What do you understand by the term ‘governance’, ‘good governance’, and ‘ethical governance’?
Governance refers to the process by which a body, group or officials take decisions, administer or govern. It involves deliberative decision making. World bank defines governance as the manner in which power is exercised in the management of the country’s social and economic resources. This conception of the governance is based on three tenets,
- The form of political regime
- The process by which authority is exercised
- The Capacity of the government to design, formulate and implement policies.
Governance is a neutral term, so it becomes important to enforce administrative accountability for good / ethical governance. Good governance assured prominence with the publication of two reports by the world bank.
* Sub-Saharan Africa: from crisis to sustainable growth (1989)
* Governance and development (1992)
These stated that governance deficit was the reason for lack of development in these regions. Governance is qualitatively transformed into good governance when features such as participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, equality and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability are inculcated.
Ethical governance refers to value inculcation in governance. It adds the element of right and wrong to the way power is exercised. The moral judgment invariably rests on who benefits from the way the recourses are governed. Ethical governance requires that accountability be more properly understood as the obligation of those holding power to take responsibility for their actions and behavior. Ethical governance makes accountability normative and subjective, Thus there is more discretion, flexibility and responsiveness within the enabling rules and legislations.
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