In their book, Democracy, Peace and Development, Galtung and Scott say that in any active democracy, good governance has many components.
They are participation, accountability, effectiveness and efficiency, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, equity and inclusiveness and ultimately, an open consensus-related policy discussion.
It was published in 2008, but should still be a servant leader’s civic bible today, yet its tenets are often missed, dismissed or bypassed.
We are sometimes in a trough because some leaders fail to consider some of those aspects in good governance. But let’s look at an imagined positive approach today: what if all these factors were taken into consideration?
Participation should ideally be the most important factor when considering inclusivity.
Participation is simply considering the voices of the masses, in fact, in the ideological sense of it, no one is superior to the other when it comes to governance. Equity and inclusiveness can work in line with participation.
That means all citizens have a voice and if the majority voice were to have a say, then things would be very different. For instance, the cries of many complaining about high taxes should be taken into consideration.
In some cases, however, the majority voice can make bad decisions, for instance in voting for a bad leader. Participation should, therefore, be treated with caution when it comes to governance and democracy.
Accountability is another crucial factor in governance. Accountability means creating transparent systems that can be verified by those placed in a position to watch and respond.
Accountability, rule of law and transparency can work together. Being accountable needs super-honest and patriotic leaders. Lack of accountability in some government offices has caused Kenya to be ranked very low in the corruption perception index.
Corrupt leaders may inspire the rest of the citizens to be corrupt. And inversely, corrupt citizens bring forth corrupt leaders. Effectiveness and efficiency are a must in any thriving country. Consider how the burden of digitalising the Identity card, driver’s licence and passport systems in Kenya has created such efficient respective offices.
There are more ways in which Kenya has lessened the analogue ways of governance, but so much more can be achieved. Our leaders should therefore prioritise creating efficient and effective systems.
Whatever happened to the Free Laptop Project, by the way? The Ministry of Education can procure free big screens in classes, for a start, as we figure out the basic issues that unfortunately continue to let down our education sector.
Lastly, responsiveness is the cornerstone of responsible governance. It reflects a government’s ability to listen, act and adapt to the needs of its people in a timely and effective manner.
A responsive government ensures that policies address pressing societal concerns, services reach marginalised communities and voices are acknowledged. It brings in trust, strengthens democratic institutions and enhances citizen participation.
Without responsiveness,
governance risks becoming detached
and ineffective. Our leadership must
prioritise inclusivity, transparency
and accountability to guarantee that
responsiveness translates into tangible improvements in people’s lives,
ultimately promoting sustainable
and just development
