NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
3.7 UNDERSTANDING GOOD GOVERNANCE
Sing (1999: 93) says one way of looking at the characteristics of good governance is to contrast it with what can be called bad, poor or malgovernance or misgovernance.
The following characteristics of bad governance can be identified (Sing, 1999: 93-97):
• Failure to establish a predictable framework of law and government behaviour conducive to development, or arbitrariness in the establishment and application of ruks and laws. Problems of governance generally emanate from the lack of strong and farsighted decisions and policies of government.
Such weaknesses in policy decisions are found in both authoritarian and democratic systems though the reasons for malfunctioning might be different (Barlal quoted by Sing, 1999:93). According to Sobhan (quoted by Sing 1999: 93) persistent usurpation of democratic opportunities for the public contributes to misgovernance. This failure of governance can in turn weaken the development capacities of the state.
• Absence of a progressive reduction in regulatory, promotional and entrepreneurial role of government in economic and social development. According to Pierre (quoted by Sing, 1999: 93) what makes the theory of governance so fruitful is that it treats government and its institutions as a variable rather than as a parameter whose influence and power are treated as given.
• Legitimacy crisis in the political and governmental systems.
Legitimacy involves both the performance capacity of the systems and the sentiments of the population towards the systems (Barlal quoted bySing, 1999: 94).
• Failure to develop and promote a culture of ethics. The concern of governments with the public sector transformation and reform has introduced a new era into governance. '.I'he implications of this concern are varied and related ultimately to the question of ethical governance. Factors that necessitate the importance of ethical governance include, calls for human rights, the global village syndrome an information glut and new freedoms based upon the citizenry by democracy. Concern about ethical governance is on the increase in all parts of the world (Clapper quoted by Sing, 1999).
According to Fox and Meyer (1996: 45) ethics in the context of governance could be regarded as the collection of moral principles, norms, attitudes, values and obligations that serve as conduct and behavioural roles to be observed by public representatives, political office-bearers and public officials. Dwivedi (quoted by Sing 1999: 95) asserts that ethical conduct and behaviour also includes those instruments of governance which public representatives, political office-bearers and public officials utilise in order to achieve certain policy objectives. Nothing breeds contempt for and distrust of public representatives, political office bearers and public officials, more than the belief among citizens that public functionaries are taking actions to enrich themselves rather than to advance the interest of the public (Haque quoted bySing, 1999: 94).
• Absence of a democratic ethos. One of the central aspects of good governance is the adoption, promotion and application of democratic principles.
• Absence of transparency in governmental actions. The theme of transparency and information pervade good governance and strengthens public accountability and openness, and reducing
unnecessary secrecy in governmental actions. It also helps reduce unnecessary secrecy in governmental actions. The principle of transparency is critical to the success of efforts at attributing foreign investment and private sector participation in the development process. It seeks to improve communication between the public sector and the public and to build trust and strengthen links with the media (Sing, 1999: 96-97).
• Failure to establish and maintain a culture of public accountability. Accountability according to a World Bank publication is at the heart of the governance process. It is regarded as the driving force that generates the pressure for key actors involved, to be responsible for and to ensure effective outcome based government performance.
According to Nti (quoted by Sing, 1999:97) accountability has to do with holding governments responsible for their actions or inactions and at the political level it means making rulers accountable to the ruled, typically through the contestability of political power. At the official governmental level accountability is hierarchical, based on administrative and management structures and reporting IS ultimately directed to the political level.
The question of understanding the concept of good governance can be emphasised thus... "it could be stated that a predictable framework of law and government behaviour, lack of legitimclcy crises, a culture of ethics, a democratic ethos, transparency, culture of public accountability and a reduced regulatory, promotional and entrepreneurial role of government in economic and social development are characteristics that underpin good governance. It is pointed out that governance problems accumulate from acts of omission and commission on the part of rulers and also result from
the increasing complexities of each political society and the international environment" (Panandiker quoted by Sing, 1999: 98).
Barlal quoted by Sing (1999: 94) outlines the principal sources of legitimacy that cause problems of governance as follows:
• Breakdown of governmental institutions that occurs because of conflicting or inadequate bases of claiming authority in society.
Under this condition the rulers try to expand their power bflses but do not find a popularly accepted rationale.
• Excessive and uninstitutionalised competition for competition for power. Under this condition, in the absence of stable political institutions the struggle for power becomes a free for all in which all means available are adopted to justify one's quest for power.
• Faulty ideology justifications and faulty predictions of future developments. Under this condition there is a crisis of leadership
• Wrong political orientation or socialisation of people lacking in normative political culture. Under this condition a discrepancy between patterns of political orientation within a given society and the internalisation of values derived from outside create problems of governance.
3.7.1 Reasons for good governance
Kruiter (1996: 2) says the notion of "good governance" was introduced to international development co-operation in the late 1980's following discussions mainly in World Bank circles on the
results of structural adjustment policies. It developed into a somewhat confusing and controversial term. He maintains that unlike reform programmes, good governance concerns more than liberal economic policy.
A further assertion is that good governance came to be used in a much broader sense of referring to the nature and style of political systems including accountability and transparency of decision- making. It came also to be associated with a range of political conditionalities such as democratisation, promotion of multi-party systems and commitment to free elections. Africa was often the object of governance debates and policies (Kruiter 1996: 2).
Good governance assumes that public service delivery is the implementation of public policies aimed at providing concrete services to the citizens. Good governance also requires good citizenship. According to Cloete (1999a: 12) this entails citizens who are:
• Informed about their needs, resources, objectives, procedures and those of others;
• Participants in governmental processes;
• Experienced in governmental matters;
• Dedicated to national interests;
• Responsive to state and communities;
• Pro-active and enforce rights;
• Disciplined and accept and execute duties responsibly;
• Realistic in expectations and demands;
• Tolerant of different views;
• Entrepreneurial with a productive work ethic; and
• Honest.
3.7.2 Good governance and democratic governance
Good governance concerns the promotion of democratic principles.
According to Dwivedi (quoted by Sing, 1999: 95-96) democratic governance is based on the following principles:
• Fundamental freedoms for all, which means that the human being is the ultimate measure of all human values;
• Equality of all, so that everyone receives the same recognition from others but especially from the state;
• Universal participation in the governing process. It is argued that democratic governance creates equal opportunities for people, guarantees freedom of association and recognises the citizen's fundamental rights. Under a setting of democratic governance the creativity of people can be unleashed and harnessed for the benefit of society at large and of the public sector, specifically (Yahaya quoted bySing, 1999: 95-96).
Guidelines as to how democratic governance can be operationalised by public representatives, political office-bearers and public officials include (Dwivedi quoted by Sing, 1999: 96):
• Recognition of the facts that the governing process is a moral endeavour;
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Sustained belief and resolve to serve and care for all citize':18, Consideration of their role as protectors of the rights of not only human beings but also of others in the environment and as guardians of natural legacy for future generations;
Realisation of the fact that protecting and enhancing democratic principles requires vision and morality - an essential purpose of serving the public because such an essential purpose ought not and cannot be sacrificed on the alter of administrative nationality or mere political expediency.
Haque quoted by Sing (1999: 96) maintains that a democratic mode of governance requires that services be provided to all classes and groups of citizens, especially the underprivileged who are usually left out by the private sector in the market place.
3.7.3 International experience with good governance
According to Cloete (1999b: 87) a variety of recent international experiences with governance reforms suggest that in principle it is possible to improve the quality and quantity of public service delivery and even establish public services through a combination of changes to the way in which the public service is structured and operates.
These changes are aimed at utilising private markets and civil society more effectively in public service delivery.
This approach to service delivery necessitates a series of changes in traditional government focus, structure, functioning and organisational culture in the public sector (Cloete, 1999b: 88-90):
First, a change from attempting to provide as wide a range of services as possible, irrespective of organisational capacity to do so, to accepting a limited capacity and reducing and redesigning service delivery programmes to match the existing delivery capacity of the public service.
The second change is one from big unwieldy public bureaucracies to smaller, more flexible organisations, as selected poLicy implementation functions are increasingly taken over by organisations outside the public sector.
The third change is from frequently separate and isolated policy and financial planning and implementation traditions to integrated and
co-ordinated strategic management practice at all organisational levels.
The fourth change is from an input, resource-focused administration to an output, results-based management system with performance contracting and promotion.
The ilfth change is from a closed bureaucratic-dominated work environment in the public service to a more transparent, accountable and participatory public policy process.
The sixth and last change is from simple cash budgeting and accounting methods, as well as annual financial planning cycles, to more complex accrual budgeting and accounting practices and multi- year financial planning cycles.