From now on, the ministries are to publicly announce their plans for the next year and then publicly report on the progress of fulfilling the commitments taken. This is a tool for openness which promotes accountability within the ministries and demonstrates their willingness to engage in dialogue and increase the degree of understanding and confidence in the ministries’ activities. An important element of public declarations is the periodic submission of reports on the progress of specific goals and objectives at meetings of boards and public councils under the ministries and on the ministries’ official websites.
Towards the end of February, a meeting of the Government Commission on the Coordination of Open Government Activities prioritised six ministries for submitting a public statement on their goals and objectives: the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Healthcare, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, and the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief. For the moment, three statements have been presented: On March 27, the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief publicly announced its aims and objectives for 2013; on April 3, a statement was issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; and on April 12, the Ministry of Healthcare announced its plans. Very soon public statements will be issued by the remaining pilot ministries, specifically the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media.
Mikhail Abyzov, Minister for Open Government Affairs, said: “The Prime Minister has demonstrated this initiative with a personal example – at the first meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers in May 2012 he set seven priorities for the end of the year and in December summed up their fulfilment in public. Each ministry should work like that. This is a mechanism for guaranteeing accountability and exercising civil control over their activities, including through a system of mandatory reports on the progress of fulfilment of publicly declared goals and objectives.”
