Accountability In Government
Key American ideas And Insights

M.R. Josse

Most of us are, of course, familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s much quoted excerpt from his Gettysburg Address in 1863 wherein he expounded on the significance of "government of the people , by the people and for the people."

ACCOUNTABILITY: Lincoln believed, as indeed did the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution, that for the people to truly govern, government must be accountable—not merely through periodic elections but through a complex of safeguards, including those that respond to continually evolving realities.

Below we take up a few key ideas and insights on the theme of accountability in government provided in illuminating write-ups by distinguished Americans in the August 2000 Electronic Journal of the US Department of State and made available by the USIS.

Firstly, as the central theme of the Journal underlines, "a written constitution assuring accountability is an insufficient guarantee – that promoting accountability also requires a rededication of purpose by each generation as it responds to changing circumstances."

Secondly, holding government accountable is naturally difficult, if not impossble, without essential information which arm citizens with the ability to access official conduct.

While in any democracy the most salient instrument to ensure governmental accountability is the right of citizens to control their government through elections, polls are not the only means for doing so.

In fact, according to law professor, Robert S. Barker, "the right of citizens to take action against those officials whose conduct the citizens consider unsatisfactory is an essential element, perhaps the essential element of democracy."

Notably, access to information permits citizens to challenge government actions which with they disagree and to seek redress for official misconduct. James Madison, fourth president of the United States, clearly saw the relationship between democracy, accountability and access to government information.

In Madison’s opinion, quoted by law professor, Robert G. Vaughn: "A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both."

In America, the best known and most effective means of ensuring open government is the federal Freedom of Information Act which requires that some types of documents be made available without request and placed in public reading rooms – with nine exemptions to disclosure including those "properly classified in the interest of national defence or foreign policy."

PRESS AS WATCHDOG: Professor of American Studies, Robert Schmuhl, focuses on "external watchdogs" of government accountability, including the press, beginning with this penetrating quotation from Alexis de Touqueville’s seminal 19th century study Democracy in America:

"The more I observe the main effects of a free press, the more convinced am I that, in the modern world, freedom of the press is the principal and, so to say, the constitutive element in freedom."

While Schmuhl refers to Madison’s view that "a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives", he adds the caveat that, today in America, "although access to political and government news and reports is now relatively easy, sorting through the volume of daily information poses a serious, potentially debilitating problem for the average citizen."

In that connection, he refers to noted ABC television journalist Ted Koppel’s incandescent remarks in a recent lecture:

"There are at least two kinds of extreme ignorance. For centuries we have been familiar with the first kind – an ignorance that covered most of the world like a dark cloud; an ignorance that exists in a vacuum, where no information is available.

The second kind is a more recent phenomenon, one which presents itself in the form of a paradox. The second from of ignorance exists in a world of electionic anarchy, where so much information abounds that the mind doesn’t know what to believe. Information does not always lead to knowledge; and knowledge is rarely enough to poduct wisdom."

Valuable as the press is as a watchdog on government accountability, Schmulh underlines the need to recognise the limitations in relying on the media alone for guidance.

In that context, he also quotes Walter Lippman, one of America’s greatest columnists and political thinkers:

"The press is no substitute for institutions. It is like a beam of a searchlight that moves restlessly about, bringing one episode and then another out of darkness into vision. Men cannot do the work of the world by this light alone. They cannot govern society by episodes, incidents and eruptions. It is only when they work by steady light of their own that the press, when it is turned upon them, reveals a situation intelligible enough for a popular decision."

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTON: "Whistleblower" protection laws, a feature of the American democracy ladscape, are another vital element in ensuring government accountability, the most important of which is the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989.

(Whistleblowers are individuals who are willing to risk reputation and livelihood to expose government malfeasance by blowing the whistle on illicit government actions.)

Clearly, such legislation would be beneficial to all democracies, ours being no exception. Other American intiatives that hold great promise for democracies the world over are those dealing with promoting greater ethics in government through codes of conduct, conflict of interest and financial disclosures. Reliance on the written constitution is of course necessary; it by no means sufficient to ensure accountability in government.

Renewable Energy Holds Promises

By Mohan K.C.

WATER and energy are what makes a modern economy vibrant. The case of industries shifting their site from one place or country to another is quite common and it often relate to energy demands rather than the policies and incentives provided by the government. There is no denial that energy is the driving force behind any industry and it is to prosper the needs must be met.

Scope

Nepal may not have developed very much in the industrial field yet there is enough scope. The government must not only formulate more conducive policies but also assure that the energy demands are fulfilled. It must not be a case of using (as past experience shows) the highly subsidised kerosene instead of furnace oil or other alternative. Of course, the higher price rate of kerosene now in force removes the need for doing something else but still the fact remains that the dependence on imports is still high in the energy sector.

This does not mean that there is a lack of alternatives but greater thrust has to be given for the development of renewable sources of energy which include solar and wind power besides hydroelectricity.

Just gloating over the hydro potential of Nepal is not enough. The need is to tap the potential which is not an easy task. The debate here has always been on big, medium or micro-hydel projects. The sudden spurt in micro projects in this direction suggests that there is a lot of scope and can be handled by local technicians and resources mainly the funding aspect.

As the high investment rate for hydel projects is a deterrent in a poor country like Nepal there is every need to supplement the power needs through other alternative sources of energy like solar power. There may be deficiencies in the mass utilisation of solar energy but there are ample evidences to suggest that it holds promises only if genuine efforts are made and the government policies and programmes are conducive.

When it comes to technical expertise, Nepal is not behind. There are enough capable persons to man the scene if given then opportunity. An example of which is the setting up of the Centre of Energy Studies under Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Engineering. Though it has been a late starter, its establishment itself suggests that seriousness in this regard is present in the planners. This is shown by the acquaintance programmes regarding renewable energy that have been held for lawmakers, journalists and others.

A visit to the Bode-Tikune village of Bhaktapur district is itself proof enough that solar energy, a renewable form of energy, can do much to enhance the living standard of the villagers. The village, though as a model only at the moment, has its drinking water delivered after it is pumped from a depth of some 300 metres through 40 kilowatt power generated by solar panels. It is a unique experiment that has succeeded and that too without resorting to either fossil fuels which are imported and costly not by using electricity which is in short supply.

This is nut one example of how the local needs of water can be fulfilled by opting for solar energy of which there is no dearth. The only need is to develop technology that can suit the needs of the different parts of the country for which further intensive research is necessary. Experts say that unlike some other countries, Nepal has more sunny clear days a year. This is fit enough reason why there is every need to give a boost to solar energy sector. The government too has provided some incentive in this direction by meeting almost 50 per cent of the actual cost in rural areas, as it has been felt that the initial investment is somewhat high.

The high initial cost is offset in the long run as the maintenance and repair costs are minimum and rays of the sun are free of cost. So there is much to be gained once the solar energy generating unit has been installed. But the initiative has to be taken on a war footing as the rising prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG presents a frightening scenario. The present increase in POL prices is possibly one in the series. So to eliminate dependency on imports it will be viable to go for renewable energy like solar power on a grand scale.

While talking about the fulfilment of the water needs of Bode-Tikune village, meeting the water requirement of the Kathmandu valley as such and of the metropolis in particular is a gargantuan proposition. As the experts have suggested utilising solar power to pump water from ground water tables is feasible. They suggest that eight or ten such deep wells would be enough to meet the water needs of Kathmandu. But saying is one thing and the materialisation aspect is another, there has to be vigorous attempt to go for solar power not only for meeting the energy needs but also assist in supplying water to the people on a grand scale.

Ripe Time

Solar power will be a way out to reduce the dependency on petrol or diesel as sources of energy. Besides, huge initial investment will be done away with as in the case of hydel projects.

The time is ripe to go for renewable sources of energy as the country does not lack in expertise or models in the direction. The only fact is that initiatives have to be taken boldly.

A bitter-sweet Dashain

By Rishi Ram Paudyal

WHEN Dashain,the great festival of Nepalese people was two or three months away, people had began to talk a lot about the greatest festival. Some talked about their plans and others threw light on its importance. But this scribe remained silent. Grave and speechless was I because I didn’t have anything exciting to talk about.

I knew I was going home —but home is not always sweet for me. Home is both sweet and bitter for me. It is sweet because it is the place where I can be with my parents and other members of the family. It is bitter because it is the place where I can’t meet the expectations of my family especially the old parents. It is enjoyable to expect something from someone whom you love and think s/he is capable of doing something. But the expectations that are never fulfilled and not likely to be materalised is bitter.

The nearer the Dashain drew, the more sour my face turned. I was living in a city where life is busy and hard. A month passed like a day and a year like a fortnight. I had hoped this year would not be like the past ones and it would last long. But it continued to be just like one of the past years. And it didn’t last long either. Dashain came before I was ready to celebrate it. I had yet to earn money for various things. I had to pay the rent, buy clothes for the family, and save some money for meat. I also had to set some money aside to pay the high interest of the loans, my father had taken.

In every poor village, there are at least a few landlords who charge high interest on the loans they provide to the poor villagers. The innocent people of the village have no other choice than to agree to the interest rate as they don’t have other source of income to support themselves. Every year new loan bond is made calculating all the interest on loans. This makes a huge sum of debt and the poor villagers are forced to sell the land and property in the long run.

Whatever the condition I was in I made my way to my village. The village had changed physically and the villagers mentally. Rich people in the village had rebuilt their houses and they had paved the paths with stones. They looked suspicious and unkind. They didn’t help each other but loved to talk ill of others. Once a small boy of about four years of age got burnt by steaming hot tea and the man who had medicine at home was reluctant to help. On the same day the very man’s young son fell and broke his hand while helping his brother on the swing. This made the other family happy. The villagers seemed to enjoy watching each other’s suffering and wishing something bad to happen to others.

Dashain came and everything took place just for the sake of formality. The juniors didn’t like the elders of the other families and the elders didn’t give much blessing to the young people of the other families.

The much talked about and anticipated Dashain festival came to an end and I made my way to the city.

I don’t want to talk much about Dashain because I still don’t enjoy doing so. If anybody does I become grave and speechless because I still have that Dashain hangover. I can still see that very young burnt child and the other boy whose hand is now plastered.