2010-03-12

Public Governance

Public governance implies structures and processes for determining use of available resources for the public good. Good governance, according to experts, implies the following: Universal protection of human rights; laws that are implemented in a non-discriminatory manner; an efficient, impartial, and quick judicial system; transparent public agencies and official decision-making; accountability for decisions made about public issues and resources by public officials; devolution of resources and decision-making power to local levels and bodies in rural and urban areas; participation and inclusion of all citizens in debating public policies and choices.

Public governance has never been a strong point of India A study was done by Bangalore-based Public Affairs Centre study of 40,000 households in 24 states conducted by ORG-MARG for over four months, covering five public services — drinking water, health and sanitation, education and childcare, public distribution system, and road transport — all of vital importance to the weaker sections of society.

The study highlighted the citizens' deep dissatisfaction over the deteriorating quality, reliability, and effectiveness of services provided by the central and state governments. This is not surprising since these services are far from being the top items on politicians' agenda of priorities. In the absence of political pressure, lobbies, or the support of business or industry, public services suffer from paucity of resources and lax administration.

The quantitative dimensions are disturbing too. Though 73 per cent in the country have access to medical facility within three kilometres of their dwelling place, only 13 per cent are satisfied with the quality. Out of nearly 73 per cent, only 10 per cent were happy with the public distribution system's functioning. In education, only 16 per cent out of 66 per cent were happy with the facility provided within one kilometre of their dwelling place. Only 5 per cent were happy with the sanitation facility in educational institutions. As for drinking water, 11 per cent said they had to bribe to get public taps or bore wells mended even as most were unhappy with the quality of drinking water. In roads, pucca roads were available in 38 per cent villages, while public bus services were available round the year for 56 per cent of households. Yet only 22 per cent were happy with the services.

Globalisation is a catchall term meaning many things to many people. It is indeed a multifaceted and contradictory process. One dimension of it signifies breaking of boundaries between people and nations, free flow of ideas and resources across the globe, increasing the interdependencies of both people and nations. This facet of globalisation harbours the hope of a more tension free world with more equitable distribution of the world's resources and wealth. But it is also undeniable that globalisation as it is operative now assumes a certain power structure, where the dominant nations determine the contours of globalisation and direct its thrust. It is this latter dimension, the power structure of globalisation that has given rise to apprehensions amongst the developing countries that this would not only reinforce the existing inequities between nations and people and also exacerbate the same within societies. That these fears are not groundless is substantiated by the Human Development Reports which record that inequities have indeed exacerbated between nations and within societies, leading to an aggravation of tension all around. In fact this latter dimension of globalisation has serious implications for sustainable development. Given that the resources of the planet are finite there is urgent need to think of ways and means to address the question of rational and equitable use of scarce natural resources. Already we see that the coastlines in our countries are being depleted of marine resources through deep-sea trawler fishing by the TNCs, drastically affecting the livelihoods and ways of life of fisher communities.

Information technology

The growing impact of Information Technology (IT) on government services in the developing world suggests that the usual prioritisation - education and health first, information infrastructure second - is no longer valid. Just as roads are vital to bring teachers to schools or supplies to hospitals, IT is necessary to ensure the quality and accessibility of health and education. The choice cannot be health or IT, education or IT. It must be health, education and IT. IT has come a long way in a short time, and helped to radically change the way development is perceived by its practitioners.

The range and number of opportunities for growth that IT provides, also demand a set of apolitical objectives for all administrations to follow: economies and efficiencies, resulting in good value government; equal access to government for all; acceptable levels of service to the people; speedy response to the felt needs of the governed; transparent governance with growing accountability; and best practice and continuous reform.

All this is transforming the relationship between governments and peoples of the world, and enhancing the quality of public sector service provision to the poor. IT provides greater transparency in government operations. IT encourages new methods for governments to function.

Neo-liberal reforms demand that the state withdraw from some of the responsibilities undertaken in response to social democratic and welfare objectives. The state should not attempt politically to manage economy and society and guarantee welfare but it would remain the primary provider of social goods like health, education and security. It would also need to provide adequate material infrastructure to attract capital and promote economic growth. To fulfill these responsibilities, the State should act in partnership with interests in civil society and the non-governmental sector, involving them wherever appropriate in decision-making and implementation. The corporate world has acquired an image of sleek efficiency and rationality and the media today is projecting corporate manager as the embodiment of wisdom. We seem to have moved from a belief in the generalist administrator to belief in the versatile manager who can turn his/her skills to a variety of tasks ranging from building airports, education or garbage disposal.

E-governance

E-governance is the use of Internet-based solutions to provide public services that for years were provided only in person, by phone, or by mail, if at all. For obvious reasons, e-government has progressed farthest within the most economically developed nations. Ready access to information is of paramount importance to public sector managers. Since many of the functions of public agencies are repetitive and follow prescribed rules, computer-based systems present public sector managers with unique opportunities to do business efficiently, apply necessary controls, and simultaneously gather and report timely and accurate information required for decision making. However, many governments have invested massively in computer systems over the past decade, but with limited results in terms of public sector productivity. Most public administration, therefore, continues to be bureaucratic and ineffective. The corruption in the public administration, according to the World Bank, would mean use of public office for private profit by public servants. The Transparency International, which is a Non-Government Organisation based in Berlin makes an annual publication of what is called a Corruption Perception Index, in the 1999 Report places India at 73 out of 99 countries. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, on