CSS Forums - Esssay on Good Governance

Good Governance (National Perspective)

Outline:
• Introduction
Human security, delivering justice, economic prosperity, disciplined environment, Welfare State.
• Historic Evidence: The story of success and failure of Nations
• Bleak picture of national character-since Independence
• Causes of bad governance
• Effects of mismanagement
• Suggestions to improve the Crisis
• Conclusion

“Governments exist to protect the rights of common citizens. The loved and rich need no protection, they have many friends and few enemies ” maintains Wendell Phillips. Good governance protects human security by maintaining law and order, delivering justice, conflict management, safeguarding the property rights of ordinary people and providing equal opportunities in economic activities. The real governance implies that the sovereign power of a nation state is effectively and efficiently providing the needs and wants of its masses according to their right aspirations in a disciplined environment. It is a total sum of political, economic, social, and religious policies evolved through a long way of struggle against all kinds of exploitive forces. “All history is a struggle towards freedom” believes Will Durant, and thus Good Governance is an ultimate achievement of mankind.

In a broader perspective it encompasses the following leading features;
Accountability, Representative Government, Equal opportunities, Quick and cheap Justice, Rule of Law, Effective functioning of institutions, Welfare State.

Historical evidence:
Historical perspective of the past two centuries shows that the countries with disciplined institutions strengthened themselves effectively and reaped the benefits e.g. countries of Western Europe, US, Australia, Canada, and Newzeland. On the countries, those with fragile institutions found themselves in a trap where poor institutions and lagging economies continued to reinforce each other, like countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America, China, Russia, Colonies of Asia and Africa. Japan examples the rare instance of a country initially on a weaker path that managed to put itself on a dramatically better institutional path. What is the secret of success behind the successful countries? It was miraculous industrial revolution that gave birth to new middle class with more demands, interacted positively with the constitutional revolution and political power was subject to accountability.

Bleak picture of national character-since Independence:

Pakistan was born with a hole in its heart. The imperialistic British system left behind power hunger Feudal, ‘Anti- Public’ Bureaucracy and brain dead politicians, more tragically, the immediate death of Great Quaid added fuel to the fire and nation was caught in a quagmire. lack of unity , shallowness of faith, dearth of discipline in all sphere of life have made a 60-year old country behave and look like a toddler who finds it difficult to stand on its own feet. Our Islamic Republic is rottening into the swamp of miserable corruption, terrible poverty, and horrible Lawlessness in all walks of life.

The following salient features of Good Governance have been extremely mishandled in the name of Religion, Democracy, and Patriotism. The non existence and non acceptance of accountability has generated innumerable evils. The corrupt elements got free hands to looting the national treasure due to ‘Unholy Alliance’ of Executive, Legislative, Judiciary and Army. The drama of check and balance provided Safe Heavens for one another. The real culprits of Dhaka Fall were not taken to book. Legally convicted Loan defaulters, originators of sectarian and ethnic clashes, corrupt officers and black Markets, are making mockery of Law while approach less poor masses are being victimized. In Pakistan the process of accountability is engineered to punish the enemies.

Pseudo Representative Governments and Dictators: Every time Military Coup was justified under the Law of Necessity. 28-year of Military Rule have crushed public opinion, generated ethnic, sectarian, linguistic conflicts, and developed King’s Part with a license to Loot. Dictatorial regimes of Ayyub, Zia and Mushref gave short tome economic relief but at the cost of National unity. On the contrary, the pseudo democratic leadership, assuming the role of Autocrat, introduced worst type of corruption throwing the country into abeyance of poverty. The political crisis from 1988 to 1999, declared Pakistan the second most corrupt country in the world.
Lack of Equal opportunities: Male eclipsed society has always discouraged the enterprising women despite their intellectual skills and passions to participate in the national development. Minorities have got more rights in the constitution but few on the ground.

No quick and cheap justice: Soul of justice is dying out
Rule of Law: Soul of justice is withering due to high cost, delayrd justice, and political influence.strict. It is not rule of law but law of the rulers. Inefective functioning of Governments departments have frustrates the common people. “The more corrupt the state the more laws”, maintained Churchill.
Welfare state: Price hike-price of sugar etc, Lack of infrastructure, No availability of basic necessities of public, Centre- province relation: Negligence towards smaller Provinces, Current status of Balochistan and N. Waziristan

• Causes of bad Governance
No agreed constitution, Political Instability, Illiteracy, poverty, Negative role of religions leaders
Corrupt Civil an military Bureaucracy, Absence of freedom of press, Centre-province relations
Foreign hand, Poor Judiciary, fragmented Society, National economy

• Effects
1. National Image, State Institutions, Reluctance in paying tax, Hike in corruption, Corrupt local bodies system, N.S.C- makes major decision, Election Ragging, Lack of tolerance

• Suggestions:
1. Education
2. Media
3. Duties of leader
4. Country must be at peace
5. modernism not vulgarity

The final analysis is that, only disciplined nations can survive in this age of globalization, commercialization and brutal militarization by resource-hunger Big Powers.

BY PROFESSOR SALEEM