Govt websites lack self-motivation in publishing information: TIB

There is a huge lack of self-motivation to publish updated information on the websites of different ministries and departments of the government, according to a study of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).

The study, which was presented at a press conference held online on Thursday, also reveals that the same tendency is prevalent for many non-governmental organisations.

TIB conducted the study on websites of 192 organisations, among which 153 are government-run and 39 are run by NGOs.

The agency said although the government websites provide a lot of information as per the rules they do not update them regularly. There are also limitations in terms of formatting information according to their types and the availability of information.

According to the study, only 37% of the government institutions included in the study had a satisfactory score. The score of about 8.5% government institutions is worrying.

Among the 22 ministries of the government, the ministry of health and family welfare, ministry of law, ministry of foreign affairs, ministry of housing and public works and ministry of liberation war affairs performed the lowest in terms of publishing information, said the TIB study.

According to the study, the Ministry of Food, the Ministry of Jute and Textiles and the Ministry of Water Resources are jointly in first place with an overall score of 42. The Ministry of Women and Child Welfare got second place. In third place are the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, the Bridges Department, the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, the Madrasa Board, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Social Welfare.

However, no NGO is in the top ten in terms of self-motivated publication and dissemination of information in their websites, the study found.

As per the study, self-motivation in publishing information has not yet gained institutional importance. The government, civil society, non-governmental organisations and the media lack the necessary initiatives to coordinate the publication and dissemination of self-motivated information.

TIB urges those concerned to ensure good governance and accountability by ensuring the right of the people to information.

The agency mentioned that the information presented in this study is not equally applicable to all government and non-government organisations. It only provides a glimpse into the organisations' self-motivated information disclosure practice.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "The rate of publishing information on the websites has increased more than before. But the scope of information and usefulness to the public has not increased. In this regard, the results of the study are not satisfactory."

"Again, 8% of the government has no website. Although there are websites of many non-governmental organisations, 5% of them are not accessible to the public," he added.