Towards an enabling environment for social accountability in Bangladesh

TL;DR

This paper discusses how creating an enabling environment in Bangladesh can improve social accountability by protecting civil society, increasing transparency, and fostering responsible governance.

Contribution

It advocates for legal protections and independent institutions to strengthen social accountability and civil society engagement in Bangladesh.

Findings

Legal protections are crucial for civil society and whistle-blowers.

Independent grant-makers can build self-regulating accountability institutions.

Enhanced information access increases citizen participation.

Abstract

Social accountability refers to promoting good governance by making ruling elites more responsive. In Bangladesh, where bureaucracy and legislature operate with little effective accountability or checks and balances, traditional horizontal or vertical accountability proved to be very blunt and weak. In the presence of such faulty mechanisms, ordinary citizens access to information is frequently denied, and their voices are kept mute. It impasses the formation of an enabling environment, where activists and civil society institutions representing the ordinary peoples interest are actively discouraged. They become vulnerable to retribution. Social accountability, on the other hand, provides an enabling environment for activists and civil society institutions to operate freely. Thus, leaders and administration become more accountable to people. An enabling environment means providing legal protection, enhancing the availability of information and increasing citizen voice, strengthening institutional and public service capacities and directing incentives that foster accountability. Donors allocate significant shares of resources to encouraging civil society to partner with elites rather than holding them accountable. This paper advocate for a stronger legal environment to protect critical civil society and whistle-blowers, and for independent grant-makers tasked with building strong, self-regulating social accountability institutions. Key Words: Accountability, Legal Protection, Efficiency, Civil Society, Responsiveness