The Office of Information and Data Protection Commissioner held its second meeting in Elbasan in the framework of the “Transparency Days” initiative.
The event gathered the District Prefect, Ms. Majlinda Perriu, the Mayor of Elbasan, Mr. Gledian Llatja, heads of local self-government units of the region, representatives of justice institution, regional structures of central bodies, and their RTI coordinators. Proactive transparency and the accountability of the Public Authorities, are key factors in guaranteeing the rights of access to public information on the one hand, and help improve services provision to the citizens on the other.
The meeting focused on the performance evaluation of the implementation of Law No. 119/2014 “On the Right to Information” by the district public bodies. The monitoring and analysis of the situation conducted by the Office of the Commissioner has ascertained that a different approach is required in terms of consistently updating the Transparency Programmes, and the Registers of Requests and Responses, particularly regarding content categories such as budget expenditures, public procurement procedures or audits; as well as the public notification and consultation process. At the same time, the coordinators were urged to improve the quality of information requests’ handling processes, and the co-operation with citizens and interests groups in strengthening the culture of transparency.