QUESTION

Why should a developing country emphasize good governance in public policy implementation?

Definition of public policy

According to Hyde. (2007) Public policy can be described as the overall framework within which government actions are undertaken to achieve public goals while on the same note (Hazelkom & Gibson, 2019) defines public policy as a deliberate and careful decision that provides guidance for addressing selected public concerns.

Definition of good governance

According to (Rothstein, 2012), in order to define good governance it is better to first understand the meaning of governance, he further indicates that Governance means;  the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). Governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance.

The following are some of the several key aspects involved in public policy;

Policy analysis describes the investigations that produce accurate and useful information for decision makers. The importance of sound public policy analysis in achieving various goals related to the growth and development of a nation and its citizens cannot be overemphasize.

Proactive policies, by contrast, are introduced and pursued through deliberate choice. The national skills and learning agenda exemplifies this approach. Knowledge and learning increasingly have been recognized as vital keys that unlock the doors to both economic wealth and social well-being.

Reasons why should developing country emphasize good governance in public policy implementation

In order for public organizations to achieve their goals to serve the people it is therefore imperative for them to ensure there is good governance in their systems. Good governance in Its nature depends upon the nature of the setting and goals with which it is concerned.it is imperative for good governance to prevail in the public institution.

Good governance is essential in achieving Equity and inclusiveness among the citizens and this in long run creates peace and harmony as the citizens will feel they are in control of their destiny. A society’s wellbeing depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their wellbeing.

Through good government all the citizens’ views are well represented and there is participation in the decision making process and this ensures that the citizens feel that they are part of the governance, according (Ali, 2015), to Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.

In the formulation of good public policies following rule of law is imperative and this is one of the essential qualities of good governance. Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. Public policy have been fully implemented in countries where there is rule of law for example the Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in these countries the rule of law is fully implemented and therefore public policies are designed basing on the good governance structures that already exist while on the same note Some of the countries where there is no rule of law there has been poor governance of the institutions and these countries in turn have been termed as failed states. Some of the critical examples of were the countries have failed due to lack of rule of law include, Burma, Somalia, Afghanistan.

Ensuring accountability is key in public policy formulation, According to (Pring & Vrushi, 2019.) corruption which is as a result of lack of accountability exist in most of the developing countries because of lack of accountability for example Nigeria despite being the largest producer of oil in African the country is still one of the poorest in the world because of lack of accountability, lack of accountability hampers development in the country.

Public policy formulation needs to be carried out when there is security in the country. Development in the country is significantly hampered by insecurity, conflict and mismanagement of natural resources. Public services are weak, underfunded and poorly run, making anti-corruption efforts severely challenging.

Responsiveness is key in ensuring good governance in public policy formulation; Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe, institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution.

Having transparency in public policy formulation is imperative to achieve good governance. Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media. Lack of transparency in public policy formulation has led to failure of many governments in the developing and has also compromised on the government’s ability to deliver the required social services to the citizens of their respective countries.

There is need for justice to prevail when designed the public policy systems. Failure of the justice systems in most of the developing countries is a sign of absence of good governance. Most of the criminals in many African countries because of their connections with the state they are not tried in courts of law. There is also many incidences were the political opponents are taken as criminals and arrested , there supporters sometimes tried in military courts despite being innocent, for example in the just concluded elections of January 2021, more than 40 supporters of the national unity platform were tried in military courts , something which is unconstitutional and in addition to this other developing countries like Zimbabwe during the reign of Robert Mugabe people were arrested innocently especially political opponents.

Public policy is designed for the good of the citizens of the country for example environmental policies of a given country, actually the scope of public policy is determined by the kind of role that the State adopts for itself in a society. In the classical capitalist society, State was assigned a limited role and it was expected that the State would merely act as a regulator of social and economic activity and not its promoter. With the advent of planned view of development, State began to be perceived as an active agent in promoting and shaping societies in its various activities. This was considered as a great change in the role of a State.

In order to achieve good governance public formulators must ensure that there is Consensus, among the citizens either directly or through the members elected to represent the citizens. There are several actors and as many viewpoints in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community.

Through good governance the country is able to achieve Effectiveness and efficiency. Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.

Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions foe example according to (Onyango, 2020) According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Kenya is losing an estimated Kshs 608.0 bn (7.8% of Kenya’s GDP) to corruption annually. Reduced corruption is therefore crucial for the country’s development.

There is need for proper management of public institutions for example Health and education institution. Since these institutions are essential in advancing the quality of life of the people. Total collapse of the Health system most of the developing countries the administration of the countries have demonstrated a total failure and as a result the health system has total collapsed and this is observed by the fact that most of the few elite in developing countries spend a lot of resources on seeking medical treatment for example, The Ministry of Health (MoH) estimates that Kenyans spend $15 million on medical expenses abroad. In any given year, hundreds of Kenyans troop to hospitals abroad in search of treatment (Kabia, et al., 2019).

Public policy is towards more of governance, than of direct involvement, has to play enabling, collaborative, cooperative, partnership and regulatory roles. Coming to the core areas such as defense, law and order, foreign policy it has a direct role to play. In certain other areas such as telecommunications, airlines, insurance, etc., it has to compete with the private sector, for which there should be regulatory commissions to provide for equal level playing fields for both the sectors.

Public policies coordinate efforts and activities of the governmental agencies at various levels with that of the market/the private sector, civil society groups, NGOs and contextual participant or elected local government bodies, self-help groups. In order to promote good governance public policy programs must be in harmony with all these institutions to enable the organization.

Public policy is designed in relation to the global laws, The process of globalization not only includes opening up of world trade, development of advanced means of communication, internationalization of financial markets and services, growing importance of multinational corporations, population movements and, more generally, increased mobility of persons, goods, capital data and ideas, but also of infectious diseases and environmental problems like pollution.

Public policy enhances globalization. Globalization implies the opening of local and nationalistic perspectives to a broader outlook of an interconnected and interdependent world with free transfer of capital, goods, and services across national frontiers. However, it does not include unhindered movement of labor and, as suggested by some economists, may hurt smaller or fragile economies if applied indiscriminately, (Bhuiyan & Farazmand, 2020).

Public policy operate fully in Liberalization of the government activities a process of freeing the economy, from various Governmental regulations such as industrial licensing, controls on pricing and distribution of products and services, imports and exports and foreign exchange regulations; control of capital issues by companies; credit controls, restriction on investment, so that the development and operation of the economy is increasingly guided by freely operating market forces. This enhances the economic development of the country.

There is need to have good leadership during the public policy formulation. Public policy is the outcome of the government’s collective actions. It means that it is a pattern or course of activity or’ the governmental officials and actors in a collective sense than being termed as their discrete and segregated decisions. Some of the examples of the government formulated policies include the decisions taken by the military of a given country, the educational decisions of a give country and the Health decisions of a given country.

There is need to have good decision making in order to have good governance. The decision should be taken by the leader who has received their mandate from the people. The policies of most socially significant decision-making, such as most public policy making are intended to result in action. Also policies directed at the policy making apparatus itself such as efficiency drives in government are action oriented.

Public policy enhances a dynamic process that is a continuing activity taking place within a structure; for sustenance, it requires a continuing input of resources and motivation. These are dynamic process, which changes with time. The sequences of its sub-processes and phases vary internally and with respect to each other. Most of the government policies may change due to emergencies for environment challenges and financial crisis may make the government design policy to help in the management of government programmes.

REFERENCES

Ali, M., 2015. Governance and Good Governance: A Conceptual Perspective.. Dialogue (Pakistan),, Volume 10(1)..

Bhuiyan, S. & Farazmand, A., 2020. Society and public policy in the Middle East and North Africa.. s.l.:s.n.

Cairney, P., 2019. Understanding public policy.. s.l.:Red Globe Press..

Hazelkom, E. & Gibson, A., 2019. Public goods and public policy: what is public good, and who and what decides?.. Higher Education,, Volume 78(2),, pp. pp.257-271..

House , F., 2011. Countries at the crossroads 2011: An analysis of democratic governance.. london: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers..

Kabia, E. et al., 2019. . “We are called the et cetera”: experiences of the poor with health financing reforms that target them in Kenya.. International journal for equity in health,, Volume 18(1),, pp. pp.1-14..

Onyango, G., 2020. Inter-institutional trust and multi-agency networks in anti-corruption efforts in public Administration in Kenya.. African Studies Quarterly,, Volume 19(2),, pp. 17-36..

Pring, C. & Vrushi, J., 2019.. Global Corruption Barometer:. Transparency International., Issue Africa.

Rothstein, B., 2012. Good governance. In The Oxford handbook of governance.. Oxford hand book of governance.

Tijssen, R. & Erika, K.-m., 2018. Research excellence in Africa: Policies, perceptions, and performance.”. Science and Public Policy, pp. 45, no. 3.