Information Commissioner’s Office staff to work from home, citing unsuitable work environment

The Information Commissioner’s Office has announced that its staff will work remotely due to the deteriorating condition of the building currently housing the commission.

In a special announcement issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office, it was revealed that due to the current condition of the building where the office is operating, there is no suitable environment for office work at the moment, so from May 20 onwards, the office's work will be conducted online.

The office has also advised the public to call 3010990 for any inquiries related to official matters.

ICOM's office is currently operating in north side of G. Billoorijehige. In the annual report for the year 2024 released by the office on March 13, it was stated that among the challenges faced in fulfilling the responsibilities of the Information Commissioner's office, the condition of the office building was highlighted.

The report states that due to water leakage in various parts of the office building and mold growth, the office environment is currently not health-appropriate for employees.

In addition to this, the report also noted that while the number of cases submitted to the Information Commissioner's office is increasing year by year, there are not enough staff to handle and investigate said cases.

The ICOM annual report states that since 2017, they have been repeatedly requesting relevant authorities to find a solution to the lack of a suitable work environment in the office.

It also mentioned that last October, when the Ministry of Finance granted permission to rent an office space, they made extensive efforts to find a place and even advertised to check prices.

However, as the bid price exceeded MVR 7.6 million, ICOM sent the bid to the Finance Ministry on 19 November 2024 to decide on it according to the State Finance Regulations, as stated in the annual report.