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Andrew Mukono
A lot has been said about corruption the world over.
This article defines corruption and proposes good governance as the solution to this cancer that has devastated all nations.According to Transparency International, “Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.”
Scholars also note that corruption can be classified into two broad categories, state capture and administrative corruption.
State capture takes place when a framework of laws and rules has been distorted.
This form of corruption is characterised by enactment of laws and rules, policies and regulations that are influenced through illegal and non-transparent ways, as well as serving private interests.
Administration corruption is about distortion of the implementation of these laws and policies. It refers to the “intentional imposition of distortion in the prescribed implementation of existing laws, rules and regulations to provide advantage to either state or non-state actors as a result of illegal transfer or concentration of private gains to public officials”.
On the other hand, the United Nations Development Programme defines governance as the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels.
It comprises mechanisms, processes, and institutions, through which citizens and groups articulate all their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their legal obligations, and mediate their differences.
It follows therefore that good governance refers to how well authority is exercised.
Good governance refers to the type of mechanism that is in place to ensure that the basic needs of the people are met.
It also looks at how the established processes being used to serve the people are and who the established institutions serve.
According to Feng (2003), good governance is, among other things, participatory, transparent and accountable. It is also effective and equitable, and it promotes the rule of law (Alence, 2004).
It ensures political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources (Daley, 2006).
There are a number of pillars of good governance. Feng (2003) lists the pillars of good governance as: participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus, equity, efficiency and effectiveness and accountability. The UNDP lists a number of characteristics of good governance which include participation, or public involvement, rule of law, access to information.
In a corrupt government, public resources are diverted from meeting the needs of the poor and benefits do not reach the intended beneficiaries.
Human security is compromised by corruption.
This is because corruption is both a cause and effect of bad governance.
The poor are usually disproportionately affected by poor governance because health, education and police services are inaccessible.
Their income is usually eroded through payment of bribes.
Good governance mediates differing interests to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interest of the group and, where possible, on policies and procedures.
One way of fighting corruption is through competitive salaries and motivating staff through incentives.
There is also need to introduce legislation governing civil service and a code of conduct.
This legislation will define the appointments and promotion of civil servants through merit based processes as well as the organisational structure.
Decision-makers in government, the private sector and civil society organisations are accountable to the public, as well as to institutional stakeholders.
Public accountability is founded on two pillars.
The first pillar relates to accountability by the executive and the second pillar is based on institutional change. Accountability can be classified into four categories.
These are public, financial, horizontal and vertical. Horizontal accountability is the relationship between the executive, legislature and the judiciary.
Vertical accountability is whereby one actor reports to another subject to the interpretation of constitutional provisions. Informal checks on these relationships are reinforced by the civil society and the donor community (Feng, 2003).
Good governance is very important in the development of any nation.
If all Zimbabweans incorporate and practise good governance, the country could soon regain its “breadbasket” status.
Andrew Mukono is a lecturer in the Department of Peace, Leadership and Conflict Resolution in the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at the Zimbabwe Open University.
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