Name : Budi Wijaya

NPM : 170410100060

ESSAY

Good Government for Good Development

In recent years the word governance has become a very fashionable term and is being
used in a variety of ways and covers a large number of organizations both in public and
private domain. This is not a new concept. It is as old as human civilization on this earth.
Generally the term 'Governance' refers to the process of decision making and the process by
which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). It can be used in several contexts
such as corporate governance, local governance, national governance, international
governance or to the interactions between other sectors of society. Governance is necessary in
each sector of nation for smooth and efficient working. It is one of the actors of governance
and takes decisions at local and national level and implements those decisions for human
welfare. The quality of governance plays a vital role in the economic development of
countries as everybody knows that without good governance there can be no sustainable
development in a country.

It is widely recognized that good governance is a sine non qua for economic
development of developing countries. Good governance is generally characterized by
accessibility, accountability, predictability, transparency and follows the rule of law. It
assures that corruption is minimized, views of minorities are taken into account and that the
voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision making. When good
governance is guaranteed, residents of all over the world go about their personal business and
pursuits with enhanced expectations whereas bad governance not only restricts opportunities
of success but it can even degenerate into sectarian conflicts and civil wars.

Good Governance does not occur by chance. It cannot be introduced overnight. The
process is often, a gradual one involving changes to long standing, practices, entrenched
interests and cultural habits and social and even religious norms. Recently President of USA
Mr. Barack Obama has said that what Africa required for development are not strong men but
strong institutions and good governance. The prosperity of an economy depends upon the
social, economic and sustainable development. It is nevertheless admitted that good
governance is one that encompasses a whole range of social, political and economic activities
and cannot be confined to economic aspects alone.

What is the need of good' governance in the Indian context? A nation where
according to an estimation by an NGO based in Hyderabad, the expenditure on Governance,
by the 790 politicians at the Centre, the 4120 in the 35 States and Union Territories and the
18.7 million employees of the Central and State Governments Use about Rs. 2200 crore day
or Rs. 760000 crore per year, both on capital and revenue account. Instead of such a huge
expenditure, the gulf of per capita availability of resources between rich and poor has been
widely increased.

Every day it is published and shown by media about various scams, tax evasions,
delay, in legal proceedings, wasteful expenditure of government funds by corrupt politicians
and by bureaucrats and rapidly increasing the graph of corruption, terrorism and other evil
practices in society indicates the complex and non-transparent system of command and
control, monopoly of the government as a service provider, underdeveloped legal frame
work, lack of information and weak notion of citizen's rights. These days the level of
corruption, bribery and other evil practices against social and economic development are
being rapidly increased due to poor governance. There have been many instances where large
sums of money have been spent on needed development ventures but their costs are much
higher owing to the contracts being given to those who have paid bribes. Ultimately a
tendency has been developed for their construction to be substandard or even, defective. For
instance CWG scam, 2G scam and many other scams are the results of poor governance.
Many prominent persons such has Wipro's chairman Ajim Premji, Keshuub Mahindra and
HDFC's Deepak Parekh have expressed concerns over a series of scams leading to
governance deficit. Legal proceeding system is so much complex in India due to which many
corrupted officers and criminals have been buried due to want of proves or have got
imprisonment after a long term. Though India is the world's biggest democracy and has a
strong political system, the world corruption watchdog Transparency International has ranked
India the 87th most corrupt country in its latest report which shows how deep rooted the
corruption is in India. We can conclude that 'Good Governance' cannot be possible without
fighting from corruption and mismanagement of public resources.
 It is now widely held view that good city administration can only operate effectively
with increased transparency in decision making process and with greater involvement of each
and every section of society. It promotes security of life and property, access to justice and
rule of law. Good Governance will be a key requisite for the next generation reforms. The
upward movement in the GDP growth rate of 10% to 14% can be seen with Good
Governance and effective administration. In the last 64 years, after independence, it would
seem that most of our development has been directed towards the top 300 million of the
Indian population. This scenario can be changed with the help of good governance since until
the balance 900 million people of India •benefit, the country will not move ahead as a
developed nation. This fact is especially true in case of India which is rich with all kinds of
resources but lacks behind many developed nations in progress.

Poverty and unemployment are the two major barriers in the path of progress which
can be eradicated by proper implementation of policies formed by the government. The
proper implementation is possible under Good Governance. For instance, the education
system in India does not impart any kind of technical skills in the students due to which they
do not get any stable employment opportunities. The need is to prepare the young blood with
such kind of education that would help them to acquire vocational skills that accelerate them
towards various employment opportunities and also enable them to be self employed.

For Good Governance it is necessary that people who are well educated and pursuing
good character should be selected in elections, since the main objectives of such kind of
persons are firstly to administer and Govern and secondly, to serve and benefit both the
citizens and the country in the best possible manner.

Good governance is a tool of development which helps a nation to become a

developed nation where everybody can get equal opportunities to prosper in life. There will
be no scams and frauds and tax evasions will also be minimized. The monster of corruption
will be vanished from every sphere of life and legal proceedings under judiciary system will
be timely solved and proper decisions will be made. No government officials will demand
bribe for performing the duties assigned to him. The vulnerable conditions of working of
many government institutions due to irregularities; unaccountability and non-transparent
system will also be eradicated. All the benefits of policies framed for education, health and
eradication of poverty and unemployment will be directly availed common person. The law
and order system will also be improved such that the 'Jehadi' terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir,
the insurgency in the North-East and rapidly expanding base of naxalite movement in main
land India will be vanished.

Corporate governance should also be improved in order to prevent and detect scandals
and bankruptcies. As defined by Wolfensohn "Corporate Governance is about promoting
corporate fairness, transparency and accountability". Good corporate governance will be
ensured so that foreign investment will be attracted and nobody can dare to make a fraud like
'Satyam Scam' so that trade and industry will also flourish. Hoarding of stock and black
marketing will be discouraged. As we all know that foreign investors are often discouraged
by officials who demand bribes to permit foreign investment in vital sectors where foreign
investments needed. When foreign investors face a high level of corruption and poor
governance, they realize the higher transactions' costs and shy away from the Countries of
poor governance. That is why some countries such as Singapore, have attracted investment,
while others have failed to attract adequate investments.

In order to make it a reality, a corruption free nation with sustainable development

and progressive economic development without any criminalization of politics, actions must
be taken towards good governance and effective administration. The system of governance
should be transparent and opportunity to scrutinize our leaders and the political structure
must be provided, to common man. Policies for development should be formulated in such a
manner that is decision making level. Women are the key to good governance. Their
increasing representation in democratic institutions has provided stability to polity. They can
bring creative, constructive and innovative changes in economy.

From the above discussion it has been cleared that the ideal of good governance is
difficult to achieve in its totality. Only a few nations have come nearer to achieving Good
Governance in its totality. Therefore we Indians will have to change our mindset and take a
much larger interest for our country by participation in the governance of India.

Abraham Lincoln explained government well in his Gettysburg Address. A good government
should be "Of the people, by the people and for the people."

A government is meant to rule the people so there isn't anarchy and chaos. However,
the people, for their sake, should control the same government. A government that is not
connected to its people is a government ripe for disaster. Marie Antoinette, for example, ruled
but did not know who she was actually ruling. She did not understand that they were starving.
She was not connected to her people and her people made her pay for her ignorance.

People should not fear the government; the government should fear the people. A
government that uses tyranny and fear to control its citizens is not a good government. The
government should know that it only has the power the people gave it and that the people can
also take that power away. With this knowledge, the government should do what is right for
its people because it fears the people taking its power away.

The government needs to know what its citizens want, in order to concede to their
wishes. A people-fearing government should desire to discover its citizens' wishes at any
cost. Therefore, it should respond to most, if not all letters and e-mails it receives. Such a
response will make the people aware of the government's position and whether or not the
person's wishes will be met.

However, the government must also be able to make decisions on its own. It cannot
wait for the people on every issue. This does not mean it can disregard the people, it only
means that sometimes decisions need to be made without the immediate input of the people.
At the same time, the government must always place the needs of the people above its own
needs.

In my opinion, a good government needs power to operate effectively, but that power
must always be kept in check. There must be some way that the people can limit the
government's power. This limit should not be a burden on the government, because the
people gave it the power it has. Without the people, a government is worthless. A good
government should know and understand that.

To me, a good government leads the people where the people want to go, not where
the leaders wish to go. Governments are made to keep the people from fighting among
themselves. According to the dictionary, government is a political direction and control
exercised over the actions of the members, citizens or inhabitants of communities, societies
and states. It directs the affairs of state, community and political administration.

In my opinion, a good government is a political group used to lead its citizens and has
only the best interests of the citizens in mind. It cannot become thirsty for power, money,
revenge or land.
No government is perfect, but our government is the best in the world, for the people.

As a vehicle is useless without the fuel likewise a country cannot be run in the
absence of good governance. Good governance is a real drive behind a country’s
development. It protects the human rights, delivers the justice, maintains law an order and
provides equal opportunities to the masses. It delivers the fruits of progress and development
to all and sundry. It is required at all levels of society and state. In today’s globalized world
good governance helps to meet challenges of the world. It makes the system of the state
effective and efficient. People of the country enjoy equal rights under good governance.
Minorities live freely and exercise their religion. No one considers himself above law.
Everyone, no matter how influential he is, is accountable before law. Corruption is unheard
of in a country where good governance prevails. Not only government officials but also
common citizens are aware of their duties and play their role sincerely. In such cooperative
environment, economy boosts and investment increases leading to the prosperity of the
country. In this way good governance helps to reap the fruits of globalization.
Governance is defined as the manner in which power is exercised in the management
of a country’s economic and social resources for development. Good governance means
competent management of a country’s resources and affairs in a manner that is open,
transparent, accountable, equitable and responsive to people’s needs. The essentials of good
governance are:

 It ensures the participation of both men and women in every sector of life.
 It helps in the promotion of national cohesion. Under healthy environment of good
governance people always work with hand in hand for the betterment of the country.
 It creates the feelings of nationalism and integrates the units of the country.
 It ensures the supremacy of institutions. Every institution works within its borders of
limitation.
 Judiciary enjoys full freedom under good governance.
 It also endorses the supremacy of the constitution.
 It maintains the rule of law in the country.
 It guards democracy and guarantees political stability.
 It assures the freedom of media.
 Equal educational opportunities are ensured.
 It pledges for socio-economic development.
  Equal distribution of resources among the federating units of the country is made
possible.
 It makes the country a welfare state which provides social securities to its masses.
 Government’s write is strengthened on all fronts.

It is never too late to act. What is needed is the proper implementation of policies.
Here are some suggestion to make the dream of good governance come true.
 There should be balance between all the institutions of the country. All institutions
must work within the boundary of their limit. It will ensure the proper functioning of
the governmental machinery.
 The centre and the federating units must develop good relation. All the thorny issues
between them be resolved with the sincerity of purpose. Grievances of the provinces
be redressed on priority basis.
 Equal distribution of natural resources be ensured. Provinces must be given right and
due share over their natural resources.
 Justice is indispensible to good governance. Access to cheap and quick justice be
made possible for everyone. Dispensation of justice must be irrespective of class,
creed and religion.
 Economic policies be revised. They must be reformed to meet the demands of the
poor masses. Agricultural and industrial sectors must be revolutionized to attract
investment and boost the economy.
 Cut-down of extra expenditure by down-sizing the administrative setup is the dire
need of the hour. It would be greatly helpful in reducing debt burden from our
country.
 All the institutions responsible for maintaining accountability be authorized.
Legislation be enacted to improve accountability. It must be started from the top.
Everyone, no matter how powerful is he, must be brought to book.
 Anti-corruption courts be established. All the cases of corruption be decided on
priority basis to check the wheel of corruption.
 Media be made free. Freedom of media is the real essence of good governance. Media
is called the fourth pillar of the state and is instrumental in ensuring good governance.
 When all is said it can be concluded that the crisis, which is at the root of all other
crises, is that of good governance. Problems like poverty. Illiteracy, unemployment,
corruption, energy crisis, water and food shortage are weakening our country at its roots. In
this gloomy scenario, good governance is the dire need of the hour. Though good governance
has always been a dream for our country yet this dream can be transformed onto reality.
Sincere and dedicated leadership can make this dream come true. But it cannot be achieved in
a wink of an eye. It requires a great toil and sacrifice. Our youth van play a very vital role in
this regard. Now, it is very easy to raise public opinion for good governance through the use
of electronic media. The meetings and rallies are also very important means to bring the trend
of good governance on the right track. The youth can be actively involved in organizing such
programmes. Let us hope that our leaders are smart enough to introduce much needed
reforms in the system. Otherwise the alternatives are far too grim to contemplate.