Kenya Dare Need Of Good Governance

How do you define goodgovernance? I believes a country is well governed when three broad requirements are met: First, citizens must have a say in how the country is run. This implies that there should be democracy, accountability, and transparency. Second, the rule of law and human, civil, minority and property rights should be upheld and enforced by a legitimate government with separate, independent branches of power. Third, the government should pursue inclusive, growth-oriented policies. Research shows that almost every indicator of human wellbeing rises with income – including health, life expectancy, education and happiness. What is bad governance? In a badly governed country, citizens have little influence on what happens in their country. They cannot express their wishes at the ballot box and civil society is not heard or not permitted to speak. Laws are poorly crafted and applied arbitrarily. The administration is inefficient. The judiciary is biased. Evildoers get away with murder. Corruption is rampant because a lack of transparency gives great scope for covert action. Living standards stagnate or decline because the economy does not grow – or, if it does, an unaccountable elite skims off rents, leaving the vast majority of people poor. Doesn’t this describe Kenya? Yes, it does. Why is good governance important? Good governance is needed because bad governance has such devastating consequences on people’s lives. Poverty, short life expectancies, violence, and a loss of personal and civil liberties are all potential consequences of poor governance. Good governance takes power out of the hands of individuals who are potentially bad and places it instead in laws and institutions determined by citizens. This prevents abuses of power when implemented successfully. Are China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Fujimori’s Peru, Pinochet’s Chile examples of economic success in the absence of democracy? These countries show that economies can grow in the absence of democracy – a troubling observation for believers in freedom and human rights. Many of these countries are guilty of state-sanctioned murder, repression, and terror. This is inevitably what the absence of democracy leads to and it should not be used to justify economic growth. You can have economic growth and freedom. The two are not mutually exclusive. Is economic growth a prerequisite for democracy or vice-versa? Neither. There are examples to show that economic growth can be achieved in the absence of democracy, as the countries mentioned previously illustrate. Conversely, there is evidence that suggests that democracy is hard to sustain in the absence of economic growth. When economies decline, citizens are often more willing to forfeit their rights against the promise that a firm hand will improve the economy. But citizens should not be required to make this trade-off. If economic growth is even possible under conditions of good governance– and indications are that it is not only possible, but also that such conditions actually favour growth – then citizens should be able to have both. Why not have a benevolent dictator who can implement growth-focused policies that will reduce poverty and promote prosperity? History shows that benevolent dictators usually turn into despotic dictators at short notice. Absolute power corrupts thoroughly and before you know it you have state torturers, disappearances and assassinations. That is not a good outcome.