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Operational accountability is best defined as the stewardship of public resources because it encompasses the responsibility of public sector entities to manage, protect, and utilize financial and physical resources in a manner that serves the public interest. This concept involves ensuring that resources are used efficiently and effectively to achieve desired outcomes, maintaining transparency, and being answerable for the results of resource management. It is essential for ensuring that government actions align with legislative intent and public expectations.

While communicating with lawmakers, collecting taxes efficiently, and maintaining public infrastructure are important functions within government operations, they do not encompass the broader scope of operational accountability, which is fundamentally about the overall management and responsibility for public resources. Effective stewardship directly relates to how public officials are entrusted to handle funds and assets to benefit society as a whole.