In a democratic dispensation governments are trustees of public mandate to run state affairs designed to promote wellbeing of the people and to propel the sustained development process to change the economic profile of the country and economic situations of the masses. In the modern world governments play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of the country, both positive and negative depending on the level of transparency in the decision-making process and accountability of the public representatives. Lack of these ingredients breeds corruption, and that has a debilitating impact on development.
Governments assist society in achieving its collective needs and meeting its aspirations through infrastructure development, regulation, social insurance, taxation and subsidisation, prudential supervision and contract and law. Transparency means openness about decision-making and the consequent actions. It is an essential ingredient of accountability, and is ensured through access to information in regard to government decisions and policies in regard to different activities undertaken by it. Accountability is ensured through institutions such as courts, media, civil society organisations and others charged with the power to hold public servants and rulers accountable for their actions.
Transparency in the public sector enables governments to enhance their positive contributions to the social and economic development of the country. Access to information is an ex ante political control of the public sector, and for ex post monitoring and evaluation of the performance of public entities and representatives. Transparency is not a new concept. Its modern roots can be traced back to efforts by democratic societies to bring openness to government dealings. In the USA, the Freedom of Information Act dates back to the mid-1960s. Today, most national governments, states, provinces, municipalities and other government entities have committed to increased transparency. Transparent government is now internationally recognised as an essential component of a free and democratic society. At the international level initiatives have been taken to ensure that governments all over the world subscribe to and show commitment to transparency in their decision-making that has both internal and international repercussions.
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a new multilateral initiative that aims to obtain foolproof commitments from government to support and promote transparency, empower its citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to improve and strengthen governance. The OGP formally launched by eight countries on September 20, 2011 has so far achieved commitments from 43 countries to follow their agenda. There are also international entities that monitor and publicise the level of transparency in different countries, such as the Transparency International.
Pakistan, regrettably, has been among the most corrupt countries of the world as indicated by successive annual reports of the Transparency International, a sequel to lack of transparency and accountability in the public sector. However, it is gratifying to note that for the last three years since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government has won the public franchise to rule the country, corruption as per indices of the Transparency International is in a nose-dive. No mega corruption scandals, like in the past, have been unearthed by the ever-vigilant and vibrant media, and an independent judiciary, contributing to the phenomenon
of accountability.
This change has not come about on its own. It has surely been caused by a conscious commitment and concrete actions of government to curb corruption and promoting a culture of transparency in the public sector. The foremost and immediate action taken by government after assumption of office was to abolish all discretionary and secret funds at the disposal of the ministries, ministers and the prime minister. Conscious efforts were made to improve the access to the Right to Information Act. And a culture of e-transparency has also been introduced by pressing into service the modern technology to ensure provision of basic information about government activities in a particular area, automation of public sector processes and reporting on that process that provide specific details of public sector decisions and actions, allowing people to judge the performance of public servants and public representatives against pre-set benchmarks.
Government’s commitment and resolve to promote culture of consensus decisions on pivotal national issues has also strengthened the avenues of transparency in government decision-making processes. The responses firmed up to deal with phenomenon of terrorism in the shape of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the National Action Plan with the involvement and support of all stakeholders including the opposition parties speak
for themselves.
Another irrefutable corroboration of transparency in government decision-making process is the national ownership of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which ensured laying bare all details about the mega economic initiative, including processes involved in decision-making on different projects, and how it was going to benefit the provinces and the country as a whole. Government has shown unreserved willingness to share details with the opposition and media to remove misgivings and to ensure transparency about the undertaking. The very fact that China has committed to make an unprecedented investment of $46 billion in Pakistan under the CPEC is a clear testimony of an ever-growing transparency in decision-making processes in Pakistan, because no foreign investor would like to put such a huge money at stake without having confidence about transparency in the country where that money is to be invested. Transparency is regarded as one of the most crucial factors in attracting direct foreign investments.
In regard to the initiatives taken to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship and creation of job opportunities for the youth, the underlying idea has been to ensure transparency. These youth programmes, including the flagship initiative of small business loans to the youth, initiated by the prime minister are quintessential of the phenomenon of transparency. Initially, the National Bank and Women Development Bank were entrusted with the responsibility to disburse those loans on merit through a transparent process. However, in view of the significance and the foolproof steps by the government in regard to default, other private banks have also joined in the implementation of the scheme. Government is not only providing money to the youth but it has also made sure that the beneficiaries of the loans are also guided in regards to the businesses and trades in which they can invest their loan profitably. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority has also prepared guidelines in this regard. The National Bank is also engaged in preparing feasibility studies on 100 trades for the benefit of the youth who successfully qualify for the advancement of loans.
Government has also made it obligatory for all ministries and government departments to put all the relevant information about their activities and decision-making processes on their websites for the information of the public, media and other stakeholders, which is a great leap in strengthening transparency in government departments. This will eventually help in reinforcing the culture of accountability and elimination of corruption in the public sector.
The writer is a retired diplomat, a freelance columnist and a member of the visiting faculty of the Riphah Institute of Media Sciences, Riphah International University, Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected]