Information Officer

Information Officer is the officer in a public authority who has the responsibility of providing information in response to a RTI request.

Information Officers are expected to prioritize their RTI related duties over their normal duties.

If an Information Officer is absent from duty, the Head or CEO of the Public Authority will have to make necessary arrangements to carry out the duties of the Information officer.

DUTIES

Provide reasonable assistance to a citizen to fill out the request for information

Write down the request and obtain the signature or thumbprint of the citizen if a verbal request is made

Must attach a request sent by fax or email to the request form

Inform the citizen of any mistake in the way the request has been made

If the information requested is held by a different public authority, and the information officer is aware of that fact, should transfer the request to the relevant public authority in written transfer and inform the citizen within 7 days of the receipt of the request

Inform the citizen if the information requested is already publicly available, and indicate where the information can be found, within 14 days

Maintain a record of the information s/he is providing

RESPONSIBILITIES

When a request is received, an information officer should issue immediate written acknowledgment to the citizen

The requests received should be recorded in the register with a registration number

If the citizen will be granted the information, the Information Officer must inform the citizen within 14 days of the fact that the information will be received

If the request of the citizen is rejected by Information Officer, he/she must provide written notice of this to the citizen

If the Information officer requires days exceeding 14 days to provide the information that has been requested, he/ she should inform the citizen through a letter that the period has been extended by up to 21 days

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