Transparency or Concealment - A Way Forward for Governance

Original version of this article by the Author was part of the Conference of Comptroller and Auditor Generals of the States at Shimla. 

Governance with Accountability and Transparency is Fundamental to Eradicate Corruption, Poverty & Hunger

 By:

Vijay Sardana

In a country of 1.2 billion populations, where resources are scares to even meet the growing basic needs and aspirations of the citizens, effective governance becomes very critical to ensure sustainable, stable and vibrant democracy. 

What is Governance in modern world?

Good Governance is required to ensure proper management and functioning of the entire fabric of the political, economic and social life of a nation. It becomes more complex when we try to manage highly diversified nation as India with growing challenges of increasing young and impatient population and hyper-connected with changing dynamics of the world with technologies beyond the control of governments and censor boards driving changes in aspiration of average citizen on real time basis.

The World Bank defines governance as “the exercise of political authority and the use of institutional resources to manage society's problems and affairs".

This considers the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies and the respect of citizens and the state of the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.

An alternate definition sees governance as, “the use of institutions, structures of authority and even collaboration to allocate resources and coordinate or control activity in society or the economy.”

According to the UNDP, “Governance has been defined as the rules of the political system to solve conflicts between actors and adopt decision (legality). It has also been used to describe the "proper functioning of institutions and their acceptance by the public" (legitimacy). And it has been used to invoke the efficacy of government and the achievement of consensus by democratic means (participation).”

In 21^st century, let us be clear we are no more in the era of 1947. Governance priorities cannot be decided by the looking into rear view mirror by people with limited exposure to fast changing global market dynamics.

Why Governance issues are in public debate?

In a system where resources are limited and governance and management decisions are not transparent and objective but based on criteria which are very often not convincing conveys a message that vested interests are at play and running the system of governance. Credibility of governance mechanism becomes more embarrassing, when in electoral politics many candidates with doubtful integrity and criminal records occupy the seats of decision making with the support of political leaderships at various levels starting from Panchayats to the Parliament.

Individuals with doubtful integrity at decision making places and opaque decision making process at various levels responsible for huge resource allocations raises doubt about the motive behind the decision in the minds of average citizen without going into the merits and demerits of the decisions taken by such decision makers. Based on the past bad experiences in the system of opaque governance very often a very powerful negative image and opinion is projected by the certain section of media and opinion leaders on precautionary basis. This influences the opinion of average citizens and creates an environment of mistrust.

This negative public opinion leads to political arguments between ruling and opposition and in this debate decision makers lose focus from the agenda under discussion and leads to mudslinging and personal ego clashes and very often lead to ego hurts and hardening of positions which we can see very often on TV debates. This ego hurts becomes point of prestige for decision makers and the decision making body in place of correcting the wrong decisions goes into protecting self image and in this battle of self-credibility the biggest causality is governance.

In brief, even a good decision from an opaque decision making system rarely gets quick acceptance by common public. Very often this slow process of acceptance of decisions is considered as side effect of democracy by political commentator. This situation can be changed by good governance.

What people expect from Good Governance system?

Governance itself is not a new phenomenon by any means. It is as old as civilization when people started living together in a society and started working together as community in an orderly manner to support each other in the fight for survival.

While its modern genesis may be traced to the Greek city-states, its meaning, purpose, practice and extent have evolved over the centuries, reflecting changing circumstances and specific concerns and aspirations of the society. With the invention of communication media and strengthening of democratic institutions, the issues and dimension of governance came into focus of common man and strengthen the concept of democracy which gave them right to decide who should govern the system for their welfare. This led to the changing paradigms in thinking on development and role of governance in welfare and development.

The development thinking lead to the recognition of role of policies and people involved in policy making and ultimately to the drivers of policy formations i.e. politics. The inclusion of the political dimension in development practice and related policies has changed the development landscape, prompting intrusion into aspects of policy formulation related to development by all stakeholders.

It is true that the concept of governance arising from this process is not precise in meaning. It is now having wider dimensions. Despite attempts at distinguishing between the political, economic and administrative aspects of governance, its analytic and operational dimensions, and its constitutive and distributive elements, in the final analysis governance is essentially all-embracing in its essence. It percolates through the entire fabric of the political, economic and social life of a nation. Recognition of this is reflected in the diversity of definitions given to the concept, but from the common citizens’ perspective this should lead to “better welfare for all” through good governance.

What is Good Governance?

This has lead to many competing views on what the term “good governance” should mean, but most agree that it should include some (if not all) of these: Increased public accountability and transparency; respect for and strengthening of the rule of law and anti-corruption measures; democratization, participation of stakeholders in decision making by decentralization and local government reform; increased civil society participation in development to them relevant; and respect for human rights and the environment on sustainable basis.

It should also be kept in mind that apart from the lack of precision in the meaning of governance, it is also an evolving concept, embracing new elements of emerging society, based on experiences and aspirations, with the passage of time. It means whatever we decide today, may change in near future. Are we ready to embrace the change the system of governance as per aspiration of society? Few Individuals will continue to take-over power centers so that will try to hold their forts? The resistances to accept Jan Lok Pal and electoral reforms, police reforms etc by political class are some of the examples.

Right to Good Governance is becoming fundamental right in the modern world:

For the first time, governance issues become visible to common citizens of the world when world was debating WTO negotiations and “good economics is good politics” was considered a new mantra for political systems. Large number of protests around the world on various aspects of WTO highlighted that World Trade Agreements based on limited principles will not satisfy the global concerned because of various reasons. In fact the rich and the mighty were fighting each other for the first time in open for their own interests in place of fair and transparent global trading system. The biggest challenge for the world leaders at Ministerial Meetings of WTO was how to gain the trust of civil society and masses around the world. The current stalemate at WTO is the outcome of mistrust and unfair trade practices and poor governance at various levels around the world.

By 2000, the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD adopted a perception of good governance as requiring “a broad approach to partnership extending beyond government and parliaments to include civil society and the private sector”, and adding to the notions of transparency and accountability with some sense of predictability.

Transparency and Accountability central for Good Governance:

Based on the global and national experiences in recent months and years, in all walks of life, the notions of transparency and accountability, with predictability, are now becoming central to public policy making around the world. Civil society is demanding bigger role in the process of governance and no longer willing to trust few elected representatives. In one way it is good sign. This will force the systems of governance to become transparent and objective.

What people expect from “Transparency”?

Constitutions adopted for the governance based on the principles of “by the people, for the people, of the people” ensures that all actions and activity related to governance under the Constitution must be transparent and accountable to people of India. 

Transparency refers to the need for openness in government policies and decisions. Such openness, and making available required information to the populace, will reduce the scope for misuse of resources and enhance public capacity for holding governments to account. Right to Information Act re-emphasizes the right of citizens for transparency in governance.

An area where common man is concerned about transparency is the budget, i.e. resource allocation for the citizens. It is through the budget that the management of national resources is mainly implemented and the absence of transparency in budgeting processes can engender corruption, inefficiency and inequity, and compromise the provision of public services and the development effort. Particular focus is advised on public procurement. The use of open tender processes, publication of relevant information regarding award of contracts, easily accessible complaints procedures when foul pay is suspected, are among the crucial considerations for ensuring good governance in public financial management.

Similar approaches should be adopted in the management of revenues accruing from natural resources such as oil and other mineral wealth, forestry and fisheries resources. The contracts signed with foreign partners for the exploitation of these resources, the revenues accruing there from and the uses to which they are put should be readily accessible to the populace. Absence of transparency in these matters creates breeding houses for conclusion of arrangements which may not be of general national benefit, encourage misappropriation and exploitation of national resources in the interest of an elite minority, with a potential in the long run of threatening national cohesiveness and precipitating instability.

All the scams in the country are the outcome of lack of transparency in the system of Governance and decision making. Non-transparent approach of the policy makers is no longer acceptable to citizens.  Citizens are not willing to trust whatever governments are saying or projecting that is why they are moving towards judicial system to seek facts and justice. The statement by government authorities to review RTI Act is further raising doubt on the intentions of the government.

What people expect from “Accountability”?

Accountability is the natural coexistent of transparency. Indeed, the purpose of transparency is essentially the facilitation of accountability. In general, accountability refers to the obligation of those in authority to account to those on whose behalf they exercise such authority i.e. citizens, for the discharge of the responsibilities entrusted to them. We can distinguish between financial, political and administrative elements of accountability. The exercise of accountability requires a system of laws, regulations and codes of conduct. In addition, mechanisms should be established for monitoring compliance and deviations, and institution of corrective measures.

Financial accountability, which tends to be the main focus in this context, pays special attention to budgetary processes. It is deemed a necessary condition for good governance; prudent management of public resources; reduced corruption; better delivery of services; and a support to efforts at poverty alleviation. Strengthening financial accountability requires reforms almost across the board, touching on the parliamentary, judicial and administrative structures and modalities of government, and could thus entail a far-reaching revamping of governance systems.

The Way Forward to ensure Good Governance:

1.    Abolish Discretionary Powers: Providing discretionary powers without accountability to certain positions and officials is the disrespect towards transparency and objectivity. This shows that individuals are more important than systems and institutions. Under the influence of this power, these people go overboard and poor decision making process starts. Especially, if these discretionary powers are given to certain positions those are protected by the law and legal provisions under the constitution. This is first step in killing accountability in the system. Abolish discretionary powers with immediate effect so that right of equality can be ensured and all are under the same law.

2.    Empower Institutions not individuals: Powerful people are able to twist the situations and facts. It is not surprising that powerful people with power are target of investigating agencies and media. It means corruption is associated with powerful people in governance. Reduce the power from individual and strengthen the institution. Even in the process of decision making, no individual can have more knowledge and skill than the institution. Institution building should be main criteria of success in any government. Democracy means collective decision making process then why discretionary powers were given to a few.

3.    Information disclosure should be mandatory: It is true that in certain situations a quick decisions are required and discretionary power is required to address the critical situations. All these things can be done by key decision makers in the department by putting up a note on the file to justify why this was required and what steps are taken to avoid repeat of such situations. Note should also specify what alternate options were evaluated and why they were rejected. Let the highest authority in the department sign the justification and place the document on the website of the department and ministry. This will reduce the allegation of favoritism and misappropriation. Initially, it may be difficult but if head of the institution or departments will follow, other will be bound to follow the same. Why citizen should file RTI to know the facts? It should be the obligation of all departments to disclose the information (barring few which are sensitive for the national security).

In many countries, even minister have to justify on file why he is deviating from the set procedures and guidelines.

4.    Code of Conduct for all positions funded by tax payers’ money: We have laws and regulations but no Code of Conduct for people at various positions. Code of conduct is missing for people having powers under the laws. Code of Conduct during the election time must be enforced for all times when it comes to use of government machinery and resources by any political representatives. If it is not possible, the total cost of tour and its sources of funds to be mentioned for all ministers and senior officials with discretionary powers.  Private expenditure for the event should also be included. In business world and in market place, nothing comes free. Why any shareholders should allow spending on any VIP’s personal expenditures without any business gains or implications? Where is the law to prevent these practices?

5.    Citizens Charter: Poorly equipped departments with many authorities and discretionary powers are real source of corruption and poor governance. An average citizen suffers from these agencies. What citizens can expect from the department in what time frame and what is the fee structure should be online and be placed on the main gate of the departments. All relevant forms and documents should be on line. All phone numbers of the concerned officers and electronic filing should be traceable by citizens. Complaints received by the department and their action taken report must be on line. This will save time and money for the country. Moreover, use of website is environment friendly way of governance at low cost and at fastest speed. Timeline should also be given to decide the cases related to corruption. Let, citizens’ education about citizens charter becomes part of the CSR of many government and private organizations.

6.    Review all laws and their impact on transaction costs: There must be audit of existing laws and their implication on transaction costs to the citizens. Sometimes, legal requirements are based on outdated concepts and technologies and very often act as nuisance for citizens and investors.  This leads to corruption. Higher the transaction costs and higher the implementation cost, more are the chances of corruption under that law. This leads to serious nexus between various enforcement agencies and illegitimate beneficiaries. In place of doing right things, it is easy to secure permissions from authorities by paying for considerations. Pass a law to minimize paper work and review the existing laws and their utilities in modern world.

7.    Social Audit of government assistance in any form including subsidies, grants, events and projects done by using tax payers’ money: All the beneficiaries from tax payers’ money should be listed with amount given to them and what deliverables are expected from them. Department should place the proposals of agencies and people seeking grants, aids and sponsorships from them with the objective and deliverable. If they are repeated beneficiaries, the outcome of earlier project and grants given should be mentioned based on objective criteria and outcomes, with the social audit report. Relevant and measurable criteria should be developed for social audit and local civil society should be engaged in social audit.

8.    Grievance Redressal Systems should be made effective and time bound: It should insulate the complainant from the harassment by the concerned authorities. In other words whistle blowers should be protected under the law. Longer the time, longer the harassment for the complainant.

9.    Rank or Reward the Good departments based on Good Governance performance criteria for the work they are doing. Rank the departments in the order of merit for their performance. Let citizens also know who all are doing good work and who has to work harder for their welfare.

10. E-governance should be promoted: Computers will not ask bribe when citizens will approach them to download application form or submitting the application form. Computers will record correct time and give correct priority number. Powerful people cannot change the order of priority. It means e-governance can be good solution to most of the services offered by the departments. Less the interaction with officials inperson, less the chances of allegations and charges of corruption. Railway reservation, ATM banking, online trading, online insurance policies are few such examples.  Suitable checks and balances can be developed to screen the defaulters and wrong doers.

11. Mandatory Stakeholders’ consultations should be organized to understand the problems faced by them and action taken report of previously received grievances should be placed before them and on website by department.  In case of repeated cases of poor governance, concerned department should be made accountable like in case of RTI, concerned officials are made accountable.

Good governance is possible under any given situation. The biggest challenge is rigid mindset and resistance to change not resources when it comes to good governance.  Initially it may look complicated and painful process because people in positions may not have habit of answering questions from common citizens, but once there is beginning, it will iron out all the issues with minor hic-ups. All the above mentioned suggestions do not require any major resource allocation. Resources and time saving due to good governance will always be more than revenue loss due to bad governance. Transparency and Accountability will encourage every citizen to abide by the law and also perform their duties and responsibilities toward the Nation. Good Governance is Good Politics as well.

 “Where there is a will there is away.”  

Now Question is:  

Do we have the will to improve governance? 

If yes, Look at actions taken by the people in power, not their statements. Because Actions speak louder than the Words.

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