Sri Lanka's journey toward transparent governance has been marked by what experts call "governance theatre" - the practice of enacting impressive-sounding laws that deliver little real change. The country's Right to Information (RTI) framework exemplifies this troubling pattern, where constitutional promises meet bureaucratic resistance.
Understanding Governance Theatre in Sri Lanka
Governance theatre refers to the deliberate creation of policies, laws, and institutions that appear to strengthen democratic governance while actually maintaining the status quo. In Sri Lanka's context, this phenomenon has become particularly evident in how information access rights have been handled since their constitutional inclusion in 2015.
The concept isn't unique to Sri Lanka, but the island nation's implementation reveals how developing democracies can struggle with translating progressive legislation into meaningful citizen empowerment. When laws exist on paper but fail in practice, they create an illusion of progress that can actually hinder genuine reform efforts.
The Right to Information Journey
After decades of advocacy and civil society pressure, Sri Lanka achieved a significant milestone in 2015 when the Right to Information was enshrined as Article 14A of the Constitution. This constitutional amendment represented years of struggle by transparency advocates, journalists, and civil society organizations who recognized information access as fundamental to democratic accountability.
The RTI Act that followed promised to transform how citizens interact with government institutions. It established clear timelines for information disclosure, created appeal mechanisms, and theoretically empowered ordinary Sri Lankans to hold their government accountable. The legislation appeared comprehensive, covering most public institutions and establishing penalties for non-compliance.
Implementation Challenges and Bureaucratic Resistance
However, the gap between legislative intent and practical implementation has proven substantial. Government institutions have shown varying degrees of compliance, with many developing creative ways to circumvent their obligations while technically remaining within legal bounds.
Common obstacles include excessive delays in responding to information requests, claims that requested information doesn't exist or falls under exemptions, and the imposition of unreasonable fees. Some institutions have interpreted exemptions broadly, particularly those related to national security or commercial confidentiality, effectively nullifying the spirit of transparency.
The Right to Information Commission, established to oversee implementation, has faced its own challenges including limited resources, political pressure, and the enormous task of changing entrenched bureaucratic culture. While the Commission has made efforts to promote compliance, systemic resistance remains significant.
Impact on Democratic Governance
The failure to effectively implement RTI has broader implications for Sri Lankan democracy. When citizens cannot access information about government decisions, spending, and policies, democratic accountability suffers. This information asymmetry reinforces existing power structures and limits citizens' ability to participate meaningfully in governance.
Journalists and civil society organizations, who rely heavily on RTI for their oversight functions, have found themselves fighting the same battles for basic information that existed before the law's passage. This has contributed to a climate where corruption and mismanagement can flourish with limited scrutiny.
The economic crisis that has gripped Sri Lanka has made transparent governance more crucial than ever. Citizens need access to information about public spending, debt obligations, and policy decisions to understand how their country reached this point and to hold leaders accountable for recovery efforts.
Regional and Global Context
Sri Lanka's RTI challenges reflect broader regional trends where information access laws exist but implementation remains weak. Countries across South Asia have enacted similar legislation with varying degrees of success, suggesting that legal frameworks alone are insufficient without strong institutional support and political will.
International experience shows that successful RTI implementation requires sustained effort, adequate resources, and most importantly, a genuine commitment from political leadership to embrace transparency even when it may prove politically uncomfortable.
Path Forward for Genuine Reform
Moving beyond governance theatre requires acknowledging that laws alone cannot create transparent governance. Effective RTI implementation needs several key elements: adequate funding for implementing institutions, regular training for government officials, strong penalties for non-compliance, and political leadership that genuinely supports transparency.
Civil society organizations and media outlets must continue pressing for implementation while also building public awareness about RTI rights. Citizens who understand and exercise these rights create pressure for compliance that formal mechanisms alone cannot achieve.
The current economic and political crisis presents both challenges and opportunities for RTI implementation. While resource constraints limit institutional capacity, the crisis has also highlighted the costs of opaque governance and may create political incentives for greater transparency.
Sri Lanka's experience with RTI serves as a cautionary tale about the difference between legislative achievement and real reform. Until the country moves beyond governance theatre to genuine implementation, the promise of transparent governance will remain unfulfilled, limiting both democratic accountability and effective crisis response.