Transparency as a Factor in Effective Leadership
in Contemporary African Leaders
Survey Questionnaire
Instructions: Please place a check mark on your preferred answer for all the items.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Political Transparency
1. Government leaders should embody the value of trustworthiness.
2. Government leaders should embody the value of honesty.
3. Government leaders should practice openness in their political affairs.
4. Government leaders should embody the value of responsibility.
5. Government leaders should embody the value of accountability to their constituents.
Legal Transparency
1. Laws providing for stakeholders’ access to relevant and accurate information are important in governance.
2. Laws on freedom of information are important to governance.
3. Laws providing remedies for the infringement of freedom of information are important in governance.
4. Laws prohibiting corruption in all its forms are important in governance.
5. Laws providing penalties for the different forms of corruption are important in governance.
Economic Transparency
1. Terms and conditions of contracts with private entities should be made accessible to the public.
2. Justifications for engaging in contracts with private entities should be made accessible to the public.
3. Terms and conditions of bilateral or multilateral contracts should be made accessible to the public.
4. Justification for engaging in contracts with international public entities should be made accessible to the public.
5. Information on economic policies and programs should be made accessible to stakeholders.
Fiscal Transparency
1. The annual budget of the government should be presented to the public.
2. Justifications for the annual budget should also be presented to the public.
3. Government officials have to make annual reports for their expenditures of their respective budget allocations.
4. Reports on expenditures of government officials should be made accessible to the public.
5. Results of the annual audit should be presented to the public.
Information Transparency
1. Information on government affairs should be made available to stakeholders.
2. Channels of accessing information such as print, audio-visual, or online media should be improved.
3. The flow of updated information should be increased.
4. The scope of information accessible to stakeholders should be expanded.
5. The accuracy of information made accessible to stakeholders should be ensured.
2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Transparency
Advantages of Transparency
Disadvantages of Transparency
1. Directly observing the actions of government representatives makes it easier for the people to hold their leaders accountable.
Direct observers can end up unduly complicating and meddling in political affairs.
2. Public deliberations can support the building of consensus on preferred policies.
Involvement of the public in decision-making could complicate the decision-making process when individual interests are raised.
3. Public information facilitates the relationship building of the government with its constituents.
Public information could have an opposite effect depending upon the type of information and the extent that information is perceived by the public.
4. Openness determines the actions of representative in favour of or against the popular opinion.
Openness could also constrain representatives from fulfilling their duties especially when they stand against the popular opinion.
5. Public information could support the facilitation of radical decisions and reforms with representatives communicating their justifications for these decisions.
The accuracy of information presented to the public can suffer when representatives resort to misinformation to seek public acceptance of radical decisions.
6. Public deliberation enhances the quality of decision-making by facilitating consensus building.
Publicity could also adversely affect the quality of decision-making when representatives are prevented from expressing true opinions.
7. Transparency could enhance the reputation of a government and its leaders.
Transparency could also destroy the public reputation of a government and its leaders that could negatively affect a government’s following.
8. The benefits of transparency are achieved in forms of government inclined towards popular will.
Dependent on the form of government.
9. The advantages of transparency are achieved by government divisions organised in the context of balance of power to prevent abuse.
Dependent on the balance of power.
10. Achieving the objectives of transparency occurs under political structures intended to build strong relationships between the government and its constituents.
Dependent on the effectiveness of the political structure.
11. Transparency works when supported by legislations and justice system.
Transparency involves costs.
12. Transparency can facilitate political reforms.
Transparency is capable of being abused for personal or political gains.
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