State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) has become the second state-owned enterprise in the Maldives to fully comply with the proactive disclosure requirements set out under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, marking another step forward in improving transparency across the public sector.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that STELCO has successfully published all information required to be disclosed proactively under the law without waiting for formal public requests.
With the achievement, STELCO becomes the 39th state institution nationwide to attain full compliance with the RTI Act’s proactive disclosure obligations.
The first state-owned enterprise to reach the milestone was the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), which was recognised earlier for publishing all mandatory information required under the legislation.
The RTI Act requires public institutions to make key information readily available to the public as part of efforts to strengthen accountability, improve public access to information and promote good governance.
Under Article 37 of the Act, state institutions must proactively publish 13 categories of information, including their organisational structure, mandates and responsibilities, annual budgets, projected expenditure, staff salaries and remuneration, decision-making procedures, and other information considered to be in the public interest.
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, all government ministries have now fulfilled the proactive disclosure requirements prescribed under the law, representing the first time since the RTI Act came into force in 2014 that every ministry has achieved full compliance.
The inclusion of STELCO among fully compliant institutions reflects growing efforts by state bodies to improve transparency and ensure easier public access to information without requiring citizens to submit formal RTI requests.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has repeatedly encouraged other state-owned enterprises and public institutions that have yet to meet the required standard to follow the examples set by HDC and STELCO by strengthening their own disclosure practices.
