Good Governance

There  is  no  doubt  that  today  governance  has become  the  focal discourse of contemporary development and got serious attention from development   practitioners,   policymakers, policy analysts and international development agencies both in Bangladesh and across the globe. Though its importance has got universal acceptance, it is not defined in a uniform way by the theoreticians and practitioners. Even, there is no widely accepted single definition of governance itself. In simple wording, governance refers to 'the process of decision making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)'. In its broader perspective governance involves actions of publicly vested authorities. However, the concern of all and any governance analyses moves around three fundamental questions: What, How and How well.

The concept of governance is not new. It is as old as of social life human civilization. When humans started to live in the society or social life the concept started. There was no social system in the world when governance was not implemented, either good or bad. After  much change  in  the  course  of  time,  we  have  got  the  present  figure  of governance. An  analysis  of  governance  focuses  on  the  formal  and informal  factors  involved  in  decision  making  and  implementing  the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set  in  place. Government is one of the factors in governance. 

Other factors  involved  in  governance  vary  depending  on  the  level  of government  that  is  under  discussion.  At  the  national  level,  can  be added  the  media,  lobbyists,  international  donors,  multinationals corporations  etc. These all may play a role in decision making or influencing the decision making process. The relationship between good governance and democracy could be seen in a linear way. However, democracy not only makes a difference, but it would also be the basic ingredient and major prerequisite for all other items included in the core characteristics of good governance. All factors other than government and the military are grouped together as part of the civil society.

Governance can be viewed both in positive and negative terms

(1) Good governance and

(2) Poor governance. 

Good governance means an ideal governing system that is inevitable for political, economic, social and cultural development of a country. It is the ideal orientation of  a  state  that  works  best  to  achieve  self-reliance,  sustainable development and social justice.

According to V.K.  Chopra,  good   governance  is,  "a  system  of governance that is able to unambiguously identify the basic values of the  society  where  values  are  economic,  political  and  socio-culture issues  including  human  rights,  and  pursue  these  values  through  an accountable and honest administration."

There are 8 core of Good Governance:

1. Accountable

2. Transparentcy

3. Resposive

4. Equitable and inclusive

5. Effective and Efficiency

6. Follow the rule of law

7. Participatory

8. Consensus Oriented