Chief Spokesperson at the President’s Office Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu) has stated that all pending Right to Information (RTI) requests submitted to the President’s Office have now been processed and responded to.
Speaking during the “Presser with Spox” press event today, Mundhu said the office had successfully cleared its RTI backlog as of yesterday, with the exception of requests involving information legally restricted under national security and privacy-related laws.
“We cleared the backlog as of yesterday. By the grace of God, the only remaining information is that which we are legally restricted from sharing under other laws,” the spokesperson said.
According to Mundhu, requests involving sensitive matters such as national security or personal privacy require legal review before any disclosure can be made.
He explained that authorities must verify whether the requested information can legally be released under existing laws and regulations.
President Mohamed Muizzu had previously assured that all RTI requests submitted to the President’s Office under the Right to Information Act would be addressed.
The assurance was given during a press conference held on May 11.
Mundhu also noted that the government is encouraging other state institutions to speed up responses to RTI requests while simultaneously improving proactive disclosure of information.
According to him, efforts are underway to ensure important public information is made more accessible through government institutional websites.
“Responding to RTIs is one part of the law, but another important part is proactively disclosing information. We are also taking initiative on that front,” he said.
The spokesperson added that the President’s Office is working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office to monitor improvements in transparency and public access to information.
He further stated that President Muizzu wants to establish a governance system where information is shared as openly and transparently as possible within the limits of the law.
At the same time, Mundhu reiterated that information related to national security cannot be disclosed even if such details are requested through RTI applications.
