ECONOMY OF GHANA NETWORK IMPLICATION OF RTI LAW ON GOOD GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY...
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Transcript of ECONOMY OF GHANA NETWORK IMPLICATION OF RTI LAW ON GOOD GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY...
ECONOMY OF GHANA NETWORK
IMPLICATION OF RTI LAW ON GOOD GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
BY FLORENCE DENNISGHANA ANTI-CORRUPTION COALITION (GACC)
OUTLINE
WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE
INDICATORS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
WHAT IS SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
CRITICAL FACTORS FOR SUCCESS OF SA
EXAMPLES OF SA & HOW THEY HAVE WORKED WITHOUT RTI
IMPLICATIONS OF RTI ON GG & SA
PRACTICAL ISSUES IN GHANA
WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE
It is a complex process mechanisms and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences
INDICATORS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Accountable
It is a fundamental requirement and the bedrock of good governance
It is an obligation to report, explain and be answerable for the consequences
Transparent
Citizens should follow and understand the decision making processes
Clarity in the outline processes
Follows rule of law
Decisions should be consistent with laid down laws
INDICATORS - CONTD
Responsive
Proactive feedback to citizens concerns in a timely manner
Equitable and Inclusive
All category of citizens feel their interest and concerns are considered as part of the decision making process e.g marginalized, physically challenged, gender
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Efficient and Effective
Cost efficient and effective in using resources
Less leakages and lapses
Participatory
Consultations and solicit inputs of citizens in decision making
WHAT IS SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
“An approach towards building accountability that relies on civic engagement i.e. in which it is the ordinary citizens and/or civil society organizations who participate directly or indirectly in exacting accountability”
(Malena, Forster and Singh, 2004)
CRITICAL FACTORS OF SUCCESS OF SA
Political Environment
Democratic
Multi-party system
Civil rights are respected & guaranteed,
Transparency
Access to information
CRITICAL FACTORS
Civil Society Capacity
Level of Organization of CSOs
Membership based
Technical and Advocacy skills
Legitimacy
Level of responsiveness
Accountability to their own members
CRITICAL FACTORS
Role of Media
Independent media
Informing and educating the public
Ownership is pluralistic
State capacity
Functioning public administration
Devolution of authority & resources
Build partnerships with all key stakeholders
Transparency & accountability
CRITICAL FACTORS
State and civil Society synergy
Trust and respect
Effective and constructive engagement
Institutionalization
Ensure impact and achieve better results
TYPES OF SA
Investigative Journalism
Civil Society Monitoring
Public Interest law suits
Citizen Vigilantic
Civil Society led actions
Committee for Joint Action (CJA)
Accountable Governance Group
EXAMPLES OF SA IN GHANA
- APRM
- Citizen Report Cards
School Feeding tracking
Monitoring of DACF
Budget Expenditure Tracking
Text book tracking
Community Assessment on Poverty Reduction
How have these SA been Implemented without an RTI
Regional & International Requirement
MOU will have to be signed with the Public Institutions concerned
Discretion to provide information is based on institutions
Such process does not sustain SA
EFFECTS
Makes advocacy & policy input difficult
Limits constructive engagement with public institutions
Findings are sometimes challenged
Builds mistrust with Civil Society
Leads to politicization of development issues
CS get confused as to who is credible in terms of information provided
Affects collective action
Weakens holding government accountable
RTI-SA-GG
Information should be available & reliable
Quality and accessible
Should be delivered on timely basis
RTI should provide for passive information – information upon request &
Active information – proactively provide information on government business
RTI-SA-GG
RTI is a tool for GG and SA
RTI provides the basis for critical analysis of issues of public concern
Provides information to citizens for collective action
Provides for rights and responsibilities of citizens and government
Provides citizens the opportunity to verify information provided by government
Enables constructive engagement
PRACTICAL ISSUES IN GHANA
Judgement debt Issues
Citizen Vigilantic
GYEEDA
EXAMPLES
India
Citizen Report Cards
Nigeria
Contract Monitoring
Latin America
Brazil, Panama, Columbia, Mexico Peru, Chile Conditional Cash Transfers to the Poor
Budget Monitoring
Citizen Reports Cards in improving health care
Oversight of Supreme Audit Institutions
CONCLUSION
Social Accountability ensures and sustains good governance
RTI is key in empowering citizens to hold duty bearers accountable
RTI is fundamental in social accountability and good governance