Public Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their offices." Accountability refers to the responsibility of public officials to report the use of public resources and taking responsibility for failing to meet stated performance objectives.

Public accountability relates to the requirements of persons or entities trusted with public resources to be liable for the financial, managerial and program responsibilities that have been granted to them, and to report to those that have given those legal responsibilities. From this definition of public accountability it is clear that the public entities that use public resources have an obligation to account for the way these resources are allocated, used and the results these spending have achieved. In other words, the main objectives of all public accountability initiatives are to ensure that public money is spent most economically and efficiently, that there is minimum of wastage or theft and finally that the public actually benefit from public finance.

During the last years, accountability in government has become an important issue. It became a standard of public life. Government is evaluated on criteria of efficiency and effectiveness. It is the concept of ethics, governance and responsibility. In another word an accountable person is a person who acknowledges responsibility for his actions and acts ethically towards his job and towards the people surrounding him, meaning his colleagues, partners and

managers. In his book public management and administration, the author Owen E. Hughes states that "any government requires a system of accountability, so that it acts in ways that is broadly approved by the community." He adds that government organizations are "created by the public, for the public, and need to be accountable to the public." Having agreed on these concepts, the interest of citizens must be served to be fully satisfied. To do so, it all depends on the system of accountability. Every person is responsible of his actions and decisions, at the same time the member is accountable to a higher person, a superior or a manager. Specifically, every employee in the public sector must know what he is responsible for and must report to a superior and all his governmental actions must be based by law. Hughes also discusses in his book that there are four types of accountability relationships which are: hierarchical, legal, political and professional. The first two require a closer supervision and less autonomy, whereas the last two allow greater independence. He also argued that there are three different types of accountability: accountability for finances, for fairness and for performance. I will be discussing public accountability in the public sector and why it is important in improving the quality and increasing performance