Which make good government officials
Which make good government officials. A south African perspective.
According to Wikipedia good governance is the way of measuring how public institutions make decisions regarding public resources and the implementation of those decisions. This should also apply to the South African government.
There are eight important components for governance.
A good legal system ensures a good and safe country. It is important to abide by the general accepted rules in order to prevent chaos. Rules do not only apply to stopping at red robots and yielding at yield signs. The rules also apply in the workplace and even at home. If a person cannot live at home in an orderly manner, the person will not abide by the rules applicable to public areas. It is important that the government officials live according to the rules and regulations they expect others to follow. When the officials ignore those rules and think they can get away with illegal actions, it is a given that chaos will soon rule that country.
This leads us to participation. Participation is important to ensure stability and democracy. To be able to participate, there must be freedom of speech. The corporate world must be able to appoint the best candidate for a position in the company. In such a way the company will be productive, and this will improve the economy of the country. Furthermore, the government officials should listen to the reasonable complaints and suggestions of the public. Even if they do not take actively part in all the activities of the public, they should at least have an interest in those activities. Participation is a two-way action. Both the government and the public must do their share to make the country a better place.
To participate also means to be responsive. According to the Oxford dictionary responsive means to act quickly and in a positive way. It is no use if the government official listens to the complaints of the public, but they do not do anything about it. It is also of little use if the government officials are intimidated by the opposition and either do not respond at all or respond in such a way that the outcome is negative.
Good government officials are consensus oriented. If the officials are not consensus orientated, they will never make decisions. Should the majority agree on something, the opposing officials will stop them from executing the decision. If there is no consensus, there is no response, there is no participation.
Equity is even handedness, fairness and impartiality. Everybody should be treated the same. What rule applies to the goose, also applies to the gander. If a government official can do something, then so can the public, and the other way around. If the public may not do something, neither can the official. If a certain group are not allowed to do something, that also applies to the other groups in the community. The government official should be impartial in all situations and between all groups. Discrimination breeds contempt which eventually will lead to war.
Effectiveness and efficiency. The Oxford dictionary explains effective to produce the result that is wanted or intended. Efficiency is the quality of doing something well with no waste of time or money. To be effective takes the previous components in consideration. It needs dedicated people to be effective and efficient. People who are focused and to whom the prosperity of the country is more important than their own interests. Money well spent can achieve wonders. Money wasted creates disaster.
Accountability is to take responsibility for your actions. Everybody can make a mistake, not everybody is strong enough to admit they made a mistake. Fewer people are willing to take the consequences for their mistakes. If the government official will admit his (or her) mistakes, there will be improvement. If the official refuses to admit mistakes made, there will not be any changes and the situation will get worse.
The most important component is transparency. The public must know what the government is up to. What is done with the tax money. How effective and efficient the money is spent. If the government does not do anything wrong, they have nothing to hide. Should they do something wrong and they have the responsibility to admit to the mistake and improve the situation, there is still nothing to hide. It is another matter if they misuse the money. When bribery and corruption take over, everything must be hidden.
It seems as if the South African Government does not qualify for even one of the components. Should they qualify for effectiveness and efficiency, it is because their intention is to make South Africa as poor as the rest of Africa and under the rule of a communistic party.
