Public sector accountability: do leadership practices, integrity and internal control systems matter?

Purpose - The study explores the current public sector accountability practices in sub-Saharan African region. Specifically, this study assesses whether accountability is related to integrity, internal control system and leadership in the public sector of a developing country. Design/methodology/approach - Structural equation model (SEM) is used to predict the drivers of public accountability in a developing country. A survey design with quantitative analysis is used to analyze responses from directors or heads of agencies or departments in the ministries of a developing country. Findings - The result shows that integrity, internal control and leadership practices positively and significantly impact public accountability. These findings suggest that public accountability in the developing economic context is a function of these aforementioned factors to ensure efficient public sector accountability and governance. The findings could assist policymakers in Sub-Saharan African country to enhance accountability among different departments and agencies of government. Originality/value - This study makes an important contribution by providing evidence of drivers of public accountability from the perspective of public sector entities in Sub-Saharan African country, to complement the extant literature that has focused largely on developed economies