USE OF ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS.

INTRODUCTION

This Handbook is designed for the purpose of highlighting and contextualising the challenge of accountability in fiscal governance and to provide ideas and strategies to be adopted by persons and organisations interested in holding government accountable for the expenditure of the enormous resources entrusted in its care. It discusses eleven critical points and issues.

Accountability for results focuses on the re-direction of the energy of accountability advocates who should be more inclined in finding out the results produced from expenditure of public resources. The media can be used creatively to achieve distinct results and to increase voice and accountability. Litigation offers the opportunity to use the legal system to validate rights and duties. A new form of networking and coalition building through leveraging the competencies and capacities of clusters of multiple stakeholders to improve fiscal governance is advocated. CSOs should no longer be preaching to the converted but should engage new constituencies who are committed to the same ideals as they are. Thus, the cluster idea creates a hub and spoke effect that will achieve increased accountability when more voices are on board.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act, Public Procurement Act and Freedom of Information Act are laws that need to be fully activated to entrench accountability and transparency in fiscal governance. They provide a new array of tools and opportunities for demands which where hitherto not available. Frivolities and waste in the system were identified as a major challenge to budgeting whilst statutory transfers that are stated in lump sums without disaggregation contributes to the opacity of the budgeting process.

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