President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said that employees of the state institutes do not have the authority to withhold information from the public as it is a right of the public to gain information on the work of the state institutes.

He made the remark in his address on the occasion of the International Day for Universal Access to Information, delivered by Information Commissioner, Hussain Faaiz Moosa at a virtual function.

In his address, President Solih said that the right to information is one of the most important rights granted to the public by the Constitution. He said that it is not just a right reserved for individual citizens but a strong system needs to be in place for acquisition and publishing of information.

President Solih said that Constitutional rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of journalism, and the freedom of access to information are all in place to ensure the state and all of its institutes and leaders are held accountable.

The President noted that hesitate to release information leads to negligent and criminal behavior and the access to information also reflects on integrity.

President Solih said that every citizen has the right to access of information and every state employee must respect that right.

He said that the purpose of establishing an Information Commissioner’s Office is to ensure that right can be exercised to the fullest.