My Turn

Good governance and development

 

As Malawians are heading towards the 2014 Tripartite Elections, in which they will vote for a president, member of Parliament and councillors, I thought of writing on issues of good governance and development.

When US President Barack Obama visited Ghana in 2009, he said development depends on good governance. Governance refers to essential parts of the broad cluster of institutions. It would include the process of collective decision-making and the checks on politicians, the capacity of the State to provide public goods in diverse parts of the country, and regulation of economic institutions. For instance, in Ghana and Botswana, the path of institutional improvements would not have been possible without the participation and support of their population.

Good governance involves far more than the power of the State or the strength of political will. The rule of law, transparency and accountability are not merely technical questions of administrative procedure or institutional design. They are outcomes of democratising processes driven not only by committed leadership but also by the participation of, and contention among, groups and interests in society—processes that are most effective when sustained and restrained by legitimate, effective institutions.

Development experts argue that good governance is development itself. Good governance is both an end and a means. It is a key goal of development, broadly construed, and it is also an instrument for achieving better policymaking and improved economic outcomes. The hallmark of an advanced developed society is a government that exhibits the attributes of good governance such as transparency, rule of law, lack of corruption, voice and participation.

Economists have recognised the importance of these attributes, but they have much less to say about how to achieve them. Economists are in the business of offering advice on governance as-an-end and have the tools that can provide analytical and occasionally prescriptive clarity to the issues.

When most people hear the word ‘governance’, they think of government. But governance is more than just government. People use governance in their daily lives to manage human relationship, just as corporations and countries use it to manage their interactions and activities. Good governance addresses the allocation and management of resources to respond to collective problems.

It is characterised by the governance’s attributes that are already mentioned (equity, accountability, effectiveness and strategic vision). These principles translate into the guarantee of human rights and the rule of law, and into transparent and accountable institutions.

Governance is good if it supports a society in which people can expand their choices in the way they live, promotes freedom from poverty, deprivation, fear and violence, and sustain the environment and women’s advancement. Speaking of the quality of a country’s governance is to mean the degree to which its institutions (Parliament) and processes (electoral process) are transparent, accountable to people and allow them to participate in decisions that affect their lives. It is also the degree to which the private sector and organisations of the civil society are free and able to participate. It is good when government and governmental institutions are pro-poor and promote the human development of all citizens.

A country that protects human rights and promotes inclusion is less likely to have citizens who are too alienated enough to turn to violence as a means of addressing their problems. Thus, good governance is the most-human-development friendly system of governance. Its characteristics include people’s empowerment, equity of opportunities, sustainability, human security and freedom.

—The author is a project manager for Stephanos Foundation. He likes to comment on social issues.

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