Various principles of good governance

Good Governance

According to Khouya & Benabdelhadi (2020), good governance is an open and transparent process that carries out the involvement, integration and accountability of stakeholders and brings economic development strategies closer together. Johnston (2004) articulated that good governance is a competent management of a country’s resources and affairs in a manner that is open, transparent, accountable, equitable and responsive to people’s needs. Hence, good governance is legitimate, accountable and effective ways of obtaining and using public power and resources in the pursuit of widely-accepted social goals and relates to political and institutional processes and outcomes which are deemed necessary to achieve the goals of sustainable development.
The scholar, Dasanandan (2013), has claimed that effectiveness of community organizations depends on the existence of pillars of good governance like, participation, accountability, transparency, predictability and rule of law. Good governance implies presence of rule of law, safeguard of human rights, and existence of honest and efficient government, accountability, transparency, predictability and openness (Landell-Mills & Serageldin, 1991). So, good governance is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development.
Ali (2015) stated, “The term ‘good governance’ is a multi-dimensional which occupies a central stage in the development discourse. It is considered as the crucial element to be incorporated in the development strategy.” The concept of good governance conveys the qualitative dimension of governance that indicates effective, efficient, participative, or democratic form of government which is responsible for transparent and accountable management of human, natural, economic and financial resources for equitable and sustainable development (Rahman, 2016)
The following table indicates various definitions of good governance from various institutions and multi-laterals:

Source: Gisselquist, R. M. (2012). Good governance as a concept, and why this matters for development policy. United Nations University (UNU), World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER).

Principles of Good Governance
The Council of Europe’s 12 principles of good governance include principle
Fair conduct of elections, representations, and participation
Responsiveness
Efficiency and effectiveness
Openness and transparency
Rule of law
Ethical conduct
Competence and capacity
Innovation and openness to change
Sustainability and long-term orientation
Sound of financial management
Human rights, cultural diversity, and social cohesion; principle
Accountability
(Council of Europe, 2008)
Thus, it can be concluded that the responsible conduct of public affairs and management of public resources is encapsulated in the Council of Europe 12 principles of good governance and they cover issues such as ethical conduct, rule of law, efficiency and effectiveness, transparency, sound financial management and accountability.
In OECD (2015), the organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified common elements underlying good corporate governance and included in “Principles of Corporate Governance”. The principles include the right of shareholders, equitable treatments of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and responsibility of the board. The principles focus on various issues that organizations should respect the rights of shareholders and help shareholders to exercise those rights, organizations should recognize that they have legal, contractual, social, and market driven obligations to non-shareholder stakeholders, including employees, investors, creditors, suppliers, local communities, customers, and policy makers, the board needs sufficient relevant skills and understanding to review and challenge management performance, integrity should be a fundamental requirement in choosing corporate officers and board members, and organizations should clarify and make publicly known the roles and responsibilities of board and management to provide stakeholders with a level of accountability.
Thus, the OCED principles of corporate governance help policy makers to evaluate and improve the legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for corporate governance, with a view to supporting economic efficiency, sustainable growth and financial stability.
The principle of good governance recognized by UN member states in the Millennium Declaration in 2000 and include; participation, equity, non-discrimination and inclusiveness; gender equality, rules-based, transparency, accountability and responsiveness. They are congruent with key human rights principles set out in a variety of UN declarations and conventions and can be summarized in three core principles: participation and inclusion, accountability and rule of law and equality and non-discrimination (UNDP, 2010). Thus, accountability, transparency, and participation are key requirements of good governance. Moreover, good governance requires fair and legal frameworks, institutions and process try to serve all stakeholders within the reasonable timeframe, and decisions taken & their enforcement should follow rules and regulations. Furthermore, good governance requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve goals of such development.

The scholars Arowolo and Aluko (2012) have studied the case of failure of government in Nigeria, to improve the governmental stability efficiency, minimum of six months litigation period for the conclusion of grievances and all electoral litigations arising from electoral malpractices before swearing-in or constituting new government.  Appropriate sanctions, ranging from jail term without option of fines to permanent disqualification from contesting future election, should be imposed on any erring political actors and INEC officials that are involved in or known to have aided any form of electoral malpractices found the result that Nigeria does not require strong men but strong institutions. Strong institutions are capable of compelling the occupants of the offices to behave according to the dictates of their offices. Another important point to note is the need for good leadership. Leadership is good when it pursues public good and places national interests over and above personal interests. Leadership, in this sense, is responsive and responsible
The study of  Bhattrai (2017) explains that the higher board size in Nepalese banks leads to worse financial performance and higher audit committee size and higher portion of independent directors leads to improved financial performance of Nepalese commercial bank.
In Public Sector corporate governance, the scholars Mulyadi, Anwar, and Ikbal (2012) found that community and citizen perceive that public sector corporate governance is essential in determining its service quality. Using three variables (accountability, transparency and efficiency and effectively) to measure both conformance and performance aspect, find all aspects have a positive and significant correlation to service quality (perception on public sector corporate governance).
Conclusions
Governance is the norms, values, and rules through which public affairs are managed in a manner that is transparent, participatory, inclusive, and responsive. Good governance is a way of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in a preferred way. Accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness, responsiveness, forward vision, and rule of law are the major pillars of good governance.  To evaluate and improve the legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for corporate governance, with a view to supporting economic efficiency, sustainable growth and financial and political stability, various principles of good governance such as OCED principles, Council of Europe’s 12 principles, and United Nation’s principles help policy makers and governing body.

Bibliography
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