Accountability is one of the basic principles which underpins the operation of any institution. When an institution fails to discharge the responsibilities entrusted to it, it must be held answerable for its failure. And it is the institution's leadership, which represents it, that is held accountable for the institution's failure or downfall.

It may not be necessary to take action against an institution's leadership whenever it catches a cold or stumbles along its way. But when it develops TB or other incurable diseases, the leaders who caused it to be afflicted with the disease must answer for their action.

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) can serve as an example to demonstrate this point. The bank has lost over 150 million birr in a gold scam; its failure to undertake properly its supervisory role in regulating state-owned banks has had a disastrous consequence. Furthermore, it has been revealed that a substantial amount of money it has printed is sitting idle in its vault or has been erroneously put out of circulation. All this shows that the bank is emasculated to such an extent that it is unable to carry out the duties of a central bank.

So, what is the government waiting for? Is the extent of the problem insignificant? No, it is not. In fact, it has resulted in a considerable financial loss and loss of confidence in the institution. It has disgraced the country. That is why it constitutes a serious breach of responsibility.

It there a downside for the government to hold accountable the persons it appointed to an office by removing them from their posts? No. On the contrary it lends credence to its declared intention that it is committed to holding accountable its officials. It is tolerating dereliction of duties which in fact poses a danger for the government.

Can the head of an institution be absolved of responsibility on the ground that he had no knowledge of the circumstance which led to its poor performance? No way. He should be the kind of a leader who stays on top of things in his institution. If he does not, he does no deserve to be in the position he was appointed to.  

Does removing a party bigwig for his poor performance weaken the party's standing? Certainly not. The interests of a nation should not be compromised for the sake of party politics. Axing a weak party official does not harm the party; rather it strengthens the party and earns it support. It is refraining to take a measure which will hurt the party.

Should the official be left alone until a replacement is found? The answer is no. His position should be taken over by a stand in to prevent him from inflicting further damage in case he is found to be at fault.

Was the government not in possession of the necessary information regarding the mess NBE is in? This is not the case. It has adequate information to take the appropriate action. If it insists that the required information was available to it, we would be forced to conclude that it is turning a blind eye to what is going on in the bank.

The government therefore must immediately hold accountable officials of the bank for the problems surrounding it. The measures it takes, however, must not be confined to mid-level management. The top-level management must not be spared.

We are not calling for the officials to be jailed or "hanged" when demanding that they be held to account. First, they need to be relieved of their responsibility. Then the officials who must be brought to justice should be formally indicted; those who are not included in this category ought to be assigned other positions where they can effectively serve. The interests of the nation should never be set aside in order to keep a few individuals happy.

What happens if the government does not hold accountable officials of the banks? The answer it simple: the government itself will be held accountable by the public.  

The country stands to gain much when the governments holds answerable its own appointees for their fault. The government and the ruling party will also benefit as such an action is bound to earn them the trust and respect of the public. Unless action is taken when the branches get sick, the rot will set in and destroy the whole tree.

Undue delay is being observed in holding officials accountable. There should be no more procrastination. It would be unjust and counter-productive to fail to let those at fault go scot-free and hold responsible the scapegoats.