IMPROVINGGOVTACCOUNTABILITY

byProfDatukDrJohnAntonyXavier

PROACTIVE MEASURES: The momentum of action being taken to overcome graft in public financialmismanagementmustbemaintained LOUIS Brandeis, the United States Supreme Court justice once said: "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." The relentless pursuit by the AuditorGeneral (AG) of public service mismanagement is a source of that sunlight amid growing despair over the foulups in public expenditure. The uproar followingthe latestAG'sReporthas provokedcallsforholdingministersaccountable for their ministries' bungling. On the other side of the spectrum of opinion, there is the usual resignation to fate that nothing will be done to correct this sorry state as past experience exemplifies. There is some grain of truth to this sense of resignation. Despite similar damning reports on public service misconductover thepast decades, the reports on mishandlingofpublicfinances haverepeatedthemselvesalbeitindifferentsettings. At this waste of public funds, wearejustifiablyupset.Wewantaquicksolutionaquickfixtothe problems besetting public financial management. But as with the case of an aircraft carrier, Leviathan is too big to be turned around quickly. As a case in point, ittook HongKongsome 10 yearstoreducecorruptiontoatolerablelevel. The momentum of action being taken to overcome this perennial problem of public service mismanagement must be maintained. There are five ways to preserve this momentum for the publicservicetoredeemthetrustofthepublic. FIRST, there is the need for speedier and consistent enforcement of sanctions against wrongdoers. Spare the rod and you spoil the child. To be fair, disciplinary action has been institutedagainsterrantpublicemployeesinthepast. However, such actions have been so few and sporadic that these have proved unable to dislodgetheindifferencetofinancialrectitudeamongtherecalcitrant. The law holds the departmental head (the controlling officer), to whom Parliament has appropriated public funds, to be accountable for its proper management. It, therefore, behoves him to discipline hisstaffwhoaredirectlycomplicittoanymaladministrationofpublicfunds.The manager or supervisor under whose supervision the error occurred should not be spared this disciplineeither. Taking disciplinary action across the relevant layers of the hierarchy will send home the message that misconduct will not be tolerated and none will be spared if found to be, even

faintly, responsible foran irregularity in financial management. It will demonstrate greater clarity ofleadershipinpublicexpendituremanagement. SECOND, a clear line of financial reporting and accountability should be specified at the outset of a project. This specification should become part of the existingstandardoperatingprocedure in financial management. It would then be easy to determine who is responsible for an irregularity. The AG is thorough in identifying mismanagement. However, in reporting it his language is understated. Hedoesnotidentifytheculpritsbyname.Andso,hiscriticismisrarelyspecific. Determining clear lines of accountability at the outset of a project willhelp the AG to single out the errant public employee(s) for blame. This blameandshame strategy will cause those inclinedtomisbehaviourtobemorevigilantinconductingfinancialmanagement. THIRD, as in Canada, a controlling officer should develop an action plan to prevent the recurrence of the fault and or minimise its impact. The plan should beexecuted,monitoredand assessedagainsttheintendedoutcomesjointly withtheAG,theTreasuryandthePublicService Department. The progress at the resolution of the faultshouldbereportedtoParliamentandthe public. The execution efficacy of the action plan can become one of the criteria in the AGs fourstar ratingofthefinancialmanagementperformanceofministries. Getting the facts sifted by all parties, including the public, is a good impetus for behavioural changeinthepublicservice. FOURTH, public employees should be ever conscious that integrity is not only about treating public monies as they would treat their own. Integrity is also about speaking the truth to the powersthatbeonmattersoffinancialprobity.Admittedly,thisisahardacttofollow. As a microcosm of the larger society, the public service mirrors societalculture.Andoneofthe aspectsofthatcultureisdeferencetoauthority. Thisvaluehasitsstrengthsasitaugurswellforunityofcommandandrespectforauthority. However, the public service does no one any favour if it does not assert itself toofferimpartial advice in matters ofpublic policy and procurement. If it does not do so, it will only have itself to blameifitishamstrungbythecommercialinterestsofinterestedparties. FIFTH, as the AG audits expost, the public service should audit project execution at a much earlier stage. Such is the practice of the United States Government Accounting Office. The internal audit canplaysuchanearlyinterventionistroletodetectpotentialdisastersand,thereby, saveitsministryandthenationalotofembarrassmentlateron.

As the eponymous hero inShakespeares play Julius Caesar says, The fault, dear Brutus,lies not in our stars, but in ourselvesthat we are underlings. If we have failed to be prudent in our public expenditure, it is not that it was our destiny. Rather, it was our failure to fully apply ourselvestoprudentialmanagement. The public service, therefore, has a bounden duty to protectitsgood name and retain the trust reposed in it by the public through better financial stewardship. Repetition of past mistakes will only sully its reputationasoneoftheregionsmost honest,hardworkingandwellmeaningpublic service.
ProfDatukDrJohnAntonyXavieriswiththeGraduateSchoolofBusiness,UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia

NewStraitsTimes,23October2013
http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/improvinggovtaccountability1.382494