Components of good governance
• Rule of Law-
- Principle of legality, government based on principle of law and not of men
- Totally opposed to rule of arbitration,
- According to Dicey Rule of Law means -
a) Supremacy of law
b) Equality before law
c) Predominance of legal spirit
• Transparency-
- It is significant criteria for the success of good governance
- It is a mechanism or institution which provide information about the performance and the
functions of the government to the public
-In India Right to Information is implicit in right to freedom of speech and expression given
under article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution
- To maintain transparency Parliament enacted Right to Information act 2005
- This act categorize information which is accessible and non accessible to the public
• Participation-
- For good governance all men and women must have a voice in decision-making process
directly or indirectly
- In the Indian Constitution article 19 Provide right to speech and expression, this right it is
important for the people to participate in government processes,
- Various constitutional provisions and laws ensure people's participation in governance like
right to vote and RPA 1951
• Responsiveness-
- Important criteria of good governance - Bureaucracy should responsible to people for fulfilling
their needs
- Good governance manifest itself in formal rules and procedures that serves to define social
practices e.g. water distribution, free medical aid, education, poverty elevation, etc.
• Equality-
- Good governance promotes equality
- All men and women have equal opportunity to improve and maintain their well being
- Equality means equal treatment and absence of discrimination on the basis of gender,
language, race, religion, colour, cast etc.
- Article 14 of Indian Constitution provides equality before law and equal protection of law
- But it allows government for reasonable discrimination and to take affirmative actions for
welfare of weaker sections of society.
• Consensus Orientation-
- Consensus means opinion reached by a group as a whole
- Good governance try to bring consensus among different groups of the society
- It always strives for the protection of interest of groups and their development.
• Effectiveness and Efficiency-
- Efficient Institutions produce best results. - -good governors fulfill the requirement of
effective administration by application new techniques and methods of administration
- Effectiveness of Institution or administration can be judged on the basis of results of public
policy
- Effectiveness and efficiency also depends on optimum utilization of available resources.
• Accountability-
- The most important characteristics of good governance
- Decision makers in government are accountable to public and institutional stakeholders
- Political leaders are responsible and accountable to the people
- People may not choose present ruling party in next election if they fail to perform as per their
commitments and people's expectations
- If civil servants failed to be accountable they might have to face departmental enquiries.
• Strategic Vision-
- To solve the societal problem government makes advanced strategies
- It denotes to advance plans for human development
- Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991 promote democracy, good governance, respect for
human rights and the rule of law
- According to this declaration good governance deals with following visions -
like promotion of political values, equality for women, education, sustainable development,
poverty alleviation, Human Rights, environment, combating drug trafficking, combating
communicable disease and solve economic and security problems.
Hurdles in implementing Good Governance-
a) Lack of awareness about rights and duties and participatory rules by some citizens creates
barrier to good governance.
b) In developing countries like India problem is about the implementation of laws and
policies; as it is stated that effective and efficient institution forms the backbone of
successful development and governance process
c) Though there are provisions of accountability, disciplinary proceedings initiated against
government servants accused of misconduct are very less
d) Attitude of civil servants and administrators regarding use of power at all levels,
differential treatment according to citizens hampers the objective of good governance
e) Negligence of duty on part of some government offices and officials and less awareness
about rights and duties by citizens are the two sides of the same coin this is also one of
the barriers to good governance
f) Corruption and malpractices of politicians, bureaucrats and other government servants
are the biggest and common barriers in good governance.
