{"id":160044,"date":"2016-03-31T18:45:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T13:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=160044"},"modified":"2016-03-31T18:45:48","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T13:15:48","slug":"good-governance-is-not-a-utopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/good-governance-is-not-a-utopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Governance Is Not A Utopia!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laksiri Fernando<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a>

Dr. Laksiri Fernando<\/p><\/div>\n

Good governance or \u2018Yahapalana<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u2019 is not and should not be a \u2018utopia,\u2019 to mean an \u2018ideal state,\u2019 which is according to some, \u2018never reachable.\u2019 Of course like democracy, the achievements of \u2018good governance\u2019 are measured and should be measured by the degree. Not in absolute terms, but in relative achievements. The measurements can be hazy or largely subjective, unless they are grounded on (measurable) objective criteria.<\/p>\n

It is true that like democracy, there is no all agreeable definition on \u2018good governance.\u2019 But this \u2018imperfection\u2019 is not a reason to cynically discount the value of \u2018good governance,\u2019 whatever the reason. There are very clear cut principles and all modern democratic governments are expected to follow these principles. \u2018Good governance\u2019 is not just an \u2018effective electoral slogan\u2019 to hoodwink the masses and then consider it as a \u2018lodestar\u2019 to go to other destinations.<\/p>\n

To describe \u2018good governance\u2019 as a utopia is simply misleading, whatever the intention. By doing so an enormous distances is unnecessarily created between the present reality and the objectives of \u2018good governance.\u2019 To borrow the Marxist terminology, more \u2018scientific approach\u2019 needs to be adopted instead of a \u2018utopian\u2019 conception, to make the objectives of good governance achievable.<\/p>\n

The Case of Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n

The catalytic change in Sri Lanka in January 2015 came about by promising \u201cA Compassionate \u2018Maithri<\/em>\u2019 Governance.\u201d That was the title of the manifesto (in English). Of course the present government or the President is undoubtedly \u2018compassionate\u2019 (relatively) compared to the brutality of the Rajapaksa administration. That is however not enough.<\/p>\n

The title of the above manifesto didn\u2019t say directly about \u2018good governance.\u2019 However it was synonymous. It didn\u2019t say \u2018government,\u2019 but \u2018governance.\u2019 Governance means the process of government and not merely the structure or the personnel. The prognosis of the manifesto was correct and it was all about converting \u2018bad governance\u2019 into \u2018good governance\u2019 as stated follows.<\/p>\n

\u201cA large number of deviations such as the total breakdown of the rule of law, fraud, corruption, wastage, inability to identify national priorities, environmental degradation, moral and spiritual degradation have merged as obstacles to our country\u2019s march forward.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There were clear subtitles or sections on \u2018good governance.\u2019 On page 15, it talked about \u2018a mechanism to supervise good governance\u2019 with clear cut 10 promises or benchmarks. These didn\u2019t appear \u2018utopian\u2019 but achievable targets, if the political will remains and if the leadership doesn\u2019t backtrack.<\/p>\n

That was in January. Then came the \u2018UNF (Manifesto) for Good Governance\u2019 for the August 2015 general elections in that particular name and title. Even if the President\u2019s manifesto was for \u2018compassionate governance,\u2019 this was particularly on \u2018good governance.\u2019 It promised a new country in 60 months, and 7 months have already passed. Even giving one month allowance for preparation, this is 1\/10 of the time period given.<\/p>\n

Of course the main focus of the five point program of the UNF manifesto was on the \u2018economy and its efficiency\u2019 with equal focus on \u2018fighting corruption and ensuring freedoms.\u2019 In its section three on \u201cProcesses of Ensuring Freedoms\u201d it was promised to \u201cintegrate the principles of good governance in the state structures in order to further strengthen democracy in the country.\u201d I am not just saying, but quoting. It declared \u201cGood governance institutions shall be the fourth pillar of the state structure\u201d to mean the independent commissions in paragraph 13. It in fact gave an equal status to \u2018independent commissions,\u2019 right or wrong, alongside the other three pillars, the legislature, executive and the judiciary.<\/p>\n

It is rather commendable that the UNF took \u2018good governance\u2019 seriously and announced its objectives very clearly. India is a previous country where \u2018good governance\u2019 took a prominent place in election campaigns of the BJP and Narendra Modi. However, this is not unknown to many developing countries particularly in Africa. Mary McNeil and Carmen Malena summarized some of these experiences in their \u201cDemanding Good Governance: Lesson from Social Accountability Initiatives in Africa<\/em>\u201d (2010). Of course it is a World Bank publication.<\/p>\n

The Concept<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before dealing with the concept, it should be noted that the proliferation of new information technology in Sri Lanka \u2013 the cell phone, SMS, internet and now the FB \u2013 has empowered particularly the youth who demand greater accountability from their political and elected leaders. Although the Rajapaksa regime partially managed to block these communication systems, that is something decisively boomeranged on them among other factors. Hopefully no one will be able to do so in the future. Today the print media also plays a vibrant role in this process, hopefully not in favour of a comeback of the \u2018old regime.\u2019<\/p>\n

Origins of the concept of good governance is long standing. Although in recent times the sources of the concept are referred to the development and financial institutions like the World Bank, the IMF or the OECD, when Aristotle referred to \u2018good polis\u2019 he was talking about conditions that can ensure \u2018good governance\u2019 in those conditions. In most recent times, the UN, particularly the UNDP and the Human Rights Council have taken up the same mission. More than any external source, the urge for \u2018good governance\u2019 could be considered ingrained in the human nature (humans as political animals), flourishing under the modern favourable circumstances.<\/p>\n

With these developments, two major facets have merged one in the \u2018development sphere\u2019 and the other in the political or the \u2018democracy domain\u2019 with a clear focus on human rights. In the case of Sri Lanka, it appears that people are mostly yearning for \u2018good governance\u2019 in the political sphere nevertheless overlapping on the development domain. For the purposes of the present article what can best be quoted is from a statement of the UNESCAP (UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), titled \u201cWhat is Good Governance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assumes that corruption is minimized, the views of the minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Except for its little pessimistic conclusion, the ESCAP statement very usefully elaborates the 8 major characteristics which can be utilized in assessing the progress or regress of \u2018good governance\u2019 in any country.<\/p>\n

An Assessment<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my opinion, our \u2018Yahapalanaya<\/em>\u2019 has not taken a reverse cause \u2018so far\u2019 although it has stumbled or even blundered on some of the fundamental promises or benchmarks. It can still make a course correction, if there is political will. Mine is not a comprehensive assessment, but some initial impressions. To reiterate, the following are the main characteristics or benchmarks of \u2018good governance.\u2019
\n(1) Participation,
\n(2) Rule of Law,
\n(3) Transparency,
\n(4) Responsiveness,
\n(5) Consensus Orientation,
\n(6) Equity and Inclusiveness,
\n(7) Effectiveness and Efficiency, and
\n(8) Accountability.<\/p>\n

It is obvious that some benchmarks intersect each other and some others might take a longer time to realize or fully realize. However, if some of the fundamentals are properly followed, like \u2018democratic participation\u2019 and \u2018rule of law,\u2019 others might follow without much difficulty in the political sphere. And even some of the weaknesses might be \u2018overlooked\u2019 for the time being for the \u2018greater good.\u2019 But this is not exactly the case today.<\/p>\n

There are paradoxes in the \u2018Yahapalana<\/em>\u2019 performance. There is a commendable orientation towards \u2018consensus politics\u2019 through the UNP-SLFP \u2018national unity\u2019 government, but unfortunately at the expense of certain aspects of \u2018transparency and accountability.\u2019 The understanding with the TNA is commendable, but it is still lukewarm or indeterminate. The nature of the \u2018Mega-Cabinet,\u2019 reminiscent of the Rajapaksa era, not only smacks \u2018good governance\u2019 but also has created \u2018inefficiency and ineffectiveness\u2019 with considerable economic lethargy and indolence. \u2018Good governance\u2019 is not only about politics, but also about economics.<\/p>\n

For a dictator, a \u2018Mega-Cabinet\u2019 is no issue, but for representative democracy or \u2018Yahapalanaya<\/em>,\u2019 it is a colossal liability. The consequences are already visible.<\/p>\n

There is some political \u2018transparency.\u2019 But this is mostly forced upon them by the whistle-blowers and the media, than delivered by them willingly. However, on most of the exposed cases, the reactions so far have been \u2018responsive.\u2019<\/p>\n

The major blot on \u2018Yahapalana<\/em>\u2019 so far in my opinion is the appointment of defeated candidates or the \u2018best-losers\u2019 through the backdoor of the national list violating the country\u2019s Constitution. Even if the Constitution is ambiguous on this matter (to me it is not), the \u2018Moral Sense\u2019 should have prevailed before doing so. The appointments infringe the basic tenets of our democracy, the Franchise of the People, even under the still authoritarian constitution.<\/p>\n

This is why the initiatives by Nagananda Kodituwakku<\/span><\/a> and the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) on the above matter should be supported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":92325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nGood Governance Is Not A Utopia! - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/good-governance-is-not-a-utopia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Good Governance Is Not A Utopia! - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/good-governance-is-not-a-utopia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-31T13:15:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-31T13:15:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"237\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"263\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/good-governance-is-not-a-utopia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/good-governance-is-not-a-utopia\/\",\"name\":\"Good Governance Is Not A Utopia! 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