Characteristics of Good Governance

 Citizen Participation

Good governance allows citizen participation. All people take an active part in the affairs
of their community and country. They elect their leaders, have the right to stand for
public office and mobilize for social action. For example, citizens can demonstrate
against what they do not agree with. Leaders are held accountable for their action.

 Respect for Human Rights

All forms of human rights are recognised, protected and promoted. Some of these rights
are: the right to vote and be voted into power, the right to security, the freedom of
assembly and association; and the freedom of conscience and expression.

 Separation of Powers

This is the principle that states that the three organs of the government, namely, the
Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, must work independently. The three organs must
never interfere with each other in their operations. At the same time, they should check
each other to ensure that they operate within the law.

This is known as checks and balances. Separation of powers promotes democratic

governance because power is not concentrated in the hands of one person. Therefore,
genuine separation of powers can only exist where no individual belongs to more than
one of the three organs of government.

The Legislature makes laws and approves government policies. The Executive carries out
the laws passed by the Legislature and the Judiciary interprets and enforces laws made
by the Legislature to ensure that there is no violation of the constitution.

Separation of Powers is a constitutional mechanism that allows each organ of the

government to share powers with the other branches. This helps check the operations of
the other organs to ensure that it operates within the constitution of the country. In this
way, power will be balanced among the organs of the government. For example, in
Zambia the Legislature can impeach the president if he or she violates the Constitution of
Zambia.

 Independence of the Judiciary

The Judiciary is vested with the responsibility of interpreting and enforcing the laws. The
Chief Justice and Judges should be free from interference by the Executive and the
Legislature. Once appointed, they should not be easily dismissed.

 Political Tolerance
 People with different political opinion must be able to freely express themselves and their
opinions should be respected. One should not be forced to accept another person’s
opinion. Political violence against people who support different political parties or
candidates should not be tolerated.

 Accountability and Transparency

Accountability means that leaders should be answerable to the people who elected them
into office. Transparency requires that public resources must be used for government and
community programmes and activities in consultation with the people. Any person who
misuses public funds should be taken to court and if proved guilty should be punished
and not allowed to stand for public office. For instance, the Constitution of Zambia
forbids any person to stand for a political office if he or she has been convicted of a
criminal offence within a period of five years before the election’s nomination day.

 Regular, Free and Fair Elections

Elections must be held at agreed intervals. For example, in Zambia, General and Local
Government Elections are held
every five (5) years. Every
citizen who has reached the
voting age should register
and vote. This is known as
universal suffrage
(Franchise) or the right to vote.
Voting should be by secret
ballot. Political parties must
have the freedom to inform
the people about their policies
and programmes in their
manifestos. This affords the
electorate a chance to vote for
candidates of their Inside a polling station
choice.

 The Rule of Law

The rule of law means that the government or those in power rule the country in
accordance with the constitution and the other laws of the country. All people in the
country are subject to the same laws and should be held accountable if they break them.
There should be no discriminatory application of laws. Every one is equal before the law
and no person is above the law. The rule of law makes government leaders accountable to
the people they lead. Their operations should be authorised by the constitution of the
 country. The law also provides for separation of powers and checks and balances. The
rule of law also requires an independent, courageous and a corrupt free Judiciary.
Without the rule of law there will be anarchy in society.

The rule of law can only be legitimate if credible laws are put in place. People must have
confidence in the laws. It is extremely important to promote popular participation and
consensus in the law making process. All sections of the society should be represented in
the legislature.

 Existence of Political Parties

A political party is a voluntary association of people who share common values and wish
to form the government of the country. During elections, political parties sponsor
candidates for the office of the President, Member of Parliament and Ward Councillor.
Political parties educate people on their rights and obligations. They point out the short
comings of the government in power. They provide alternative programme through
manifestos. The existence of political parties promotes good governance by providing
checks and balances. They also facilitate peaceful transfer of power from one political
party to another. For example, in 1991 there was a peaceful transfer of power from the
United National Independence Party (UNIP) to the Movement for Multiparty Democracy
(MMD).

 Existence of Civil Society

A civil society is a group of voluntary individuals and organisations which are not part of
the government institutions. Civil Society should operate without government
interference. A Civil society is an indispensable means of maintaining good governance.
A trade union is part of civil society. It is an organisation of workers formed to protect
the workers and their interests. Trade Unions also work to improve working conditions,
wages and salaries by advocating for justice and accountability. Another important
component of the civil society are Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Faith
Based Organisation (FBO) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs)

 Fairness

In good governance, the government should make sure that no one is excluded from
access to any public service for reasons of race, colour, creed, gender, mental or physical
disability. No region or constituency should be discriminated against by the government
on grounds of its political affiliation. Government workers should be recruited and
promoted openly, on merit and they should carry out functions of the government
impartially. People should not be appointed into public office on grounds of ethnicity or
nepotism.

 Helpful and Caring

 Good governance requires that the government should be helpful and take care of the
interests of its citizens both at home and abroad.

Public services should be provided and run to suit the convenience of those who use
them, not those who provide them. Good governance makes sure that public servants are
properly trained in public relations and that there are clearly defined standards of
behaviour for those who serve the public directly.

Bad Governance

A bad government is a government which is not legitimate, competent, accountable and does not
respect human rights and the rule of law. It is a government which rules against the wishes of the
majority. Dictatorship is a form of bad governance. However, bad governance can also be
practised by a democratically elected government.

Characteristics of Bad Governance

 Restriction of Political Activities

The government or the party in power restricts the activities of the opposition parties.
People are forced to vote for certain candidates whenever elections are held. Therefore,
people’s choices are not real due to threats. Opposition parties are not allowed to exist. If
they exist they are strictly controlled by the government.

 Lack of Separation of Powers

Political power is concentrated in the hands of one person or a few people. For instance,
the Executive can interfere with operations of the Judiciary and the Legislature.

 Lack of Press Freedom

The press is controlled by the government and often reports favourably on government
policies. Opposing or dissenting views are not allowed in government owned media.

 Violation of Human Rights

There is no respect for human rights. People who oppose the government can be tortured
and detained without trial or can be killed.

 Judiciary not Independent

The Judiciary is not independent of the Executive and the Legislature. There is little
respect for the rule of law and there is no fair trial. Court decisions are not always
respected. Leaders can interfere with court proceedings without being punished by the
law.
  Arbitrary Arrests

There are arbitrary arrests of suspected dissidents who are critical of the government. The
secret police spies on the citizens. Citizens always live in fear of being arrested.

 Lack of Freedom of Assembly and Association.

Voluntary associations such as Trade Unions and Non-Governmental Organisations do

not operate freely. Those which do not conform to government policies can be banned.

 Neglect of Public Welfare

This is when government leaders do not care for the welfare of the people. There is
corruption, nepotism and other forms of abuse of office.

 Use of Force

The government uses force to stay in power. It also extends its stay in power by using
other methods such as constitutional amendments and postponement of election dates.

 Irregular and Unfair Elections

Elections are not held regularly. If held they are not free and fair. There is vote rigging.

 Lack of Citizen Participation

The government decides for the people. People become servants instead of masters of the
government. The government claims to know what is good for the people. The people are
rarely consulted and their concerns are often ignored.

Exercise 2

1. Write brief notes on the following:

(a) Accountability and transparency
(b) Rule of law
(c) Separation of powers
(d) Helpful and caring government.

2. Copy the table below in your exercise books and fill in the columns with necessary
information as shown in the examples given to you.
Good Governance Bad Governance
Example Example
Citizen participation in national affairs. Lack of citizen participation in national
affairs.
3. Look at the following situations and discuss whether there is good governance or bad
governance. Give reasons for your answer.

i. The President of a country has the power to appoint and dismiss members of the
judiciary and the judicial commission.
ii. The police shoot suspected criminals on sight and uses torture to get evidence from
the suspects.
iii. A leader of a political party who believes that elections were not free and fair,
demands for a recount of the votes, and it is granted.
iv. Civil servants are not allowed to belong to political parties or to stand for elections.
v. Parliament has a public gallery in the debating chamber where citizens can sit and
watch the proceedings.
vi. Citizens need permits to demonstrate or hold a meeting.
vii. The members of the public are worried about a proposed bill that would not serve
their interest. With the help of civil society, there is wide publicity in both the print
and electronic media of discussions and demonstrations against such a law.
However, Parliament enacts a law that is similar to the one which people were
opposed to and had been declared “unconstitutional” by the Supreme Court.
viii. The government arrests a journalist for writing a story in the newspaper. The
government says the story was highly confidential.
ix. The government owns the major newspapers, radio and TV stations in the country,
but allows the private media to operate freely.
x. There are conflicting issues affecting all stakeholders in the governing circles;
during a national conference, which was televised, leaders of political parties could
not agree on key provisions of the constitution and the meeting ends in a dead-lock.