Elements of Good Governance - Paper Example

Good governance is the term which describes the activities resulting in the making and the implementation of the decisions of a government. Decisions of this kind are made based on improving the living conditions of the subjects and may not be necessarily the best decisions but the much-needed ones at that moment. Governance is a broad term and as such needs and assessment of descriptions resulting in the need to discuss its major eight characteristics adequately.

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ELEMENTS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

Participation

This is a part of good governance in which all the men and women in the society play an essential role in the decision making directly or through representatives and institutions championing their interests. This characteristic is built on the freedom of association and speech all in with the intent to allow productive contributions by t the citizens of given society. However, these elements affect the conduct of government based on restriction especially on the members of the media seeking to educate the masses. Excluding coverage denies the citizens a chance to know how their countries are run and thus affecting what we term as good governance. This is evident especially in african nations such as Uganda and Kenya and other nations where dictatorship is the order of the day.

The rule of law

The rule of law is what controls the arbitrary decision making the enforcement of these laws and agencies upholding the existing legislation. This kind of law in governance requires fairness and the judicial systems that have put in place. In trying to achieve this sort of management by upholding the law some individuals still form ways through which they offer bribes to ignore the issue at hand or turn a blind eye. Lack of independence harms the actual meaning of good governance by breaking the law that is set by the same government.

Transparency

An element of bad management in which the subjects of a given state or country can quickly gain access to the public information especially in regards to what is happening within the nation. Institutions and governments office provides this information especially to those who are interested in learning what is going on in the main aspects of the government. The challenged posed by this type element is the fact lies can be fed to the citizens on the ongoing in the state which is not there. Countries such as Chile and Ecuador have perfected the art of providing fraudulent information mostly orchestrated by individuals seeking to achieve their own personal interests.

Responsiveness

Good governance requires that all institutions within the government strive always meet the needs of the stakeholders who are mostly the citizens. This is an element that requires that all employees of the government work towards achieving sustainable delivery of services to clients. In an effort to deliver service the employees create underhanded means to solicit funds from stakeholders and in that case facilitating corruption instead of bearing the responsibility of serving the people.

Consensus and orientation

The essence of good governance mediates different interest to reach a consensus on what is the best possible solution to the issue they are facing at hand. Challenges associated with this is the many groups failing to make an agreement as they solicit to gain more power thus jeopardizing the ruling government making it hard to govern. These groups are mostly groups of people at war with the government on controversial issues such as religion, a good example of such a country is Nigeria.

Equity

This provides all adults in the society men and women are given equal opportunity in the country. Women in most instance seem to be lagging in some countries as men are more educated and have the upper hand in the society. Distribution of opportunities is therefore compromised and example is in the developing countries such as

Effectiveness and efficiency

The government while using the available resources within the country it is their duty to ensure that various institutions provide results that are commendable and satisfies the public eye. Provision of the quality results refuses any form of revolt associated with the waste of public resources. Poor connections and lack of efficient infrastructure in some nations deny the people a chance to access these results and visit the institution providing these services. the individual selected and picked by the public must ensure they focus on providing the agencies within the government work well. Rogue leaders in some countries influence employees resulting in a lack of efficiency and effectiveness in schools.

Accountability

Government schools under the leaders that have been elected by the people of a given country bear the responsibility of being accountable to them.to ensure reliability individuals are working in these institutions must be scrutinized under the law to ensure they provide the much-needed services. poor governance is witnessed whenever the trusted public servants engage in suspicious activities at the expense of the stakeholders. To be accountable, the people must elect a prominent person who respects the law thus upholding the goal better governance. Integrity and a person's character speak a lot in an attempt.