THE BusinessDictionary.com defines accountability as “The obligation of an individual or organisation to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.”In local parlance, accountability is everything: It is the foundation of truth, and leads to honesty, improved relations and good governance, which are being sought after by the people. Where one is accountable, he/she would be a person to keep his/her word; be transparent in his/her dealings, and would respect the need to treat others and their property with due regard.

At the societal level, given that Man has the inherent characteristics to be selfish and destructive, the establishment of rules is grounded in the belief that there is need to avoid such tendencies rising to the fore, the aggression of the few must be minimised to protect the majority, and conduct must be regulated.

In society, there are tiers of power, authority, and shared responsibilities between different branches of government. The objectives are to minimise or limit corruption. Where, for years, this society has had instances where rules, laws and ethical conduct have been sacrificed at the altar of expediency and some who are connected or in the corridors of power sense that they are accountable to no one, a brutish/uncivilised outlook to life is not only presented, but also hurts efforts at development. Further, these attitudes are informed by scant regard or total disregard for the fact that rules and laws are put in place to lay down among men the common standard of what constitutes fair and just treatment beyond and in addition to religion.

At the level of public office, elected and appointed, where laws such as the Integrity Commission exist, outside of these seeking to regulate the conduct of officials within the framework of established guidelines, when officials are so prepared to subject themselves, they communicate to the society that they are not above the people.

Conversely, when society holds the view, real or perceived, that public officials have no regard for the laws established to hold them to account, it creates a situation of wanting to follow suit.

The people of this society have, for years, clamoured for accountability to be restored in the management of the affairs of State and by those who hold public office. This is not to say that the people have ignored the importance of accountability in other sectors, but they recognise that they have come to accept that the public sector must set the tone and standard for others to emulate.

It should be said that the absence of public accountability is not for the want of the absence of laws, but more that of the disregard for the laws and the apparent unwillingness on the part of those tasked with enforcing the laws to do so. These do disservice to the society and help to reinforce the distrust between citizens and leaders or politicians. They also hinder Guyana from ever achieving its true economic, moral and social potentials, and Guyanese their right to prosperity.

By and large, the people are not interested in witch-hunting or recrimination, as some would want it to be believed. In the presence of overwhelming public evidence, the people are smart enough to recognize that claims of witch-hunting and recrimination are political ploys and attempts at deflecting from the issues at hand. Citizens are interested in improving their quality of life and the standard of government, both of which share the common core of accountability, and they want these pursued unhindered. The ‘do as I say but not as I do’ attitude, or absence of leadership by example, will not work because it hurts efforts at restoring and ensuring accountability. Daily reports of misconduct and the open engagement of practices of disregard for laws by those who see themselves as untouchable send to society the wrong signal of the importance paid to accountability.

To ask of, and expect, the ordinary man and woman to act in accordance with established rules and laws when such requests and expectations don’t hold true for all will only cause the society to continue to face avoidable challenges and inevitably slide backwards.

Further, there can be no holistic development when the playing field is not level, or where some are felt to be more equal than others. Accountability across the board matters, given that it creates personal, communal and nationwide responsibility. It also exemplifies looking beyond one’s own needs, which can be self-serving, to looking at the betterment of all. This, ideally, is the only path to Guyana’s true development, and it ought to be pursued with befitting urgency.