GOVERNANCE AND REGULATORY INSITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS AND THE TRANSFORMATION AGENDA
(Being a paper presented by Joshua T. Abu (Retired Public Servant), at an Interactive Session with Participants of the Senior Executive Course SEC No. 35, 2013 of the National Institute (NIPPS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State held on Thursday, 25th April, 2013 at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Yola)
Protocol:
Introduction:
I am indeed highly honoured and humbled by the invitation extended to me by the organizers to make this presentation at this Interactive Session with participants of the Senior Executive Course of NIPS, Kuru - Jos. I consider this year’s theme and in particular the sub-theme assigned to me most appropriate, not only as a pre-condition for restoring sanity and order in governance, but for resolving several other challenges which presently confront us as a nation.
The terms "governance" and "good governance" specifically, are increasingly being used in development literature, with bad governance being regarded as one of the root causes of the problems in our societies. This has necessitated the embarking on several reforms by governments to ensure "good governance". No doubt therefore, good governance is the antidote to many of the myriad of problems and challenges confronting us as a nation.
The crisis of development in Africa has been described as a “crisis of governance” by the World Bank (2003). This is rightly so, in view of the fact that African democratic experience has been grappling with a leadership that has been characterized by corruption, authoritarianism and violence, contributing to the present economic and political violence, repression and famine in most of Africa. Good governance is synonymous with sound development management while bad governance has lack of accountability and transparency as its main features and is linked to socio-economic performance. While bad governance negatively affects the quality of public goods and services and imparts negatively on service delivery generally.
The Imperative of Good Governance:
The role of the state and that of regulation have been changing over time starting with interventionist government, followed by minimal state and now regulatory state. Under the notion of regulatory state, emphasis has shifted to “better regulation” and “good governance”. The need for effective regulatory institutional frameworks to sustain the process of economic growth and development is now widely recognised. Good governance and regulatory governance in particular has been found to be very critical to sustainable development.
Governance: Definition: "Governance" as a concept is as old as human civilization. It is about processes, and not necessarily about ends. Governance has generally been defined as a system of values, policies, and institutions by which a society manages its economic, social, and political affairs usually through interactions within the state, civil society and the private sector (Shabbir Cheema, April, 2004; UNDP, 1997; UNDP, 2000).
It comprises the mechanisms and processes for citizens and groups to articulate their interests and to work together and mediate their differences, as well as exercise their legal rights and obligations with rules, institutions, and practices that set limits and provide incentives for individuals, organizations and firms. Good governance on the other hand, refers to the way and manner a society organizes itself to ensure equality of opportunity and equity (social and economic justice) for all citizens and also promotes people-oriented development (Shabbir Cheema, April, 2004).
Governance is believed to have evolved from the need by society to organise its members towards achieving a common purpose - their well being and happiness. The desire of all peoples of the world from time immemorial has been for them to be governed well. This underscores the importance of good governance as an essential foundation for national progress and sustainable development. As the former UN Secretary-General – Kofi Anan rightly pointed out while addressing the Millennium Summit of the General Assembly of the UN in September, 2000: “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development” (Adel M. Abdeelatif, 2003).
Since governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance necessarily, focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing the decisions made. It also focuses on the formal and informal structures and institutions put in place to arrive at and implement the decisions. Governance however, is not only about the “organs” or actors, but more importantly it is about the quality of governance.
Good governance is grounded on certain predicates, which are, that: citizens and their governments do enter into a compact - agreement (social contract) in which the citizens expect returns from their rulers for the enormous power and resources vested in the governments. They expect the government to respond to their material and non-material needs through a systematic process of accountability, transparency, and checks and balances.
Part of this compact involves the creation of a participatory system of democratic governance, bound by peace and security and the rule of law as well as the development of institutions and institutional norms/regulations capable of producing sound economic-macro and micro-policies and management. The ultimate expectations are that this compact will significantly lead to poverty reduction. In a way therefore, good governance is an imperative for development (UNECA, 2001).
Challenges of Governance:
One of the major challenges is the lack of checks and balances (or mechanisms), strong enough to control the autocratic tendencies in government and to hold political actors accountable for their actions. Furthermore, politicians do not practice ethical politics as most of the time they fall short of the law. The political parties most of the time do not practice internal democracy; while the people are not well organized to challenge and demand accountability from their leaders. Corruption has also become so endemic, leading to poor governance, and which in turn hampers socio-political and economic development. Furthermore, regulatory institutions that should ordinarily deal with some of these challenges are mostly ill equipped, underfunded and are themselves not insulated from corruption and sharp practices.
Imperative of Regulation:
In the search for better governance, regulatory reform is critical (Kirkpatrick, 2006) and this is true of most developing economies, where weaknesses in regulatory rule-making are pervasive and where there is a general lack of accountability, transparency and consistency in policy formulation and implementation. Similarly, both foreign and domestic investors are discouraged from investing in countries where the regulatory framework falls far short of “good governance”. Governments in such economies have consequently come to the realisation of the urgency to improve regulatory governance in order to increase the levels of private investment and economic growth.
Concept of Regulation:
Regulation generally speaking, is an intervention between parties to a transaction. In its broadest sense, regulation facilitates transactions because it is the means used to provide the basic framework under which parties to a transaction conduct their businesses in a secure environment. Such a framework includes the regulatory provision or guarantee of human rights, a judicial system, property rights, rules of contract and competition among others. Regulatory intervention of this kind is generic and applies across the whole of the economy and society. Some of these regulatory interventions are so fundamental to the operations of a society and its economy such that they are built into the national constitution. Others however, become the subject of statute and secondary legislation.
It is pertinent to note, that the emergence of the regulatory state has put a significant burden on governments’ capacities to regulate effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, the importance of high-quality regulation is reinforced by the transition of growth strategies from state-led to market-led development, which many developing countries like ours are undergoing. Similarly, radical market liberalization especially in the absence of appropriate regulatory structures to promote and safeguard effective and healthy competition has led to a large extent, led to policy failures.
These trends in turn have led to a broad recognition of the need to better address the regulatory environment as part of the shift to market-led economic development and growth worldwide. As a result, better regulation has become an important part of the development policy agenda of most developing countries, Nigeria inclusive (Majone, Giandomenico, “The Regulatory State and Its Legitimacy Problems”, West European Politics, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1999).
Challenges of Regulatory Governance:
Regulatory reform in developing and transition economies faces a number of challenges which include among others:
1) Challenges of transferring “best practice” models that are rooted in different economic, social and political contexts of developed countries to developing countries. There is no ready-made or - “one size fits all” solution to all countries.
2) Lack of essential institutional underpinnings for effective regulatory reform especially in the areas of regulatory capacity. Most developing countries are short of both resources and expertise that are required for regulatory reform. Capacity building and financial and technical assistances are therefore, usually needed to drive such reforms.
3) Regulatory reform and policy in developing countries have to consider a wider range of objectives that are often beyond just the promotion of market efficiency. This is because it is important for regulatory policy in most of these developing countries to be “pro-poor”. For example, the fuel subsidy policy of government has to take note of its implication to the poor and less privileged as well as remote areas and so also is the electricity tariff regime.
Strengthening Institutional Frameworks for Good Governance: Adamawa State
In line with the Transformation Agenda of the Federal government and the need to promote good governance, the Adamawa State Government we can report has set in motion certain reforms and regulatory institutional frameworks that include the following:
1. Public Procurement: One of greatest challenges of good governance is transparency in public procurement. In line with this a Bill on Public Procurement has been passed into law by the State House of Assembly is awaiting assent by the Governor. Similarly a workshop on Public Procurement for top government functionaries has been conducted preparatory to implementing the law in the state.
2. Fiscal Responsibility: In its bid to ensure accountability, transparency and to fight corruption, a Bill on Fiscal Responsibility forwarded to the State House of Assembly has also been passed into law and is awaiting assent by the Governor. Furthermore, Fiscal Regulations are being reviewed by the Ministry of Finance to ensure that financial transactions are carried out within the law. In addition, a Committee has been set up to oversee the implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Law when finally assented to.
3. Budget/Monitoring: The state government puts attention on performance budget. Consequently, a Committee has been set up to Monitor Budget Implementation. In addition, a Permanent Secretary has been specifically assigned to head and supervise budget preparation and implementation.
4. Contributory Pension Scheme: To minimise the problems associated with pension administration, and in line with the Federal Government’s Pension Reform, a Bill for the Establishment of Contributory Pension Scheme has been passed into Law by the House of Assembly and is awaiting Governor’s assent.
5. Rule of Law: Considering the critical role of the Judiciary in ensuring justice and rule of law, the State Government has improved the salaries and allowances of judicial officers in addition to enhancing its operational capability. Tribunals were also set up to handle Local Government Election Petitions arising from the conduct of the Council elections held in 2012.
6. Freedom of Information: In its bid to domesticate the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a Sensitization Workshop will be conducted in the first week of May, 2013 for relevant stakeholders including civil society organisations. In the meantime, information requested for are given to those who duly seek for them in the spirit of free flow of information.
7. Executive – Legislative Relationship: In order to allow for good governance and in the spirit of separation of powers, a Liaison Officer has been appointed to liaise and mediate between the legislature and the executive. This has facilitated a cordial relationship between the legislative and executive arms in the state.
8. Oversight Function: As part of its constitutional responsibility, the Adamawa State House of Assembly periodically undertakes oversight visits to Ministries and Departments for the purpose of ensuring that laws passed are implemented and for the purposes of law making.
9. Conduct Local Government Council Elections: In its bid to meet the constitutional requirement of having in place democratically elected Local Government Councils, the State Government provided the necessary financial and logistical requirements to the State Independent Electoral Commission for the conduct of Council elections in the state in 2012.
10. Security: The relative peace enjoyed in the state has been facilitated by the cordial relationship between the state government and security outfits operating in the state and the setting up and equipping of Security Taskforce to deal with specific security challenges.
Recommendations:
From the above discussion it would appear that good governance and better regulation is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in its totality. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards these ideals with the sole aim of making it a reality. It should serve as a mirror through which any government could measure and assess itself. Best practices even though ideals are expected to serve as guideposts and should therefore be applied as much as possible for greater good. Towards this end the following specific suggestions are offered:
1. Tracking Funds/Releases: Releases and allocations to the State Government should be publicized to allow workers and the public to know what revenues are accrued to both state and local governments to enable and empower them to monitor the utilization of such funds.
2. Blocking Leakages: The e-payment system of salaries and pensions adopted by the Adamawa State Government should also extend to local governments as a way of tracking possible salary frauds and other payments. The policy should also be extended to contract payments and all other government transactions to minimize rent seeking and other sharp practices. The system should however be properly monitored as experience has shown that e-payment it is not necessarily free from abuses and sharp practices.
3. Community Monitoring: Community monitoring entails systematic collection of information to assess quality of public services and aims to provide a stock of data that could be used by the community to advocate for improved services and better align them to the needs of the local populace. Accountability and transparency are at the centre of any political system. In this regard the right of every citizen to know what decisions and actions are being implemented in their name should be appreciated. Government officials should therefore be open and honest and be ready to account for their stewardship at all times even long after they might have left office.
4. Capacity Building for Regulatory Bodies and other Functionaries: This should be demand driven – by allowing relevant departments and agencies to decide on what type of training they need based on a needs assessment process. It should also be for all categories of staff including elected officials. Capacity building in terms of skill development and value reorientation is also critical for enhanced performance and should be a continuous process.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation: Performance measurement is a key aspect of public management to improve government efficiency. Success could be measured using specific indicators or targets. Towards this end, the State Budgeting Department should develop targets and indicators to be given to line ministries and departments to ensure that budgets touch the lives of the intended beneficiaries. Similarly, the African Union Peer Review Mechanism model adopted by the Governor’s Forum should be fully implemented and to cover all states as it will go a long way in showcasing best practices so that states could learn from each other and improve their performances. It therefore recommends itself.
6. Enhancing Community Participation: State and Local Government Councils need to listen more and respond more to local needs and involve the community more, in planning, budgeting, monitoring and service delivery. Attention should also be given to women, youth, and the elderly, and people with disabilities.
7. Anti-corruption Crusade: The department of government should liaise with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to establish Anti-corruption units in all ministries, departments and agencies to help in nipping corruption at the bud.
8. Sanctions and Enforcement: One the greatest challenges of governance is equity and social justice. Laws, rules and regulations are meaningless if they are not obeyed and erring persons appropriately sanctioned. Quite a number of times however, top government officials who flout laws and regulations escape justice. This tendency has encouraged impunity in governance and made the job of the regulators very difficult. Nobody should therefore be allowed to live above the law.
9. Review Public (Civil) Service Rules: They should be reviewed and updated to align them to changes and developments in the recent past and to make them in tune with best practices.
10. Leadership and Political Will: Regulations and oversight functions are only useful if the leadership has the political will to drive them through to the regulators the impetus to do their jobs without let or hindrance and to also lead and live by example.
Conclusion:
Good governance should be participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, and ensures that the views of minorities are taken into account while the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is responsive to the present and future needs of society.
Government policies, regulations and institutions of state should aim to bring these ideals about and their successes measured by the extent to which they are attained. Regulatory policies and institutions must not however be detrimental to the poor and vulnerable in society; while operators should be civil and humane in their approach and fair to all parties in a transaction or dispute.
In the finally analysis, good governance and better regulations should reduce poverty, generate employment, bring development, guaranty peace and stability, equity and social justice among others in addition to the afore mentioned.
On that note, I thank you all for listening and God bless!
REFERNCES
1. Good Governance and its Relationship to Democracy & Economic Development, by Adel M. Abdeelatif, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR)/Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Forum III on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity, Workshop IV. Democracy, Economic Development, and Culture, Seoul 20-31 May 2003.
2. Democracy, Development and Good Governance: The Inseparable Links, delivered by Professor Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University at the Maiden Annual Democracy and Governance (Kronti ne Akwamu) Lecture of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), British Council, Hall, Accra, Ghana, March 1, 2005.
3. Governance for Sustainable Human Development: A UNDP policy paper UNDP 1997
Hyden Goran & Olowu Dele (ed.), African Perspective on Governance (Africa World Press, 2000)
4. Good Governance in Nigeria: A Study in Political Economy and Donor Support, by Inge Amundsen, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Final Version, 24 August 2010, Commissioned by Norad
5. Majone, Giandomenico, “The Regulatory State and Its Legitimacy Problems”, West European Politics, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1999
6. What is Good governance? Mr. Yap Kioe Sheng Chief, Poverty Reduction Section, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), UN Building, Rajdamnern Nok Ave, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
7. Shabbir Cheema, G. (April, 2004), ‘From Public Administration to Governance: The Paradigm Shift in the link between Government and Citizens.’ Paper presented at the 6th Global Forum on Reinventing Government, with a theme, Towards Participatory and Transparent Governance, 24-27 May, 2005.
8. United Nations Development Programme; Human Development Report 2000: Human Rights and Human Development, New York, 2000.
9. United Nations Development Programme, Governance for Sustainable Human Development: A UNDP Policy Paper, New York, UNDP, 1997; also see United Nations Development Programme, Corruption and Governance, New York, UNDP, 1997.
