All data, except personal and security, should be public: NIC

REPUBLICA
Stakeholders say open govt data brings transparency and accountability

KATHMANDU, Nov 4: Stakeholders have stressed on the need of creating awareness about the importance of Open Government Data (OGD) in Nepal. They said that the OGD should be linked with the Right to Information (RTI) in order to make the government more accountable and credible.

Chief Information Commissioner at the National Information Commission (NIC) Krishna Hari Baskota said that there is a dire need of opening up the available data to public as it is closely related with people's right to information.

Speaking at an inauguration session of workshop on 'Open Government Data sensitization, gap assessment and strategic planning,' Baskota said that the RTI act should be amended in such a way that it opens all relevant data except personal and security data.

With an aim to prioritize the concept of open government data, the NIC and The Division of Public Administration and Development (DPADM) of the United Nations Development of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) organized the three-day-long workshop on open data.

Onsari Gharti Magar, speaker of the parliament, said that there is a need of changing the information dissemination pattern at modern time to help the general public exercise their right to information.

"All relevant information regarding state should be publicized via digital means for right participation of the public for the development of the country," she said. Arpine Korekyan, governance officer at DPADM, UNDESA, stressed that open government data is important for both good governance and achievement of sustainable development goals.

This is the first time that the government has collaborated with the development partner for strengthening open government data. The capacity development workshop aims at sensitizing high-level authorities by engaging them with the key open data stakeholders and prepare an OGD Action Plan for further roadmap.

Government officials, experts, statisticians, members of civil societies, media outlets and business leaders participated in the workshop. Participants in the program stressed that the open government data is one of the ways of increasing transparency and credibility of the government at a time when the government is yet to adopt a culture of data sharing. They further added that open data can contribute in economic and social development of a country.