ATI, Social/Economic
Rights, & Development
Rob Jenkins
Professor of Political Science
University of London
r.jenkins@bbk.ac.uk
Two points re: linkage between ATI and
Social/Economic Rights
1. Accountability systems are the key point
of interface between ATI & realizing
soc/econ rights (ie, Human Development)
2. Sector-specific ‘information regimes,’
linked (via statute) to accountability
institutions, are needed to help realize
social/econ rights.
Point No. 1:
How ATI Supports Soc/Econ Rights
(Via Accountability Systems)
Access
to
Information
Accountability
Systems
(Regulatory agencies,
Oversight institutions,
Elections/election
commissions)
Realizing
Soc/Econ
Rights
First Arrow:
ATI --> Accountability
 Information is built-in to definition of
accountability, which has 2 parts:
1.
2.
Answerability: requiring power holders to account for
actions (to specialized bodies AND to public)
 Implies power-holders sharing basic information
about actions (official documents)
 But also requires them to engage in public ‘reasongiving,’ justifying decisions/actions in light of official
documentary record.
Enforcement: permitting sanctions against power
holders if performance/justifications found wanting.
Second Arrow:
Accountability Systems --> Soc/Econ Rights
1. Accountability systems are key mechanisms
for operationalizing soc/econ rights
 They prevent human development deprivations
(another way of conceiving soc/ec rights)
2
Where rights are not respected, an
accountability institution has failed
 Horizontal: parliamentary oversight, human
rights commissions, anti-corruption bureaux
 Vertical: Elections, civil society pressure.
Point No. 2:
For ATI to Enhance Accountability
(and thus Improve Human Development)…
Sector/Policy-Specific ‘Info Regimes’ are Critical
Sector/Policy-Specific ‘Info Regimes’ Should be:
Built into the Sector/Policy Legislation
Highly-detailed (re: what information, from whom,
when released, how to be used)
Linked to Accountability Institutions that Include
People in ‘Direct’ / ‘Hybrid’ / ‘Diagonal’ Mode
Illustrating the Point:
A Story in Two ‘Acts’
Two cases from India:
Best Practice: National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (NREGA) 2005
(Possibly) Worst Practice: Special Economic
Zone Act 2005
Both Passed in Same Year as India’s
Breakthrough Right to Information Act 2005
India’s NREGA, 2005
Flagship Government Initiative to Counter
‘Jobless Growth’
New Deal Style Employment Program: Paving
Roads, Building Schools, Digging Irrigation Canals
Guarantees 100 days work to poor rural
households (making it a justiciable right)
ATI is Central to Scheme’s Operation (because RTI
Activists Crafted Act/Scheme)
RESULT: Despite Inevitable Problems…a Huge Step
forward for protecting vulnerable people
Learning from Best Practice:
Features of NREGA Info Regime
Info Available at All Program Stages
Worker Registration --> Auditing of Completed Works
Specialized IT Platform to Manage Information Flow
Facilitates Access, Reduces Scope for Tampering
Ensures Clarity Re: Formats of Information and Level of
Detail Required
Info Availability Directly Linked to Accountability
Institutions
Requirement that Information be Collectively Verified by
Local Government Popular Assemblies
India’s SEZ Act, 2005
Goal: Increase FDI/Trade/Growth by Creating Dutyfree Enclaves with lighter-than-usual regulations
Facilitates Private Developers to Acquire Land and
Obtain Administrative Clearances to Develop
Infrastructure Requirements
RESULT: Policy (and especially Implementation)
Hugely Controversial
Charges of corruption widespread and plausible
Activist confrontations with police have resulted in
numerous deaths
Learning from Worst Practice:
Features of SEZ Act, 2005
Unlike NREGA, no ATI Provisions (let alone ‘Info
Regime’)
ATI Missing at All Stages of Policy implementation:
Approval of Projects / Development of Zones
Actual Governance of Zones Once Up and Running (very
worrying for what are industrial townships)
Unlike NREGA, no direct links to Accountability
Institutions…
Actually detaches ‘Special’ Zones from Ordinary
Accountability Systems
Conclusion
Accountability systems crucial to realising
social/economic rights (ie human
development improvements)
ATI is a necessary part of making
accountability institutions work better
To improve accountability systems (and thus
human development), ATI must be designed
into legal framework underlying
sector/policy work.