VietNamNet Bridge – A draft law, now open for public comment, would for the first time specify the public’s right to Information on land use planning, land reclamation, site clearance, the use of fund contributed by the citizens, and management of other monies.
The Ministry of Justice has called for public comment on the draft, which is essentially a freedom of information law. In an introduction, the drafting group notes that current legal documents don’t specify a government agency’s responsibility to provide information, or the kinds of information that must be routinely made public, information that is to be provided on request, and restricted information.
Thus, judges the drafting group, the approach that government agencies take to the information they have is unclear and not transparent, especially in the fields of land management, condemnation and compensation, preferential projects, credits, and disaster relief. The result, according to the drafting group, is corruption and red tape.
The draft law, titled ‘Law on Approach to Information,’ was introduced by the Ministry of Justice at a seminar on July 2. It assures all individuals and organizations the right of access to information, whether obtained through reading, listening, watching, noting, citing or copying.
Information that must be made public includes national and local social and economic statistics, land use plans, plans for site clearance, the management of the people’s money and all kinds of funds.
However, there are also restricted areas, in particular documents containing state, personal and business secrets.
Dr. Tuong Duy Kien from the Ho Chi Minh Institute for Politics and National Administration rates the proposed law highly. He says it would be a significant deterrent to corruption.
It is high time, Kien continued, to change the attitudes of some government officials about holding information. They possess the information to serve the community and they hold it as representatives of the people.
A retired government employee from Hanoi who testified at the seminar, Nguyen Bon Bay, commented that “We are not hungry for rice but for information. This law is really a life preserver. If the people don’t have access to public information, they lack the means to discuss and get involved in national issues. If the information approach is clear and transparent, the people’s trust in the Party and the State will be strengthened.” Bay suggested the name of the draft law be changed to emphasize not only the people’s right to request information but also official agencies’ duty to provide it, i.e., “Information Provision and Approach”.
Hoang Ngoc Giao of the Institute for Politics and Law, agreed that this law is a “life preserver” for the people and a tool for more effective management, to prevent abuse of power and corruption.
Giao compared the state’s operation like a human body which needs a circulatory system.. If that body only receives information, but does not supply it and request others’ comments, it may lead to bureaucratism and wrong policies.
Giao proposed to add some provisions compatible with the Official Secrets Law and others on protection of the citizens when government officials refuse to provide information.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the Government has asked the National Assembly to consider this draft law in its 2009 legislative program, instead of in 2011 as initially planned.
PV
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