Safeguarding Accountability Under Austerity of the COVID-19 Pandemic (The Diagonal Accountability).

This article will assess the impact of austerity measures on government accountability and finish with a discussion on diagonal accountability supplementary to horizontal and vertical accountability. Methods in research with literature review. Providing an adequate monitoring budget is mandatory as stipulated by the Indonesian Government Regulation Number 72 in 2019 on Local Government Institution, which is followed by the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 64 in 2020. Government accountability is not excluded from the list of aspects affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indonesian government's accountability suffers from austerity and cut-back management subject to the current pandemic. The traditional horizontal and vertical accountability fall short in satisfying the need for adequate public sector accountability, especially under the unprecedented pandemic causing economic turbulence and health deterioration. Thus, accountability should call for diagonal accountability, enforcing citizen participation support to the already established horizontal and vertical accountability. However, diagonal accountability must be coupled with a conducive environment with several prerequisites to impact the enhancement of government institutions' accountability positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]