Public Accountability and Rural Development (A Study of Ebonyi State Local Government Councils, 2006-2014)

SOURCE:

Faculty: Management Sciences
Department: Public Administration

CONTRIBUTORS:

Nwali, T. B.
Chukwuemeka, E.

ABSTRACT:

This study examined the effects of Public Accountability on Rural Development in Ebonyi State Local Government Councils, (2006-2014). Local government in Nigeria, especially in Ebonyi State has become the means through which operators such as politicians and bureaucrats at the local levels enrich themselves through diversion of public fund to personal accounts for personal use and manipulation of budgetary process which has in most cases led to budget perversions at the local levels. The specific objectives are: to determine the extent at which budget perversion during implementation affects rural development in Ebonyi State; to examine the degree at which compliance to due process in contract award affects Rural Development in Ebonyi State; and to determine the level at which Legislative Oversight on Local Government affects Rural Development in Ebonyi State. The adopted design for the study is the Descriptive Survey while the researcher adopted sample size of 400 which were determined using Taro Yamane formular. Primary data complemented secondary data to explain and analyze phenomena relating to public accountability and rural development in Ebonyi State. The study anchored on Goldberg (1965) Commander Theory. Test re-test of testing reliability of instrument was employed and Cronbach Alpha method was used to establish the reliability coefficient values of the item statements in the questionnaire. The research questions were answered using statistically weighted mean and hypotheses were tested using Pearson Movement Correlation. Findings of the study show among other things that: Perversion of budget during implementation by local government leaders created impediments to public accountability and rural development in Ebonyi State. This study therefore recommended among other things that:- There should be a mechanism designed to ensue that budgets are not perverted during implementation by leaders at the local levels in Ebonyi State. This mechanism can be a combination of efforts of the Local Government Audit Department, Office of the State Auditor-General, the Press and Civil Society Organizations who should rise up to their statutory duties of overseeing the Local Government accounts and expenditure profiles through various audit and press alarms. Also, there should be stringent measures to ensure adherence to due process in contract award in the Local Government system in Ebonyi State. This stringent measure can come in form of joint taskforce of Public Accounts Committee of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, the Antigraft Agencies and Security Agents who would from time to time monitor the monthly allocations to the local councils in the state in order to ensure that Local Government leaders are accountable to the people through provision of various rural development projects.