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by Jim Yong Kim
Good governance is critical for all countries around the world today.
When it doesn’t exist, many governments fail to deliver public services
effectively; health and education services are often substandard;
corruption persists in rich and poor countries alike, choking
opportunity and growth. It will be difficult to reduce extreme poverty —
let alone end it — without addressing the importance of good
governance.
But this is not a hopeless situation. In fact, a new wave of progress on
governance suggests we may be on the threshold of a transformational
era. Countries are tapping into some of the most powerful forces in the
world today to improve services and transparency. These forces include
the spread of information technology and its convergence with grassroots
movements for transparency, accountability and citizen empowerment. In
some places, this convergence is easing the path to better-performing
and more accountable governments.
The Philippines is a good example of a country embracing good
governance. During a recent visit, I spoke with President Benigno Aquino
about his plans to reduce poverty, create jobs, and ensure that
economic growth is inclusive. He talked in great detail about how
improving governance is a fundamentally important part of their
strategy. The government has opened government data and contract
information so citizens can see how their tax money is spent. The
Foreign Aid Transparency Hub, launched after Typhoon Yolanda, offers a
real-time look at pledges made and money delivered for typhoon recovery.
Geo-tagging tools monitor assistance for people affected by the
typhoon.
Opening budgets to scrutiny
This type of openness is spreading. Now many countries that once
withheld information are opening their data and budgets to public
scrutiny.
Late last year, my organization, the World Bank Group, established the Open Budgets Portal,
a repository for budget data worldwide. So far, 13 countries have
posted their entire public spending datasets online — including Togo,
the first fragile state to do so.
In 2011, we helped Moldova become the first country in central Europe to
launch an open data portal and put its expenditures online. Now the
public and media can access more than 700 datasets, and are asking for more.
The original epicenter of the Arab Spring, Tunisia, recently passed a
new constitution and is developing the first open budget data portal in
the Middle East and North Africa. Tunisia has taken steps towards
citizen engagement by developing a citizens’ budget and civil
society-led platforms such as Marsoum41, to support freedom of information requests, including via mobile.
Using technology to improve services
Using technology to improve services
Countries also are tapping into technology to improve public and private services. Estonia is
famous for building an information technology infrastructure that has
permitted widespread use of electronic services — everything from filing
taxes online to filling doctors’ drug prescriptions.
In La Paz, Bolivia, a citizen feedback system known as OnTrack allows
residents of one of the city’s marginalized neighborhoods to send a text
message on their mobile phones to provide feedback, make suggestions,
or report a problem related to public services.
In Pakistan, government departments in Punjab are using smart phones to
collect real-time data on the activities of government field staff —
including photos and geo-tags — to help reduce absenteeism and lax
performance
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Good governance = good economics...
These are just a few examples of the steps countries are taking to
improve services and become more transparent. Awareness is growing that
good governance is good economics. This perception is backed by research
suggesting a strong relationship between effective government
institutions and economic growth.
Good governance is vital to ending extreme poverty. With greater
transparency and accountability, citizens can enjoy more effective
health and education services, and a dynamic private sector can create
good jobs to allow millions of people to lift themselves out of poverty.
Clearly, many challenges remain in fighting corruption and promoting
good governance. I’d like to hear from people who have first-hand
experience in both developed and developing countries with
anti-corruption or governance programs. What has worked, and what
hasn’t? Please share your thoughts on this issue in comments below.
