Response to James Mitchell: Why is Reforming Holyrood so Hard?

In the 21st Century social accountability has become one of the preconditions to create a more transparent and representative government and aid public institutions in meeting the expectations of the population through empowering citizens which is necessary for effective and sustainable development. Social accountability of the elected representatives at the rural level may help the government increase service quality, empower rural citizens, and promote good governance. At present Bangladesh, mostly known as the “Development Surprise”, has leaped towards lower middle-income country status from a poor developing one within four decades of its decisive victory. In this stage of growth and development, the persistence of social accountability at the rural local government would ensure the attainment of sustainable development through ensuring demand-based service delivery. Against this backdrop, this paper intends to explore the present status of social accountability mechanisms at the Union Parishad which is the lowest tier of rural local governance in Bangladesh. Based on the analysis, several recommendations for the way forward have been summarized. Secondary data analysis and empirical knowledge have been exerted which would refer to a clear view of the current status of social accountability at the grass root level. The first section mentions the importance of social accountability at the union level based on theoretical analysis. Existing mechanisms to ensure social accountability at Union Parishad have been delineated in the second section. The third section develops a compact understanding of the current status of social accountability at the Union Parishad level. The fourth section will share a discussion of the findings, recommendations, and conclusion. This study finds that the lack of interest among Union Parishad Functionaries, avoidance by citizens, irregularities in committee formation, irregular meetings, lack of resources, clientelism and Govt. supervision, etc. have made the social accountability mechanisms at the rural local government ineffective and fruitless. The political willingness of the Government, GO-NGO collaboration, allocation of resources to rural local government, awareness raising among citizens, educating citizens politically, and ensuring proper training for the officials in the Union Parishad can play an important role to revive social accountability through deliberative forums and committees in the rural local government.

GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup('ISBN:9780748620050); This book fills an important gap in our understanding of Scottish local government in the dynamic new context of the Scottish Parliament. It provides academics, students, practitioners, journalists and others with a broad-ranging yet detailed account, not just of how local government actually works, but also the main political issues and debates surrounding its multi-faceted roles in contemporary Scotland. It covers issues such as The nature and purpose of Scottish local government The strengths and weaknesses of unitary authorities Modernisation of political management arrangements Roles and remuneration for councillors Electoral reform and new methods for encouraging citizen participation The growth of non-elected local governance Best Value and the rise of the performance culture The politics of council finance: including business rates, Council Tax and PFI The wider context of central-local relations, multi-level governance and globalization The book contains a wealth of facts, figures, tables and diagrams. The accompanying analysis draws, in a supportive way, on literature from the traditions of public policy, public administration and political science. The end result is an original, modern, accessible analysis of Scottish local government in the context of devolution. A particular focus throughout is assessing the 'distinctiveness' of Scottish local government compared to the rest of the UK, and addressing the question - to what extent has devolution made a difference to Scottish local government? Key Features Only modern work of its kind - fills a gap in our understanding of local government in Scotland Accessible - offers the facts of how Scottish local government works, combined with incisive political analysis Places Scottish local government in the context of the Scottish Parliament, Westminster, the EU and an increasingly globalised world "

This research aims to understand and describe village government management in the development of the tourism sector in Biting Village, Badegan District, Ponorogo Regency. The concept of Good Village Governance is used as the theoretical foundation, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and community participation as the main principles. This study employs a qualitative approach with data collection techniques through semi-structured interviews and documentation. Data analysis is conducted using the data analysis model from Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014), including data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing. The results show that transparency is realized through the dissemination of information on policies, programs, and activities through various communication platforms. Accountability is evident in the monthly reporting of tourism funds and periodic evaluations. Community participation is enhanced through Village Deliberation forums and training involving various community components. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of transparency, accountability, and community participation in managing the tourism sector to achieve good and sustainable governance.