It is in this backdrop that today's governments, politicians, development practitioners and international agencies are now frequently using the term "good governance". At the same time, they also regard bad governance as major hindrance in the path of democratic rule and social justice. Major donors and international development agencies are imposing good governance as precondition for economic cooperation and other assistance. According to Mr. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, United Nations "Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development".

Characteristics of good governance are attributed as participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and following rule of law. A good government assures that corruption is minimised, views of the minorities are taken into account, and voices of the unheard in the society are heard in decision-making.

Participation means participation by both men and women may be directly or through institutions or appropriate representatives. It means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and organised civil society on the other hand. The grievances of the society are ventilated through these actors that guide the government in policy formulation and its implementation.

Rule of law is the corner stone of good governance. Without proper and neutral application of law, nothing could be achieved either for the people or for institutional democracy. Rule of law entails that none is above law and law is equally applicable to all the citizens.

Transparency denotes that enforcement of decisions is according to rules and regulations, that information is freely available and information is easily accessible by stakeholders, enough information is provided and in understandable forms and formula. It also means that proper facilitation should be there so that people understand clearly as to why government is doing a particular thing and under what law and justification.

Responsiveness denotes that process and institutions serve all stakeholders, and institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. The key requirement for installing responsive governance is political will of the government and institutions.

Consensus oriented means mediation of different interests to reach a broad consensus and that for long-term perspective for sustainable human development. A society consists of so many viewpoints and different kinds of people. Good governance requires that government should properly attend to different interests in society so that reaching a broad consensus is possible.

Equity and inclusiveness means equity before law and equal opportunity for improvement and well-being. The vulnerable groups of the society are to feel that they are included in the mainstream of society and have opportunities to improve and maintain their well-being. Effectiveness and efficiency means best use of resources, efficient and prompt service delivery, sustainable use of natural resources, protection of environment with strategic vision. That the institutions work actually to meet the needs of the society by best use of resources. Accountability is the key requirement of good governance. It means the institutional arrangement and practice by which the officials are to account for their actions. The effectiveness of accountability is one of the important yard stick for measuring the nature of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organisations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Accountability depends on transparency and rule of law. Good governance encompasses the institutional strengthening of three organs of government viz. Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. As for attributes, the legislature should be an organ for enactment of law where parliamentary committees and public accounts committee work properly. This legislature should be formed through fair and transparent election to whom the government should be accountable. The executive should be an organ for fair execution of laws that carry out programmes as per passed budget, ensures protection of life and property for all and carries out proper monitoring of programmes. The government is to ensure code of conduct for public servants, independence of public servants, protection of public servants, devolution of power and independent public service commission. An independent judiciary with trained personnel will ensure proper application of law and quick dispensation of justice. Such judiciary should be installed through appointment of impartial judges and staff along with provision of suitable emoluments for them.

Existing scenario
Even after more than three decades of independence, our democracy is still fragile and threatened by constant violation of human rights, political rivalry, absence of national consensus, lack of transparency and accountability, social and economic insecurity, institutional corruption and absence of rule of law. The infant democracy was repeatedly attacked by abrupt and unconstitutional interference, killings of the father of the nation and the great national heroes of independence. The failure of bringing the culprits to book has further worsened the situation.

Reports of donor agencies and international watchdogs bear the testimony of failure and frustration. Failure in establishing rule of law, constant violation of human rights, complete lack of transparency and accountability, delay in separation of judiciary, rampant corruption by state organs and lack of consensus building has further worsened the situation. Information is almost non accessible to the citizens. In many cases, the cost of information is too high to afford for which citizens always remain in uncertainty.

In Bangladesh systemic corruption has almost replaced the rule of law. The citizens at large are deprived of desired outcome from the utilisation of scarce national resources. This has polluted the executive machinery as well as private sector institutions. We are yet to meaningfully involve women and civil society in the decision-making. The voices of the minorities are still to be accounted for. The government is to ensure that in decision making all men and women have a voice directly or through representative, freedom of association and speech are guaranteed, organised civil society is encouraged and patronised. The ethnic minorities and voices of the unheard should also be taken into active consideration during policy formulation and thereafter. It is the sacred duty of the government to ensure that the minorities participate in the government and elsewhere without any fear of repression.

In real perspective, Bangladesh is far from what is called the minimum standard of good governance. Corruption in every sector, inefficiency of bureaucracy, politicisation of administrative machinery, rampant violation of human rights and non-observance of the rule of law have created an environment of frustration for all. There is no scope of getting legitimate service by the poor people. Corruption has polluted almost all the institutions meant for service delivery. Persons in such institutions behave like masters. Government must be responsive to the needs of the poor people and the minorities.

It is to be reckoned that good governance is a culture, which should be attained, strengthened and nourished by the key players of state in a way that it is deep rooted through institutionalisation for future.

Where to start?
Governance is a cross-cutting issue that affects every sector of development and social life. Good governance through transparency, efficiency and accountability ensures right use of the scarce resources that leads to desired and positive change in social life. Bad governance with its inefficient service delivery, inadequate policy settings, corruption, and despotic attitude leads to deterioration in the overall life style of the citizens. For attaining the minimum standard of good governance, the government should first of all embrace four principles of accountability, transparency, participation and predictability with sincerity and commitment.

A diagnostic look at the conflict-ridden society reveals that lack of political rights, unequal distribution of economic resources, corruption by the top brass of the society, disrespect for human rights, lack of transparency and accountability, despotic attitude of the governing machinery, absence of independent judicial system and absence of rule of law are the root causes behind continuous social conflict and frustration. State and social support through consensus is key to rebuild a society affected by violent conflict.

Not only to create an atmosphere for attaining the committed millennium goals by 2015 but also to facilitate the donor agencies to come forward, the government should strive hard for attaining minimum standard of good governance through establishing rule of law, public accountability, transparency, independent human rights commission, independent judiciary, institution of ombudsman, accountability of service providing institutions etc. Political torture, brutality of law enforcing agencies, arbitrary detention, violence against women, attacks against minorities and persecution of freedom fighters will only worsen the situation.

In the language of the former Chief Justice Mustafa Kamal, good governance "is an extension of the principle of the rule of law. A society is well governed when there is a rule of law, not a rule of man or woman. A modern state is extensively governed by rules and regulations, by complex guidelines and instructions, by a web of regulations, restrictive, prohibitive and penal procedures. As a fish starts getting rotten from the head, good governance starts sliding from the hands of the people when the top people in parliament, executive and judiciary put rules and regulations aside and start ruling by the rule of the thumb".

Md Giashuddin Ahmed is a former Joint Secretary.