What is good governance And what is the parliaments role in instilling the ethos and practice of goo

1
What is good governance? And what is the
parliaments role in instilling the ethos and
practice of good governance?

• O. Mouftaou LALEYE
• CAPAN, Benin

2
INTRODUCTION

• Increasing democratic expectations and exigencies
  (domestically, regionally and globally)
• This overall context has serious implications for
  governance on the part of all the key
  stakeholders
• Contrary to the case of the Executive, the
  importance of the role of the Legislative and the
  Judiciary in governance is not well known

3
INTRODUCTION (Continued)

• This brief talk aims at highlighting the meaning,
  the importance and implications of good
  governance for legislatures

4
Outline

• The meaning of Good governance
• Parliament as an emerging governance institution
• Parliamentary accountability within the ecology
  of governance
• The centrality of parliament in the governance
  debate

5
I. WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?

• Meaning of Governance
• The term governance means different things to
  different people
• A sample of definitions is hereby provided to
  highlight the wide range of issues at stake when
  one talks about governance
• However, there is a emerging consensus on what
  good governance supposes

6
I. WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?(Continued)

• Significance of good governance
• It encompasses the following domains
• Political governance
• Economic governance
• Civic governance

7
I. WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?(Continued)

• There is a general agreement to the fact that
  good governance involves the following key
  principles
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Participation
• Shaping the direction of the Nation

8
II. PARLIAMENT AS A NASCENT GOVERNANCE INSTITUTION

• Whether one takes into account the domains or the
  principles of good governance, it appears
  gradually that parliament will be a very vital
  institution for governance.
• There is a consensus on the need for the
  parliament to be an integral part of the
  interrelationship involving all the actors in the
  ecology of governance
• Namely, there should in active interplay with
  market, state and civil society (Figure 1)

9
Figure 1Ecology of governance
10
II. PARLIAMENT AS A NASCENT GOVERNANCE
INSTITUTION (continued)

• The context in Africa is recognized as being far
  from the ideal.
• The generally weak status of the legislature and
  the numerous problems facing it have not
  permitted to African legislatures to play the
  role they are supposed to have for good
  governance, as shown in the following figure.

11
Figure 2 The African Reality
12
II. PARLIAMENT AS A NASCENT GOVERNANCE
INSTITUTION (continued)

• Specifically, there is a general observation
  that
• The state, the Executive in particular, has so
  far dominated the governance system
• It has failed to deliver and hence
• The realisation of the urgent need for reforms
  aiming invariably at downsizing government,
  better result orientation, economy and
  efficiency, accountability and transparency,
  consultation and devolution, etc.

13
III. PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN THE
ECOLOGY OF GOVERNANCE

• The mixed success of the reform efforts and the
  pressure for more accountability and transparency
  bring to a front the issue of the role of
  parliament in improving governance.
• This situation underscores the relevance of the
  notion of accountability cycle and the
  necessity for relevant, accurate and timely
  information for holding government accountable
  and making it feel compelled to take corrective
  measures where appropriate.

14
III. PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN THE
ECOLOGY OF GOVERNANCE (continued)

• The mutually reinforcing effect of both vertical
  and horizontal accountability in the context of
  the parliament
• Being part of the horizontal and vertical
  accountability on the one hand and given the
  relevance of the accountability cycle, the
  parliament invariably becomes a major stake for
  accountability in a balanced governance
  condition.

15
III. PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN THE
ECOLOGY OF GOVERNANCE (continued)

• Obstacles
• Availability of relevant and timely information
• Political will to act on information
• Government willingness to respond and take
  corrective measures

16
III. PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN THE
ECOLOGY OF GOVERANCE (continued)

• Mechanisms for effective parliamentary
  accountability
• Political accountability
• Committee investigation
• Power of the Purse
• MP as ombudsman
• Parliament as citizens forum
• Constitutional review
• Etc.

17
IV. THE CENTRALITY OF PARLIAMENT IN THE
GOVERNANCE DEBATE

• As noted above, the emerging role of parliament
  in governance and the promising capacity it bears
  for accountability entails the fact that
  parliament would be part and parcel in the
  governance debate in developing countries.
• Other reasons for the central role of parliament
  in this debate include
• There is an increasing change in the perception
  of legisltures and their involvement in solving
  the political problems in these countries
• It is critical for parliaments to be abreast of
  development of thinking on institutions and
  institutional development especially in the
  headquarters of international development
  partners where there is the realisation that the
  role of parliament should be increased

18
IV. THE CENTRALITY OF PARLIAMENT IN THE
GOVERNANCE DEBATE (continued)

• There is also a awareness of the fact that what
  is supposedly bad governance may not be
  unfavorable to development or to pro poor
  programs in particular
• National assemblies need to actively persue its
  role as a bridge between government and civil
  society which is vital for any democracy.

19
IV. THE CENTRALITY OF PARLIAMENT IN THE
GOVERNANCE DEBATE (continued)

• The parliament is also at the junction of current
  global-local dynamic. As such, it is central to
  the understanding of the interests at stake at
  each level and how to strike the right balance.
• The parliament is in a better position to
  appreciate the potential and the relevance of the
  traditional informal institutions and could graft
  them to modern institutions.

20
CONCLUSION

• In sum, the legislative institution is of very
  vital importance for a democracy to function well
  in a balanced governance context.
• Therefore, a major challenge is to strengthen
  the capacity of the parliament to play that role
  and also enable it internalise the governance
  debate and the issues related to institutional
  development.