Democrancy Uganda

b)  Accountability

Government accountability requires that public officials, elected or un elected, have an obligation to explain their decisions and actions to their citizens. In a democracy, there are a number of mechanisms to ensure that public officials remain answerable and accessible to the people they serve:

1.      Regular elections and fixed terms of office make sure that the citizens frequently get the chance to decide who should occupy public offices. For example, if voters are not satisfied with the performance of a political leader, they may vote him or her out of office when their term expires.

2.      Rules and regulations that define the powers and responsibilities of public officials. The rules also define how citizens may take action against those officials whose conduct or performance is considered unsatisfactory.

3.      Ethical rules and codes of conduct for public officials, outlining unacceptable practices

4.      Monitoring of public officials, for example through parliament, the courts, independent auditors or the media

5.      An obligation for public officials to report, so that the public has access to information about their activities.

6.      Protection mechanisms for so-called “whistle-blowers” who report corruption or misconduct of public officials.

7.      An obligation for public officials – especially elected leaders – to regularly consult the electorate and the different stakeholders in the country (or the district).

8.      In addition, citizens can also get involved more pro-actively to hold their leaders accountable, for example by forming interest groups, starting community initiatives, organising campaigns or using existing complaints mechanisms.

9: Civil Society & Media

In a society we usually differentiate between three different sectors: The Public Sector (the government and state institutions), the Private Sector (the business), and the Civil Society Sector (the community).

1.      The, civil society is the part of a country’s life that neither falls under the government (public) nor the business (private) sectors.

2.      Civil society is used as a term to describe the diversity of nongovernmental and non-commercial groups and organisations such as self-help and interest groups, social movements, NGOs, FBOs (religious groups etc).

A strong and vibrant civil society is important for every democracy because:

Civil society is an area where every citizen can easily get involved and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) can mobilise citizens for civic action.