GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

UNIT 17

Slide2

Answer the

following questions:

1. What is the meaning of accountability in public administration?

2. What other principles is accountability closely related to?

3. How can accountability of civil servants be ensured?

4. Which control mechanisms can be used to ensure accountability of public administration?

Slide3

Preview

Hierarchical

model of

accountability

Definitions

Answerability

and

enforcement

Accountability

and

transparency

Checks

and

balances

Responsiveness

Mechanisms

of

accountability

:

elections

, legislative

scrutiny

,

courts

,

auditors

,

public

access

to

information

,

intra-organizational

accountability

Slide4

Models and Mechanisms of Accountability:

Hierarchical

model

The traditional model of

accountability

:

public servants

were

accountable to their ministers,

the

minister was accountable to the legislature, and

the

legislature was accountable to the people.

Slide5

Hierarchical model

To make the hierarchical model of accountability function effectively, governments have developed a number of

instruments.

All

the instruments and mechanisms for accountability depend on

transparency

and

openness

.

If

an administrative system can keep its practices hidden from the public and from political actors, then the possibilities for exercising control over that administration are very limited.

Slide6

Definitions of accountability

Accountability

-

a key concept in both public administration and democratic theory.

Its

meaning is contested, but the general definition “the obligation to answer for the performance of duties” would fit most versions.

Slide7

Definitions of accountability

Though the Oxford English Dictionary records the use of the English word

accountability from the late 18th century, its prominence in political science dates only from the 1980's, before which time the term

responsibility

was preferred.

Broadly

speaking,

accountability

exists when an individual or body, and the performance of tasks or functions by that individual or body, are subject to another’s oversight, direction or request that they provide information or justification for their actions.

Slide8

Answerability and enforcement

The concept of accountability involves two distinct stages:

answerability and

enforcement

.

Answerability

refers to the obligation of the government, its agencies and public officials to provide information about their decisions and actions and to justify them to the public and those institutions of accountability tasked with providing oversight.

Slide9

Answerability and

enforcement

Enforcement

suggests that the public or the institution responsible for accountability can sanction the offending party.

As

such, different institutions of accountability might be responsible for either or both of these stages.

 

Slide10

Accountability and transparency

Some analyses equate accountability with

transparency.

In

complex modern systems of public accountability, some accountability mechanisms, such as

parliamentary inquiry

or

media investigation

can provide transparency, but lack the capacity to

impose sanctions

, leaving that function to other agencies such as the

courts

or the

executive.

 

Slide11

Checks and balances

Accountability is sometimes equated with institutional devices for limiting or constraining power

.

For instance, constitutional

checks and balances

, such as

federalism

and the

separation of powers

, are sometimes described as mechanisms of accountability because they limit the legal power of governments and prevent them from neglecting the rights of citizens.

Such

constraints may certainly involve accountability mechanisms, for instance, when a government oversteps its legal powers and is called to account by the courts.

Slide12

Responsiveness

Accountability, as the obligation to answer to

external scrutiny, is closely linked to

responsiveness

, understood as the readiness of institutions and officials to respond to the needs and interests of those whom they serve.

Slide13

Mechanisms of accountability

Elections

Legislative

Scrutiny

Courts

Auditors and other monitoring agencies

Public access to government information

Intra-Organizational Accountability

Slide14

Elections

In a representative democracy, the basic accountability mechanism is the general election at which prospective executive leaders present themselves to the voters and seek a renewal of their mandate to govern

.

Elections compel elected politicians to explain and justify their actions and give the citizens the opportunity to listen and deliver a verdict.

Elections

, however, need to be supplemented by a range of other accountability mechanisms and should not be seen as the sole instruments of democratic accountability.

Slide15

Legislative Scrutiny

Between elections, the major institution of accountability is the legislature.

Though

primarily defined in terms of their law-making functions, modern legislatures have ceded much of their legislative initiative to the executive branch

.

In compensation, legislatures have increasingly emphasized their accountability role as the main forum where the executive is required to answer to the public

.

Slide16

Legislative scrutiny

Legislatures hold executives to account through a variety of

ways.

One

is the requirement for

regular reporting

on executive

activities.

Legislatures

also have the right to question members of the executive and subject them to

public scrutiny.

Slide17

Courts

All governments

- subject to legal accountability through the courts because courts determine whether the government has acted within the law.

The

operation and effect of this power vary with a country's legal and constitutional

structure

Slide18

Courts

One

contrast is between Anglo-American countries, where cases involving the government are heard in the same courts as civil cases, and some European countries, notably France, where a completely separate court structure is reserved for cases involving the state.

Slide19

Courts

Another contrast concerns the scope of

judicial review. Where

a constitution, as in the United States, defines and limits the powers of both Congress and the President, the courts become a forum for holding the government generally accountable across a wide range of substantial policy issues.

On

the other hand, in parliamentary democracies such as the UK, where few constitutional limits are placed on legislative power, opportunities for challenging policies through the courts are much more

limited

.

Slide20

Courts

Most cases involving the government are brought by individual citizens and deal with particular decisions affecting them that have been made by government agencies.

Slide21

Courts

It is open to the court to

rule:

Whether

a

decision was taken

within the powers legally conferred

on the government agency;

whether

the citizen received

natural justice

in terms of

fair procedure

and

due process

;

and

whether the decision itself was

reasonable.

Slide22

Courts

Judicial accountability, like litigation generally, suffers from being slow and expensive and is beyond the reach of most people for most issues.

However

, its availability as a last resort is crucial to the public's capacity to hold governments to account.

Like

the rule of law

itself, of which it is a key element, accountability through an independent and honest judiciary is the foundation of all public accountability.

Slide23

Auditors and other monitoring agencies

Governments are overseen and investigated by a range of special-purpose

accountability agencies.

Of

these agencies, the most long-standing are the offices of

government auditors

.

Their

traditional function has been the monitoring of government finances on behalf of the legislature to see whether

public revenue

and

expenditure

have been managed according to

legislative authorization

and according to appropriate

public standards

.

Slide24

Auditors and other monitoring agencies

In general, government auditors have proved essential in maintaining financial integrity in governments.

Conversely

, the absence of effective audit is a key indicator of weak and corrupt government systems

Slide25

Other investigating

bodies

Besides auditors, other investigating bodies include

government inspectors

and

ombudsmen

.

Inspectors are officials established within particular government departments and agencies with the function of improving efficiency and effectiveness.

Slide26

Ombudsman

The position of ombudsman, first introduced in Scandinavia, has been adopted worldwide as an avenue of complaint for individual

citizens seeking redress in connection with particular

decisions.

Ombudsmen

usually have the

power to investigate and recommend

but

not to impose remedies

.

In

spite of this limitation, however, they have proved an effective accountability mechanism midway between an individual complaint and full legal proceedings.

Slide27

Public access to government information

Public access to government information is an essential component of government accountability and is provided by a number of channels.

One

such channel is the right of the citizen to seek

access to information

, both personal and general information about government policy.

Certain

exemptions usually apply, on grounds such as

national security

,

cabinet confidentiality

,

commercial confidentiality

, and

protection of legal proceedings

.

Slide28

Public access to government information

The various media outlets, both print and electronic, help spread information and stimulate debate.

Though

, for the most part, privately owned and not formally part of the machinery of government, the media are essential to effective accountability in large-scale modern states.

Indeed

, a

free press

, along with

elections

and an

independent judiciary

, has been acknowledged as one of the key institutions in securing an accountable government.

Slide29

Intra-Organizational Accountability

In addition to being

externally accountable, government agencies, like all organizations, exhibit

internal structures of accountability

whereby different members or sections are accountable to others within the organization.

Indeed

, from the perspective of individual officials, organizational accountability through the

chain of bureaucratic command

is often the most immediate and salient form of accountability in their daily activities.

Slide30

II Read the text carefully and answer the following questions:

1

.

Explain the traditional model of accountability. Who is accountable to whom?

2. What do all mechanisms of accountability depend on?

3. What is the generally accepted definition of accountability?

4. Which constitutional checks and balances can function as mechanisms of accountability?

5. What are the main mechanisms of external public sector accountability?

6. What is the most salient form of intra-organizational accountability?

7. How can legislatures hold executives to account?

8. What can the courts determine regarding government action and decisions?

9. What is the role of auditors?

10. What are the other investigating bodies besides auditors?

11. What is the role of the Ombudsman?

Slide31

III Provide definitions of the following key concepts:

1. Accountability ______________________

2. Openness: ______________________

3. Answerability: _____________________

4. Enforcement: _______________________

5. Responsiveness: ________________________

Slide32

abuses, accountability, government, horizontal, punish

The prevailing view is that institutions of ______________________, such as parliament and the judiciary, provide what is commonly termed horizontal accountability, or the capacity

of

a

network of relatively autonomous powers (i.e. other institutions) that can call into

question, and eventually ________________, improper ways of discharging the responsibilities of a given official. In other words, _________________accountability is the capacity of state institutions to check __________________ by other public agencies and branches of _____________________ or the requirement for agencies to report sideways

Slide33

Decide whether the following statements are true or false and correct the false ones:

STATEMENT

TRUE

FALSE

Mechanisms of accountability do not depend on transparency.

 

 

The concept of accountability involves only answerability.

 

 

Accountability mechanisms such as parliamentary inquiry or media investigation can impose sanctions.

 

 

Constitutional checks and balances include federalism and the separation of powers.

 

 

Accountability is closely linked to responsiveness.

 

 

Elections are a sufficient instrument of democratic accountability.

 

 

 

Modern legislatures have ceded much of their legislative initiative to the executive branch.

 

 

Governments are not subject to legal accountability through the courts

 

 

Slide34

DISCUSSION

Discuss

the role of the press as an accountability mechanism. Can freedom of the press be limited under any circumstances?

Slide35

Integrity, Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration

How

would

you

define

the

concepts

of

integrity

,

transparency

and

accountability

in

public

administration

?

Slide36

Concepts and

principles

The concepts of

integrity, transparency

and

accountability

have been identified by United Nations countries, collectively and individually, as part of the founding principles of public administration.

.

Slide37

Concepts and

principles

As such, these principles need to be espoused and seen to be practised by the leadership within the United Nations System and in all member countries

.

Slide38

Integrity

In public administration,

integrity refers to “honesty” or “trustworthiness” in the discharge of official duties, serving as an antithesis to “corruption” or “the abuse of office

.”

Slide39

Transparency

Transparency

refers to unfettered access by the public to timely and reliable information on decisions and performance in the public sector.

Slide40

Accountability

Accountability

refers to the obligation on the part of public officials to report on the use of public resources and answerability for failing to meet stated performance objectives.

But what

do

these terms mean, in the abstract and concretely, for the UN administration and for the administrations of its member countries?

Slide41

Integrity

In the abstract, for the UN’s own administration,

integrity has been defined as “includ

(

ing

), but not limited to probity, impartiality, fairness, honesty and truthfulness.

“

Slide42

Transparency

The need for

transparency, though not defined explicitly, has been implied in the founding documents.

More

recently, the UN has acknowledged the need to foster more transparency in access to information, procurement and senior level recruitment.

The

UN’s staff regulations state that “staff members are

accountable

to the Secretary-General for the proper discharge of their functions”, highlighting the importance of

accountability

for performance

Slide43

Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. What are the founding principles of public administration according to the United Nations?

2. How are the concepts of integrity, transparency and accountability defined in the framework of the UN administration?

Slide44

Translate the following text into Croatian

In public administration,

integrity refers to “honesty” or “trustworthiness” in the discharge of official duties, serving as an antithesis to “corruption” or “the abuse of office.”

Transparency

refers to unfettered access by the public to timely and reliable information on decisions and performance in the public sector.

Accountability

refers to the obligation on the part of public officials to report on the use of public resources and answerability for failing to meet stated performance objectives.