  Social accountability refers to promoting good governance by making ruling
elites more responsive. In Bangladesh, where bureaucracy and legislature
operate with little effective accountability or checks and balances,
traditional horizontal or vertical accountability proved to be very blunt and
weak. In the presence of such faulty mechanisms, ordinary citizens access to
information is frequently denied, and their voices are kept mute. It impasses
the formation of an enabling environment, where activists and civil society
institutions representing the ordinary peoples interest are actively
discouraged. They become vulnerable to retribution. Social accountability, on
the other hand, provides an enabling environment for activists and civil
society institutions to operate freely. Thus, leaders and administration become
more accountable to people. An enabling environment means providing legal
protection, enhancing the availability of information and increasing citizen
voice, strengthening institutional and public service capacities and directing
incentives that foster accountability. Donors allocate significant shares of
resources to encouraging civil society to partner with elites rather than
holding them accountable. This paper advocate for a stronger legal environment
to protect critical civil society and whistle-blowers, and for independent
grant-makers tasked with building strong, self-regulating social accountability
institutions.
  Key Words: Accountability, Legal Protection, Efficiency, Civil Society,
Responsiveness
