• GOOD GOVERNANCE
• Objective of this chapter
After this class, the students will be able to:
• describe a definition of good governance;
• understand main purposes and why it is necessary to apply good governance in national administrative system;
• WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?
• Good governance is about the processes for making and implementing decisions. It’s not about making ‘correct’ decisions, but about the best possible process for making those decisions.
• Good decision-making processes, and therefore good governance, share several characteristics.
• Source: http://www.goodgovernance.org.au
• All have a positive effect on various aspects of local government including consultation policies and practices, meeting procedures, service quality protocols, councilor and officer conduct, role clarification and good working relationships.
Source: http://www.goodgovernance.org.au
• WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE?
•
Good governance is accountable
• Accountability is a fundamental requirement of good governance.
• Local government has an obligation to report, explain and be answerable for the consequences of decisions it has made on behalf of the community it represents.
•
Good governance is transparent
• People should be able to follow and understand the decision-making process.
• This means that they will be able to clearly see how and why a decision was made – what information, advice and consultation council considered, and which legislative requirements (when relevant) council followed.
•
Good governance follows
the rule of law
• This means that decisions are consistent with relevant legislation or common law and are within the powers of council.
•
Good governance is responsive
• Local government should always try to serve the needs of the entire community while balancing competing interests in a timely, appropriate and responsive manner.
• Good governance is
equitable and inclusive
• A community’s wellbeing results from all of its members feeling their interests have been considered by council in the decision-making process.
• This means that all groups, particularly the most vulnerable, should have opportunities to participate in the process.
• Good governance is
effective and efficient
• Local government should implement decisions and follow processes that make the best use of the available people, resources and time to ensure the best possible results for their community.
•
Good governance is participatory
• Anyone affected by or interested in a decision should have the opportunity to participate in the process for making that decision.
• This can happen in several ways. For Example, community members may be provided with information, asked for their opinion, given the opportunity to make recommendations
• Importantly, in some cases, community members are part of the actual decision-making process or local participation.
•
WHY IS GOOD GOVERNANCE IMPORTANT?
• It not only gives the local community confidence in its council, but improves the faith that elected members and officers have in their own local government and its decision- making processes.
• It leads to better decisions, helps local government meet its legislative responsibilities and importantly provides an ethical basis for governance.
•
BENEFITS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
• Promotes community confidence
• People are more likely to have confidence in their local government if decisions are made in a transparent and accountable way.
• This helps people feel that local government will act in the community’s overall interest, regardless of differing opinions.
• It also encourages local governments to remember that they are acting on behalf of their community and helps them to understand the importance of having open and ethical processes which adhere to the law and stand up to scrutiny.
• Encourages elected members and council officers to be confident
• Elected members and council officers will feel better about their involvement in local government when good governance is practiced.
• Councilors will be more confident that they are across the issues, that they can trust the advice they are given, that their views will be respected even if everyone doesn’t agree with them, and that the council chamber is a safe place for debate and decision making.
• Officers will feel more confident in providing frank and fearless advice which is acknowledged and respected by councilors.
• Leads to better decisions
• Decisions that are informed by good information and data, by stakeholder views, and by open and honest debate will generally reflect the broad interests of the community.
• This does not assume that everyone will think each decision is the right one. But members of the community are more likely to accept the outcomes if the process has been good, even if they don’t agree with the decision.
• They will also be less tempted to continue fighting or attempting to overturn the decision. So even the most difficult and controversial decisions are more likely to stick.
• Helps local government meet its legislative responsibilities
• Under local government’s administrative system, the staff need good governance to meet its legislative responsibilities.
• If decision-making is open and able to followed by observers, it is more likely that local governments will comply with the relevant legal requirements.
• They will also be less likely to take shortcuts or bend the rules.
•
Supports ethical decision making
• Good governance creates an environment where elected members and council officers ask themselves ‘what is the right thing to do?’ when making decisions.
• Making choices and having to account for them in an open and transparent way encourages honest consideration of the choices facing those in the governance process.
• This is the case even when differing moral frameworks between individuals means that the answer to ‘what is the right thing to do’ is not always the same.
• Activity
• How can good governance work well in Thailand?
• What should Thailand do to create good governance?