated that some individuals were using RTI requests to “insult”, while Attorney General Ahmed Usham said the law was being misused in some cases.

Responding to a question from a journalist on the government’s position regarding comments made by senior officials on RTI responses, Shareef said the government would continue to answer “valid RTIs”.

“You see if the RTI is valid. Now I have reached the point of asking you,” Shareef said.

He said some government agencies had identified a large number of requests submitted through what he described as “bots”.

According to Shareef, authorities need to know who is responsible for a request before responding.

“When we look to respond to a request, we have to know who is responsible. When we look for the person, they come to RTIs from things that are not human,” he said.

Shareef also said some RTI submissions requested information that was difficult to compile or provide within a short period. As an example, he referred to requests seeking details of office expenses for a specific day before noon.

Under the RTI Act, applicants are required to provide their full name and identity card number only when requesting personal information relating to another individual.

For general information requests submitted to government agencies, applicants are not required to provide their full name or address.

The government’s information request platform, the Maholi portal, is structured to allow requests to be submitted using an email address. Responses can also be uploaded directly to the portal. As a result, the system allows information to be provided without authorities necessarily knowing the identity of the applicant.