What an Accountability Scorecard Measures

The checklist

1. Published budget records — the main budget document for the period, published online or in a public gazette.
2. Minutes of public meetings — the written record of a town hall, committee hearing, or public consultation, showing the date, attendees, and topics discussed.
3. Attendance registers for officials — a list showing which elected officials or appointed officers were present at scheduled public meetings.
4. Written responses to public questions — letters or memoranda from a public office answering specific questions submitted by citizens or groups.
5. Procurement award notices — published notices naming the winner of a public contract, the contract value, and the awarding office.
6. Project completion reports — documents stating a public project is finished, with the final cost and the office responsible.
7. Asset declaration summaries — the public summary of an official's declared assets, as published by the relevant oversight body.
8. Public audit reports — the audit report for the public office, published by the Auditor-General's office or an internal audit unit.

Why each item matters

Published budget records. Without a published budget, a citizen cannot see how public money is allocated. The scorecard records whether the document exists in the public domain.

Minutes of public meetings. Minutes provide evidence that a discussion happened. Their absence means there is no public record of decisions taken or questions asked.

Attendance registers for officials. A register shows which officials took part in public business. It is a basic record of participation.

Written responses to public questions. A written answer is a tangible record of an office engaging with a query. It moves a discussion from verbal exchange to documented fact.

Procurement award notices. These notices are a legal requirement. Their publication allows anyone to see who received public funds for a contract.

Project completion reports. A completion report closes the loop on a spending item. Its absence leaves a project's status unclear.

Asset declaration summaries. Published summaries are a legal mechanism for transparency. The scorecard records their availability, not their content.

Public audit reports. An audit report is the official record of financial examination. Its publication is the final step in the annual spending cycle.

What to do with the completed list

A reader uses the completed scorecard as a reference document. It shows which items a public office produced in a monitoring period. The reader can compare scorecards across different offices or across different time periods. WATAG publishes the scorecard so any citizen can see the same set of records.