Accountability/Administrative Control


Administrative Accountability

According to Leonard D. White accountability is ‘the sum total of constitutional, statutory,
administrative and judicial rules and precedents and the established practices by means of which public
officials may be held accountable for their official actions’. It refers to the formal and specific location of
responsibility vested in a person. While responsibility has a personal and moral connotations and is not
necessarily related to formal status and power. Accountability is also defined as the answerability of a person
in organization.

The Meaning of Control

Accountability is a kind of management Control. Control is the process of ensuring that actual
activities conform to established standards and laid done procedures. Control helps managers to monitor
the effectiveness of managers

Types of Accountability
There are two types of accountability mechanism that make organizations to continue to achieve
goals. These are discussed below:
1. Internal Control: is exercised either by superior over the subordinates within the chain of
hierarchy or by other parallel agencies in the executive branch of government. It consists of directing, regulating, supervising, advising, inspecting and evaluating. It should be continuously done; without being felt. This mechanism of accountability has positive
results also.
2. External control, is fitted outside the administrative machinery and works within the
general constitutional framework of the system. It is exercised by the external bodies such
as legislature and judiciary.

(A) Internal Control:
In internal control mechanisms follows methods are used:
i) Administrative process:- In a parliamentary system, cabinet stands at the apex of the
executive. Prime minister directs the ministers; who are in-charge of their respective
department and are responsible for the efficient working to the cabinet and prime minister.
The whole working of the departments are reviewed by the Prime Minister and his
Cabinet.
ii) Hierarchical order:- Every administrative department is arranged on scalar pattern and
executives are organized in hierarchical order. The executives are linked with superiorsubordinate-
relationship with clear authority and responsibility. They are accountable to
their respective superiors for their actions and dealings. Thus hierarchy itself a powerful
instrument for monitoring subordinates behavior and for enforcing accountability.
iii) Annual confidential Reports:-The superior officers prepare annual confidential reports
(ACRs) of their subordinates every year. The work of whole year of each public servant is
assessed.
iv) Budgetary control:- A budget is not only a complete policy statement of the total
activities of the government but it also reflects the aspiration of the people. The Ministry
of Finance prepares budget, and operations of the budgetary sanctions and appropriations.
v) Administrative leadership:- It is another means of internal control. Leadership
motivates, and inspires the employees for efficiency. Thus the morale and motivation of
employees depends upon the leadership. The effective leader set examples of high
standards of integrity and performance for his followers. He inspires them for work and
instills in them a pride in work. A good leader is objective – oriented and always tries his
subordinates to achieve that objective.

(B) External Control:-
Following mechanism is in place as external methods
1. Legislative Control: The major instrument of public accountability is the authority of the
legislature to empower, limit, investigate and censure the executive branch. The legislature
enacts Laws, authorizes administrators to engage in quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial
activities, appropriates funds for all administrative programmes, and determines the general
outlines of administrative organization and procedure.
2. Questions:- The first hour of every day sitting of legislature is known as the questionhour.
This time is allotted for asking and answering questions. Every legislators, after
giving due notice, are entitled to put questions and supplementary questions to the
ministers about the state of public administration. The ministers are bound to answer these
questions. The purpose of questions is to elicit information on the working of
administrative departments.
3. Resolutions and Motions:- Resolutions and motions are of two kinds i.e. firstly, those
whose object is to censure a particular minister or government as a whole, secondly those,
which recommend some course of action to be adopted. The former leads to dismissal of
the government or ministry. The later is recommendatory, hence it may or may not be
accepted by the government. Members of parliament are entitled to pass resolutions on
matter of general public interest.
4. Debates and Discussions:- Debates or discussions in the House constitute another
important means for controlling the executive. Houses perpetually go on debating one
thing or other. Discussions, take place over every point of a bill or budget. Every motion
comes under discussion in the house. The inaugural address of the President, the budget
speech, introduction of bill for amendment, introduction of new law, or introduction of
motion or resolution provide opportunity for debates and discussions.
5. Committees of Legislature:- Legislatures are unwieldy bodies and can not meet for the
whole of year. Hence, they appoint committees of their own members, who are specialists
in their sphere of activity and keep constant watch over administration. Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Subordinate legislation, petitions Committee, Committee on Public Service. These committees gather a lot of material, hear expert evidences and frame
conclusions. Such conclusions, which are formed in the form of recommendations, which correct the tone of administration, by improving efficiency and quality of work civil service responds immediately to the recommendations of such committees, because they know
that their opinions are of experts and backed by the full house.

Methods of Executive Control
The executive exercises control over administration through the following methods:-
i. Policy-Making:- The chief executive along with his cabinet, control the administration
through policy-making. All important policy-decisions are taken by the cabinet in every
country. The departments carry on their day to day business, within the policies laid down
by cabinet.
ii. Budgetary System: It is the main responsibility of the chief executive to prepare budget
and to present it to the legislature. After the approval by legislature, the chief executive
implements it through the allocation of funds among various departments, and controls it
by proper utilization of funds.
iii. Recruitment system:- The third system of executive control works through recruitments
of public personnel. This is usually placed in the hands of an independent recruiting agency
like Public Service Commission.

Judicial Control
Judiciary is one of the important external agency, which exercises control over administration. By judicial control means the power of courts to keep the decisions and acts, of administrative officials within the bounds of law. L.D. White explains the importance of judicial control and says, “The system of formal external control officials and their acts which fall primarily into two divisions – that exercised by the legislative bodies and that imposed by the courts. The main purpose of judicial control is to determine the constitutionality and legality of
administrative acts of public administrators, and thus to protect the rights and liberty of citizens from the
wrongful acts of government officials.

Types of Remedies
There are two systems of legal remedies against the unlawful acts of government officials. One is called the Rule of law and the other Administrative law or Driot Administrative; the former system prevails in USA, England and Common Wealth countries including Pakistan, while the latter prevails chiefly in France, and Germany and Sweden. Brief description of each is given below:-
(a) Rule of law System:- Theoretically it means that every body high or low, and official or private is
subject to the same law. The public administrator is not above the law, while performing official duties. Ordinarily the aggrieved party to shall have all those legal remedies against the offending officials; which are known as prerogative writs,

Concepts

�� Control: a process of ensuring the actual activities conform to established standards.

�� Legislative control: the control exercised by legislature, through system of question hours, resolution and motions, debates and discussion.

�� Hierarchical order: type of internal control in which individuals are supervised by superiors.

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"Tumhary nafs ki qeemat Janat hay isy Janat say kam qeemat pey na bechna."
"Jiyo to istarh ky log tum sy milny ko tarsy; maro to istrah k log tumharee mot par royain"