Almost 90 percent of Complaints Filed Last Year Were Due to Information Officers Not Responding, Says ICOM
Photo: Plus.mv
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICOM) revealed today that nearly 90 percent of all complaints filed in 2024 stemmed from state institutions’ information officers failing to respond to inquiries.
According to ICOM’s newly published data, the office received 566 complaints last year, with 504 arising because information officers did not respond within the required timeframe. This is 89 percent of the total complaints lodged with ICOM last year.
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The Right to Information Act (RTI) mandates that information officers must reply to all inquiries within 21 days, either by providing the requested information or explaining why it cannot be disclosed.
Almost 90% of submissions to ICOM in 2024 were complaints due to no response by the information officers at public authorities
The number of complaints submitted to ICOM due to a lack of response from public authorities was significantly higher in 2024 compared to previous years pic.twitter.com/7JbGqrf7y7— Information Commissioner's Office – Maldives (@icom_mv) March 16, 2025
ICOM also reported receiving 34 complaints from individuals dissatisfied with the review committee’s response. Additionally, they received 26 complaints due to the committee’s failure to respond. The office recorded one complaint about an information officer providing false information and another regarding the failure to issue a receipt for an inquiry.
Comparing last year’s complaints to previous years, ICOM noted a rise in cases related to state institutions’ failure to respond. In 2023 and 2022, they received 313 and 272 such complaints, respectively, accounting for 88 percent of all complaints in both years. However, in 2024, the figure rose to 530 cases due to information commissioners failing to respond to requests for information or review. This is 93 percent of the total submitted complaints.
