Kathmandu. President Ram Chandra Poudel has said that misgovernance will flourish in the country if there is no public monitoring of state investment. Speaking at a program organized at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Sheetal Niwas on the occasion of the 18th foundation day of the National Information Commission, President Poudel said this.
He stressed that if there is no public monitoring of state investment, the rule of law will be disrupted and arbitrariness will increase in the government and public bodies. He mentioned that the right to information movement is gaining momentum worldwide to empower citizens in democracy and increase their monitoring of state investment and to make the governance system transparent.
He said that Nepal is the first country in South Asia to enshrine the right to information as a fundamental right in the constitution. He said that the expenditure made from public funds raised from citizens’ taxes and the government’s actions must be accountable to the citizens.
Says that it is necessary to empower citizens to bring the benefits of democracy to them, and that the institutional development of democracy is not possible unless citizens’ access to information from the government and public bodies is ensured. He mentioned that transparency and accountability are the basic needs of participatory democracy.
He said, ‘If there is no public monitoring of state investment, misgovernance flourishes in the country. The rule of law is obstructed. Arbitrariness increases in the government and public bodies. To empower citizens in democracy, the right to information movement has been gaining momentum worldwide to increase their monitoring of state investment and to make the governance system transparent. In this context, Article 27 of our Constitution has provided for the right to information as a fundamental right.’
‘Nepal is the first country in South Asia to provide for the right to information as a fundamental right in the constitution itself. The expenditure made from public funds raised from citizens’ taxes and the work of the government must be accountable to the citizens. Their empowerment is necessary to bring the benefits of democracy to the citizens. Until citizens’ access to information from the government and public bodies is ensured, the institutional development of democracy is not possible. Transparency and accountability are the basic requirements of participatory democracy,’ he said.
President Poudel said that information is the lifeblood of democracy and the right to information will enable citizens to test and evaluate the work and actions of the government and public bodies. He mentioned that only an informed society can make democracy active.
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