“Good governance must be built from the ground up. It cannot be imposed, either by national authorities, or by international agencies. Good governance is the fruit of true dedication, selfless leadership, and a politics of integrity.” (Annan 1997)
Good governance plays a decisive role in urban management, planning and operating towards sustainability. While government is an entity (an official governing organization), governance refers to the process of decision making and the process by which decisions are implemented (UNESCAP). These governing processes involve not only the state (government), but also the private sector and the whole civil society.
Three interrelated actors of governance
All three interconnected actors are critical for urban sustainability. Government creates a conducive political and legal environment; the private sector generates jobs and income; and civil society facilitates political and social interaction - mobilizing groups to participate in economic, social and political activities (UNDP 1997). Since each part has weaknesses and strengths, it is important for good governance to promote constructive interaction, partnership, cooperation and coherence among all three.
The box below describes an ideal image of good governance, adapted from UNESCAP and UNDP. Main attributes of good governance are long term vision, openness - transparency, responsibility - accountability, equity - inclusiveness, democratic participation - citizen involvement, effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness to the needs of the people.
Key attributes of good governance (UNESCAP[1] & UNDP[2])
Participation
All men and women should have a voice in decision-making, either directly or through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their interests. Such broad participation is built on freedom of association and speech, as well as capacities to participate constructively.
Rule of law
Legal frameworks should be fair and enforced impartially.
Transparency
Transparency is built on the free flow of information. Processes, institutions and information are directly accessible to those concerned with them, and enough information is provided to understand and monitor them.
Responsiveness
Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.
Consensus oriented
Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved.
Equity and inclusiveness
A society’s 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.
Effectiveness and efficiency
Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources.
Accountability
Decision-makers in government, the private sector and civil society organisations are accountable to the public, as well as to institutional stakeholders.
Strategic vision
Leaders and the public have a broad and long-term perspective on good governance and sustainable development. There is also an understanding of the historical, cultural and social complexities in which that perspective is grounded.
These features assure that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities and the needs of future generations are taken into account, and the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. Good governance also contributes to peace and security because it gives societies sound structures for inclusive, equitable economic and social development. “In post-conflict settings, good governance can promote reconciliation and offer a path for consolidating peace” (Annan 1997).
Good governance demands the consent and the participation of the governed and the full and lasting involvement of all citizens (Annan 1997). Key strategies for cultivating good governance include developing more decentralized state, active civic organizations, and responsible private sectors (Wheeler et al. 2005).
Decentralization is an important strategy to attain citizen involvement and government responsiveness. Since power and decisions are closer to local people, decentralized government is more knowledgeable and accessible. It can respond faster, more effectively to people’s needs, with more accountability and transparency. Resource use would be more equitable and the gap between the rich and the poor would be narrowed (Wheeler et al. 2005).
As Kofi Annan once said (1997), good governance has to begin with the will of the people. The will of the people must be the basis of governmental authority. That is the foundation of democracy. Democratization is definitely vital in building good governance, but it requires mature civic awareness, ongoing education, the development of government structures, institutions, and time. “Once established, democracies need to be tended carefully in order to stay healthy and provide good governance for the people” (Wheeler et al. 2005).
Nowadays, the development of ICTs promises a huge potential of facilitating governance processes. Core components of e-governance include e-participation, e-administration and e-service delivery[3]. E-governance can enhance government and public institution efficiency, transparency and accountability by providing better public service and information delivery to citizens and others. Moreover, e-governance fosters greater interaction between authorities and citizens, thus encouraging more public participation and involvement. Various online tools can be used, such as RSS feeds, tag clouds, interactive map, webcasts for information; blogs, online polls for consultation; e-petitions, wikis, forum and virtual worlds for participation (WEF 2011). Social networks also support e-governance with more equity, decentralization and democratization.
On the other hand, e-governance can make a significant positive impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions through the dematerialization of public service delivery. Many paper-based services can be digitalized and situations where face-to-face interaction has been previously required (to prove identity) can be done virtually (GeSI 2008).
[1] UNESCAP, Good governance: http://www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/ProjectActivities/Ongoing/gg/governance.asp
[2] Governance for sustainable human development (UNDP 1997): http://mirror.undp.org/magnet/policy
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