RTI appeal filed over refusal to disclose President’s domestic travel costs

Colombo, Oct. 8 (Daily Mirror) - A YouTuber who has consistently sought information relating to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s domestic travel costs, has submitted an appeal to the Right to Information (RTI) Commission, challenging the decision of the Presidential Secretariat’s Designated Officer to reject his information. 

The requested information relates to the expenditures incurred for domestic travel and accommodation by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during the past 12 months.

YouTuber Jinath Premaratne yesterday (07) submitted this appeal under Section 32 of the Right to Information Act, No. 12 of 2016, seeking the intervention of the Right to Information Commission to review the above-mentioned decision and to direct the release of the requested information or provide appropriate guidance in line with the principles of transparency and the citizen’s right to know.

On September 17, 2025, the Designated Officer at the Presidential Secretariat had upheld the Information Officer’s earlier decision to reject an information request made by a YouTuber under the Right to Information (RTI) Act regarding the said information.

In a letter dated August 27, 2025, the Information Officer of the Presidential Secretariat informed the YouTuber that the request had been rejected under Section 5(1)(b)(i) of the Right to Information Act, on the grounds that the information sought was directly connected to security-sensitive matters concerning the President.