Governance
World Bank defines governance as: ‘the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This considers the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement soundpolicies and respect of citizens and the state of the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.”
The term, governance, is derived from the Greek term, kubemao, which means ‘to steer’. So, governance is the process that steers affairs of the State. The term came into limelight with the publication of the World Banks’s report on sub Sahara in 1989.
Concept of governance:
The concept of governance is not new. It is as old as civilization. It is defined as the process of decision making and process by which decision are Implemented (or not implemented)
Term governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, International governance, national governance and local governance.
Since governance is the process of decision making and the process by which decision are implemented 'An analysis of governance focuses on the formal and Informal actors involved in the process of decision making and implementation and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decisions. Government is one of the actor in governance.
Concept of good governance:
Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, Transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law.
It assures that corruption is minimized, the views and the voice of most vulnerable in society are heard in decision making. It is also responsive to the present and future need of society.
Participation:Participation by men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institution or representations.
It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making.
Participation needs to be informed and organized. It means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.
Rule of law:Good governance requires legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires the full protection of human rights.
Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial, an incorruptible police force.
Transparency:Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decision and their enforcement.
It also means that enough information in provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media.
Responsiveness:Good governance requires that Institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable time frame.
Consensus oriented:There are several actors and many view point in the modern society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long term perspective which is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development.
Equity and Inclusiveness:A society's well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a say in it and also not feel excluded from the main stream of society. This requires all groups, particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well being.
Effectiveness and efficiency:Good governance means that processes and Institution should produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment of good governance. Not only governmental Institution but also the private sector and civil society organization must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders.
In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decision or actors.
Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.
Thus it can be said that good governance is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in totality. However to ensuer sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality.
Benefits of Good Governance:
- It promotes community confidence.
- It encourages elected member and officers and motivated them as they will feel better about their involvement in governance.
- Leads to better decisions.
- Helps local government to meet its legislative responsibilities.
- Supports ethical decision making.
- Helps in forming an opinion.
Measures Of Governance
The World Bank has identified six dimensions in which to measure governance. These are
- Voice and accountability: they measure political, civil and human rights.
- Political Stability and absence of violence: they measure the likelihood of violent threats to, or changes in government, this includes terrorism.
- Effectiveness of government: This measures the competence of the bureaucracy, and the quality of public service delivery.
- Regulatory burden: this measures the policies which are market unfriendly.
- Rule of law: this measures the quality of contract enforcement, the police, the court, as well as the likelihood of crime and violence.
- Control of corruption: this helps in measuring exercise of public power for private gain, including both petty and large scale corruption.
The United Nations Development Programmer’s-It says, “Governance has been defined as the rules of the political system to solve conflicts between actors and adopt decision (legality). It has also been used to describe the proper functioning of institutions and their acceptance by the public (legitimacy). And it has been used to invoke the efficacy of government and achievement of consensus by democratic means (participation)”.