Accountability is a human right. Parliament must protect it

Today, 30 June, as South Africa marks the International Day of Parliamentarism and public demonstrations take place in parts of the country, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says the conversation should extend beyond politics to a more fundamental principle: accountability is a human right.

Observed globally under the theme Bringing Human Rights into Focus, the day serves as a reminder that Parliament’s constitutional responsibility reaches far beyond debating legislation. Its most important role is to ensure that the government is held accountable for the decisions it makes, the money it spends, and the services it delivers.

“Human rights are often discussed in terms of constitutions and legislation,” says OUTA Parliamentary Engagement and Research Manager, Dr Rachel Fischer.

“But rights are ultimately experienced in people’s daily lives. When government fails to deliver services, wastes public money or allows corruption to flourish, people’s rights are affected. That is why accountability itself is a human right.”

Accountability is the mechanism that turns constitutional rights into reality. Without effective oversight, rights guaranteed on paper can quickly be undermined by corruption, maladministration, weak institutions and poor service delivery.

For OUTA, this is not an abstract constitutional debate.

The right to education is undermined when students cannot access the financial support they have been promised.​

The right to dignity is compromised when whistleblowers expose corruption but receive little protection in return.

The rights to healthcare, education, and economic opportunity suffer when electricity failures, collapsing municipalities, and poor governance disrupt essential services.

The right to economic participation is weakened when transport becomes unaffordable or major infrastructure decisions are made without transparency and meaningful public participation.

“These are not simply governance failures,” says Dr Fischer.

“They are accountability failures. And accountability failures become human rights failures.”

OUTA says Parliament occupies a central place in South Africa’s accountability ecosystem because it exists to scrutinise government, oversee public expenditure and ensure public institutions fulfil their constitutional mandates.

“When Parliament performs that role effectively, taxpayers are protected, public money is better spent, and citizens have greater confidence that government is acting in the public interest,” says Dr Fischer.

“When Parliament fails, the consequences are felt in classrooms, hospitals, municipalities, businesses and households across the country.”

OUTA says its work on NSFAS, whistleblower protection, AARTO, municipal governance, transport policy and public procurement demonstrates why strong parliamentary oversight remains essential to protecting both taxpayers and citizens’ rights.

From public accountability to public participation

Strengthening democracy requires more than demanding accountability. It requires giving citizens practical ways to monitor it.

That is why OUTA, in partnership with the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) and OpenUp, developed ParliMeter, a civic technology platform, co-funded by the European Union (EU), that makes Parliament’s oversight role easier to understand by helping citizens follow committee work, parliamentary oversight and the performance of elected representatives.

“The question should not simply be, ‘What is Parliament doing?’” says Dr Fischer.

“The more important question is, ‘How is Parliament’s performance affecting the rights and daily lives of South Africans?’”

She says meaningful public participation should not begin and end with elections.

“Citizens should be able to see whether Parliament is asking the right questions, responding to governance failures and ensuring public institutions are held accountable. Transparency strengthens accountability, and accountability strengthens democracy.”

As South Africa reflects on the importance of accountable governance, OUTA says Parliament should remember that oversight is not simply an administrative responsibility. It is one of the country’s strongest safeguards against corruption, waste and the erosion of human rights.

“South Africans should not have to rely on litigation, civil society or public pressure to secure accountability,” says Dr Fischer.

“Those mechanisms are essential in any democracy, but Parliament is the institution designed to prevent government failure in the first place. When Parliament asks the difficult questions and insists on answers, taxpayers are protected, public institutions improve, and people’s rights are strengthened.” 

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