The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has recently ordered the External Resources Department (ERD) to release three external loan agreements that were previously withheld from public access.
The rulings were reportedly issued as final orders on two appeals filed separately by journalist Tharindu Iranga Jayawardhana and economist Dr. M. Sarvanathan against the ERD.
According to reports, the Commission’s decisions mark the first instance in which it has explicitly directed the full disclosure of external loan agreements, rejecting the position that such agreements are exempt from disclosure under the RTI Act, No. 12 of 2016.
The appeals were related to requests for copies of loan agreements entered into by the Government of Sri Lanka for major development projects, including water supply schemes, university development, road construction, and port-related infrastructure and the ERD had declined to release the documents, citing confidentiality clauses and stating that disclosure could affect Sri Lanka’s international relations (IR) and the debt restructuring process.
After extensive hearings, the RTI Commission has rejected those arguments, ruling that the ERD had failed to follow the procedure set out in the RTI Act and had not demonstrated that disclosure would cause serious harm. The Commission has stated that access to information relating to public debt and financial commitments is a constitutional right, particularly in the context of the country’s economic crisis.
Under the first appeal, the Commission has ordered the release of two loan agreements linked to the Gampaha–Attanagalla–Minuwangoda Water Supply Project and the South Eastern University Development Project (Phase 1B). Under the second appeal, it has directed the ERD to release the loan agreement for the Katana Water Supply Project, signed in 2017 with the China Development Bank, on or before 27 February of this year (2026).
Jayawardhana has told the Commission there were allegations of fraud and the misuse of funds linked to several projects financed through external borrowing and that loans were taken for development projects, but that doubts persist over how the money was used and whether the intended outcomes were delivered. He has also said the public has a right to know how these loans were negotiated, the terms attached to them, and how the funds were spent, particularly since the burden of repayment ultimately falls on the people. He has further referred to issues that emerged during Sri Lanka’s 2023 debt restructuring process and matters discussed in the related Supreme Court proceedings.
The Commission, after accepting these submissions, has noted that the release of loan agreements serves a clear public interest and has pointed out that public funds are used to service these loans and that findings by the Auditor General have highlighted irregularities in projects financed through such borrowing. The Commission has further referred to the International Monetary Fund’s 2023 report on debt restructuring and observations made by the Supreme Court on the economic downturn.
The Commission has further warned that the failure to comply with its orders could result in relevant legal proceedings against the Information Officer and the relevant public authority of the ERD under the RTI Act.
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