BHURBAN, May 26: Speakers at the two-day forum of ministers of social development from Asia here on Friday stressed improving public accountability to ensure good governance and social development.

The forum organised by the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) in collaboration with Unesco and UNDP was opened by NRB Chairman Daniyal Aziz.

The conference was attended by the ministers for social development from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and other countries.

Judges of the superior judiciary, ombudsmen and stakeholders of public accountability mechanism from Pakistan also attended the event.

Opening the moot, Daniyal Aziz hoped the forum would establish South Asian network of the ministers of social development to ensure improvement of the public accountability mechanism in the South Asia.

He said institutions like Auditor General of Pakistan, public accounts committees and standing committees of the legislatures, federal ombudsman, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were ensuring public accountability in Pakistan.

He further said that Pakistan had adopted very effective steps to ensure public accountability and good governance. In this regard, he also referred to the introduction of the devolution of power plan by President Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Aziz also mentioned the very effective system of house bodies particularly the public accounts committees in the parliament and provincial legislatures.

He, however, admitted that like other democratic countries, in Pakistan there also prevailed a perception that recommendations of these bodies were not acted upon.

The NRB chief said laws had been tightened in Pakistan to ensure public accountability and good governance.

Speaking on the occasion, Bangladeshi Minister for Social Welfare Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed referred to the report of the World Bank Institute (WBI) according to which the accountability trends in developing countries was not very impressive due to limited progress on the institutional quality of governance.

He said decentralisation was recognized as a key measure to advance public accountability.

The conference was also addressed by Sri Lankan minister of social services K.D. Douglas, Maldivian minister for gender and family development Aishath Mohammad Didi, Indian Member Planning Commission Dr Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, Nepalese secretary ministry of social welfare Ravindra Man Joshi, Assistant Director-General Social and Human Sciences Unesco Paris Pierre Sane, Unesco Director Islamabad Jorge Sequeira, senior UNDP adviser Dr Paul Oquist, and senior Unesco adviser Gonzalo Abad Ortiz.

The conference would conclude on Saturday.—PPI