(1990s into the 2000)

Prof. Josefina B. Bitonio, DPA

LNU IGPS Dagupan City

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)

PA as Governance
(1990s into the 2000)
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 nations 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)

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 nations 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 prosperityWe are fully
engaged in efforts to improve governance around the
worldgood 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).

Cario (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 peoples 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

Key Dimensions and Specific Areas of Actions Basic

Elements of Good Key Dimensions Specific Areas of
Action Governance
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

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. GrindleHarvard 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.

Reference
Brilliantes, 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