The term ‘good governance’ is deemed dynamic as it is context-specific. Geldenhuys (2000:91) believes that whilst an autocratic government may consider direct intervention in the lives of their people to improve their living standards as good, a democratic government may consider the provision of a supportive environment through facilitating access to resources and services, as being good governance.
Van Kersbergen et al. (2004:145) purport that good governance emerged from the world economic sector where reforms consisted of “reducing wasteful public spending and creating greater transparency and accountability in government…”. This view is supported by the views of Arco-cobbah (2006:351-2) who outlines the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) attributes of good governance as:
Participation, expecting all citizens to have a say in decision-making, directly or through representation;
Rule of Law, where legal frameworks are enforced fairly, especially the laws on human rights;
Transparency, with free flow of information in public; and
Accountability, where government decision-makers are broadly accountable to the general public and institutional stakeholders.
Okot-Uma (2003:2) believes that good governance should be “participatory, transparent and accountable in characteristic” and that “good governance may be defined as comprising the processes and structures that guide political and socio-economic relationships, with particular reference to ‘commitment to democratic values, norms and practices, trusted services and just an honest business’.” This embodies the principle of acting in the best interests of quality service delivery. Drechsler (2005:7) similarly deems good governance as “a normative concept that (again) embodies a strong value judgement in favour of the retrenchment of the state, which is supposed to yield to business standards, principles, and – not least – interests.” Good Governance principles encompass such principles as transparency, efficiency, participation, responsibility and market economy, state of law, democracy and justice.
Intergovernmental and regional organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD), the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the European Communities and the Commonwealth held vastly different understandings of how the concepts of development, democracy and governance related to one another.
Differing emphasis was placed on democracy, administration and human rights. Leftwich (1993:427-8) elaborates that the common understanding that emerged, though, were the
three components - systemic, political and administrative - which ranged from most inclusive to least inclusive. From a systems perspective, good governance referred to a network of socio-economic and political relations; from a political perspective, good governance referred to a state enjoying legitimacy and authority by being appointed by citizens; whilst from an administrative perspective, good governance referred to a transparent, accountable and efficiently managed public service with the capacity to develop and implement effective policies and manage the public sector.
Policy objectives of good governance, as identified in an authoritative study on public service reform by PRC (cited in Cloete 1999b:86-7), are:
Resource allocation must be done on an equal basis for all represented groups of people;
There must be focus on development;
It must be focused on needs of people and encourage citizen participation while responding to these needs;
It must promote democratic rights of people, be legitimate and transparent;
There must be accountability for the utilisation of monies;
It must be based on professional standards and ethics;
Services need to be effective, efficient, affordable and resilient;
Holistic, integrated and well-coordinated services;
Promote competition and creativity of internal business practices; and
Must be built on principles of sustainability.
These objectives highlight the various functions served by policy in its contribution to good governance. These objectives are also sought by the DSR in its pursuit of good governance as well. Woven throughout these objectives, is the role of communication.
In support of the afore-mentioned policy objectives, Bovaird & Loffler (2003:322) have also identified the following characteristics of good governance:
A transparent process;
Accountability to all stakeholders;
Efficiency and effectiveness;
Involvement of citizens;
Co-operative Governance to ensure co-ordination by various sectors to prevent duplication;
High standard of professional ethics and honest behaviour;
Equity in service provision;
Sustainable service provision;
Uphold the Rule of Law;
Good networking and partnership-building;
Promoting equality and social inclusion; and
Building capacity for globalisation.
Bridgman (2007:14) views good governance as the qualitative state of excellence in decision-making and conformance, and that performance and governance can only be achieved when all institutional roles are operating collectively. This view is supported by Barrett (2002:7) who identifies the key principles of good governance in the public sector as illustrated in Figure 2.10 below:
Figure 2.10: Principles of Good Governance in Public Sector Entities
Barrett (2002:7)
These principles of good governance are impacted on by both the manner of management present within the entity, as well as by the personal attributes of the people/officials functioning within that entity. Support by respondents on the need for policies as a tool of good governance is illustrated in Figure 5.5.
The IT Governance Institute (2005:4) purports that ‘good governance should provide proper incentives for each of the stakeholders to pursue.” This would ensure that the stakeholders use resources more efficiently. Good corporate governance is attained when institutions demonstrate their public accountability and conduct their business within ethical standards that are acceptable.