Prof. Josefina B. Bitonio, DPALNU IGPS Dagupan City

(1990s into the 2000)

PA as Governance (1990s into the 2000)

The many failed development interventions in the 50s into the 90s spurred the introduction of other development reforms. The “governance” paradigm was introduced and advocated by the United Nations (UN), World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other international institutions. The word “governance” suddenly “has become something of a mantra in recent years, uttered by donors, reformers and pundits alike.” (Frechette 2000: 25)

Governance entails a larger scope and has a wider meaning. Though the term “governance” has been used to refer mostly to “government,” when correctly used, “governance” really goes beyond government. It involves the institutionalization of a system through which citizens, institutions, organizations, and groups in a society articulate their interests, exercise their rights, and mediate their differences in pursuit of the collective good. (ADB 1995 as cited in ADB 2005: 1) UNDP describes it as “the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs. It embraces all of the methods- good and bad – that societies use to distribute power and manage public resources and problems.” (UNDP 1997: 9)

PA as Governance (1990s into the 2000)

Good governance and poverty reduction are closely related since they are the heart of achieving human development. Governance is defined as the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs (UNDP 1997).

　　　　Scholars and development institutions argue that good governance is not only an essential component but also a pre-condition for development. That is, development cannot exist without good governance ( Leftwich 1993, Boeninger 1993, UNDP 1997, ADB 2003). Thus, good governance is necessary in the planning and implementation of local, regional and national development programs that focus on poverty reduction initiatives for the impoverished sectors in the rural areas-the landless, indigenous peoples and the marginal farmers and fishermen.

Kofi Annan (1997), in his inaugural speech in the 1st International Conference on Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity in United Nations, New York, in July 28-30, 1997 affirms this when he said that: “Good governance and sustainable development are indivisible. That is the lesson of all our efforts and experiences, from Africa to Asia to Latin America. Without good governance – without the rule of law, predictable administration, legitimate power, and responsive regulation -- no amount of funding, no amount of charity will set us on the path to prosperity…We are fully engaged in efforts to improve governance around the world…good governance is indispensable for building peaceful, prosperous and democratic societies.”• Annan concluded that “good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development.”

Good governance has become a common public utterance among development actors and institutions all over the world. It is a common belief among major development institutions today that promoting good governance is an important part of their agenda.

Good governance initiatives of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks address the needs of economic institutions and public sector management, including transparency and accountability, regulatory reform, and public sector skills and leadership.

Democratic Governance and Human Rights, Aspects of Political Governance

Other organizations, like the United Nations, European Commission and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are more likely to highlight democratic governance and human rights, aspects of political governance avoided by the Bank. Some of the many issues that are treated under the governance programmes of various donors include election monitoring, political party support, combating corruption, building independent judiciaries, security sector reform, improved service delivery, transparency of government accounts, decentralization, civil and political rights, government responsiveness and “forward vision”, and the stability of the regulatory environment for private sector activities (including price systems, exchange regimes, and banking systems).

Cariño (2000), in her reflections on the term “governance,” identified actors and factors that pushed for governance. She acknowledges that governance is not the sole responsibility of the government per se but the role of the market and civil society are of equal importance too and should also be recognized. She then identified the factors or processes that pushed for governance and some of these are: the quest for growth and development, the environmental movement, globalization and consolidating peace.

These are practically the same values or virtues found in the UN Charter. Likewise, governance promotes the virtues of decentralization, participation, responsiveness and accountability among others.

“Good Governance” From “Governance”

The concept of “good governance” has emerged and became prominent in international aid circles around 1989 or 1990. It served as a general guiding principle for donor agencies to demand that recipient governments adhere to proper administrative processes in the handling of development assistance and put in place effective policy instruments towards that end handling of development assistance and put in place effective policy instruments towards that end. (Doornbos 2003) when there is good governance, there is sustainable development..

An ADB document (2005) affirmed that good governance is synonymous with sound development management. They then identified some key principles of development which may be considered as elements of good governance. These are: accountability, participation, predictability, and transparency.

Key Dimensions and Specific Areas of Actions Basic Elements of Good Key Dimensions Specific Areas of Action Governance

1. Accountability means making Establishing criteria to measure •Public Sector Managementpublic officials answerable for performance of public officials •Public Enterprise Management government behavior and Institutionalizing mechanisms to • Public Financial Management responsive to the entity from ensure that standards are met.which they derive authority • Civil Service Reform

2. Participation refers to Undertaking development for • Participation of beneficiariesenhancing people’s access to and by the people and affected groupsand influence on public policy • Interface between governmentprocesses and the private sector • Decentralization of public and service delivery functions (empowerment of Local Governments) • Cooperation with non government organization

3. Predictability refers to the Establishing and sustaining • Legal Frameworks for Privateexistence of laws, regulations appropriate legal and Sector Developmentand policies to regulate society institutional arrangementsand the fair and consistent Observing and upholding theapplication of these • Law and rule of law MaintainingDevelopment consistency of public policies

4.Transparency refers to the Ensuring access to accurate • Disclosure of Informationavailability of Information to the and timely information about thegeneral public and clear economy and governmentgovernment rules, regulations, policiesand decisions Source: ADB, 2005

Key Dimensions and Specific Areas of Actions Basic Elements of Good Key Dimensions Specific Areas of Action Governance

Good Governance matters for development and the capacity to address difficult issues of poverty reduction has become a mantra for development professionals. While many are pleased to see development debates move beyond an earlier approach that promised development when poor countries “ get the policies right”, the adoption of the good governance paradigm implies a wide range of institutional pre-conditions for economic and political development and poverty to be significantly reduced. (Merilee S. Grindle-Harvard Professor, 2007)

According to UN-ESCAP, good governance has eight major characteristics illustrated in Figure 1. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law

Figure 4 Eight Major Characteristics of Governance Source: www.unescap.org

1. Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision-making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand

　 2. Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force.　 3. 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 decisions and their enforcement. It also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided easily understandable forms and media.

　4. Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. 　5. There are several actors and as many view

points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad and long term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community.

　6. A society’ well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well being. 　 7. Good governance means that processes

and institutions 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.

8. Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to who varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.

Governance and Good Governance

There are many ways to define governance and good governance. However, there seems to be a general consensus that key factors include: technical and managerial competence; organizational capacity; reliability, predictability and the rule of law; accountability; transparency and open information systems; and participation. Technical and managerial competence of civil servants is an obvious factor of good governance. This may be less of a constraint than it used to be, as access to education has improved, but rapid changes require ongoing development of skills.

ReferenceBrilliantes, Jr. fernandez (2008) Is

there a Philippine PublicAdministration or Better Still, forwhom is Public Administration?

Mercado (2014) Administrative Capability and Performance pf LGUs in the Cordilleras

Gbargaye (2012) Cooperative Governance and Poverty Alleciation: The Pangasinan Experience