Meanwhile, along with the resources being assured majority of the representatives in the conference also raised their concern over transparency and accountability issues. This has necessitated the government to strongly act upon developing mechanism that would ensure proper use of money. Previously, INGOs, donor community and supporters were reluctant to put money on the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund with concerns of accountability, transparency and openness of the expenditure process. Thus, it is the right time for the government to show its compliance to the principle of transparency and openness.Currently, government transparency and openness has been the crucial agenda globally and different initiatives have been taken to promote them. Among such, Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a contemporary and widely accepted initiative for making government open and transparent. OGP is a multilateral initiative formally launched in 2011 by eight founding governments; Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States by endorsing the Open Government Declaration and announcing their country action plans.
OGP has a fundamental value that says, "Citizens want more transparent, effective and accountable government with institutions that empower people and are responsive to their aspirations". It aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency and accountability, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. By now, the partnership has grown to 65 countries representing a third of the world's population.
OGP has four fundamental principles: Transparency, Accountability, Citizen Participation, and Technology and Innovation. Open, comprehensive, timely and free availability of information on government activities and decisions to the public with basic open data standards are transparency principles. Rules, regulations, and mechanisms in place call upon government actors to justify their actions, act upon criticisms and accept responsibility for failure to perform. All this fall under accountability principles.
Opportunity for citizen to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to more responsive and effective governance are the principles of citizen participation. Government's responsibility to embrace the importance of new technologies in driving innovation, providing citizens with open access to technology, and increasing their capacity to use technology is the principle of technology and innovation.
OGP-eligible governments must exhibit a commitment to open government in four key pillars, as measured by objective indicators and validated by independent experts. Fiscal Transparency is the first pillar which requires the timely publication of essential budget documents forming the basic building block of budget accountability. Commitment on Right to Information by drafting law which guarantees public's Right to Information essentially encompassing the spirit and practice of open government is the second pillar.
Rules that require public disclosure of income and assets for elected and senior public officials is an essential criterion to an open and accountable government. This is the third pillar which OGP terms as Income and Asset Disclosure. Citizen Engagement is the fourth pillar where Open Government requires basic protections for civil liberties and openness to citizen engagement and participation in policymaking and governance.
OGP is a global initiative and to be part of it is beneficial for any government around the globe. It is not only the agenda of developed countries; many developing countries have already opted for the OGP and become members of the OGP Committee. It provides opportunity for the member countries to explore resource, expertise, knowledge, cooperation and support to lead to transparent and open government process.
It is high time for Nepal to adopt OGP principles to create an environment for raising resources for the reconstruction. Nepal has a score of 81 out of 100 where 75 is the score to be eligible for becoming an OGP member country. We can adopt OGP declaration without having any immediate obligations. If Nepal adopts the OGP, this will increase the trust of international community on the government. This trust can lead to the generation of more support and resources needed for the reconstruction and rehabilitation activities post-quake.
It will be an opportunity for the government to express the commitment towards Open Government standards which can address the concerns of international community about transparency, openness and accountability. In the situation where the national laws, regulations and policies in terms of transparency and openness have become ambiguous, the adoption of the OGP principles will facilitate transparency.
Many international investors assess the situation before selecting destinations for foreign investments. Hence, being member of the OGP community opens the opportunity to invite such international investors which will help in economic development and employment generation in the country. Adoption of OGP Principles is an opportunity to break the distrust and mistrust between government and development partners as well as donor community and prove false the allegation of corruption. Being OGP member opens opportunities for increased access over resources, knowledge and newer technologies and innovations.
The author is a Right to Information and Anti-Corruption Campaigner
aryaltanka@gmail.com
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