According to Cohen and Eimicke (2008), a contract is defined as an agreement between two or more parties where it is written as well as enforced by law. In other words, it is considered a legal document. One aspect that plays a vital role when contracting is accountability as well as responsibility which if not considered then the contract will go wrong. There are several ways to ensure that accountability is enforced in government contracting. One is to ensure that there is total transparency throughout the entire agreement and responsiveness (Mulgan, 1997). Generally, the primary role of the contractor is to ensure that they deliver the social service contracted to them. An excellent example of a public sector contract in the area of social services delivery that went wrong is the Atlanta Water Contract which never met the required expectations. The contract was designed to provide clean water to residents as well as offer proper waste treatment measures that would benefit the community. The government funded the project through the city budget. However, there are records of underinvestment, lack of maintenance, as well as understaffing and leaks (Cohen & Eimicke2008). Additionally, there are accounts of corruption which is seen through the inspector taking bribes and employees who are only taking kickbacks instead of showing commitment to their work. This is a clear indication that there were poor contracting terms during the agreement (Powers, & Rubin, 2003). This contract was, without doubt, a total failure with all the problems arising from this contract and the fact that the government received no feedback on what the contractor was doing. The contractor is supposed to mediate between the government and the client, and this was not the case since there was no feedback (Labovitz, 2012). This is a breach of contract, and the contractor needs to be sued for not delivering the social service delegated to him (Ejere, 2013). One way of dealing with such a situation is to start by first compiling all paperwork and then fire all of them and then file a claim with the state licensing board if the contractor is licensed. Another way is keeping a public watchdog also called Ombudsman.
References
Cohen, S. & Eimicke, W. (2008). The responsible contract manager: Protecting the public interest in an outsourced world. Georgetown University Press.
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Ejere, E. S. (2013). Promoting accountability in public sector management in today’s democratic Nigeria. Tourism & Management Studies, 953-964.
Labovitz, S. (2012). Privatization of the City of Atlanta's Water System: A Cost Savings Initiative and a Plan for the Future. American Society of Civil Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1061/40430(1999)20
Mulgan, R. (1997). Contracting out and accountability. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 56 (4), 106-116.
Powers, M. B., & Rubin, D. (2003). The severed Atlanta water contract was tied to unclear language. ENR, 250 (5), 14-14.
