Democratic governance requires serious study – Barclays MD
Author: Phyllis D. Osabutey - Ghanaian Chronicle
Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008
Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008
THE MANAGING Director of Barclays Ghana Limited, Mrs. Margaret Mwanakatwe, has stated that effective democratic governance requires critical study, since the subject was complex and cannot be based on fluctuations in public opinion.
She said the subject required in-depth research because it concerned government, economics, finance and law, therefore, “it commands the commitment of serious academics and professionals from different backgrounds to contribute their expertise.”
According to her, this requires further governance dialogue framework, which was a key condition for political pluralism, freedom to participate in franchise, decentralisation and effective local governance, rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights and dignity of the individual.
She lamented that there was, however, the tendency for professionals from different sides to look at these issues in isolation of each other and called for an extraordinary network of professionals in the country, who would contribute decisively towards the development of best practice in effective governance.
Chairing the 3rd Daily Graphic Governance Dialogue on the theme- “Effective Democratic Governance: The Role of Stakeholders”, in Accra, on Tuesday, she noted that there were four major elements required for effective democratic governance and the role of stakeholders in the process.
She mentioned shared understanding as one of the elements, saying “we need to understand each other, to understand each others approaches, systems, decision process and legislation.” There was also the need to respect different cultures and operations, she added.
The Barclays MD stressed that mutual understanding between stakeholders would lead to an appreciation of where one system or the other had developed a more sophisticated approach, to promote the best regulatory practice of understanding.
Additionally, there must be information flow and transparency that calls for consultation upstream on development of new rules or regulatory approaches, she said, adding “this is crucial for government and stakeholders in dialogue deliberating process and crucial for confidence building.”
Further, she indicated that the convergence of approaches was needed to combine with shared understanding and information flow and transparency, to ensure that all stakeholders were aiming at the same basic goals.
“Whenever possible, we should aim to converge our thinking. On governance dialogue for instance, stakeholders want to be clear that government is fulfilling its mandate to the people. This will, of course, not always be possible but we should certainly do this whenever we can”, she stressed.
According to her, stakeholders would have to agree on uniformity of approaches at some point, since convergence was not practicable in all cases, saying “our approach does not have to be set up exactly the same way for them to guarantee effective governance.”
She said working on the basis of uniformity was not an admission of defeat but a healthy recognition that “there can be more than one way to skin a cat”, stressing that “in practice, the determination of uniformity is not easy. We need a full toolkit of techniques and process options. One size will not fit all problems.”
She stated that as the country had begun to examine the role of stakeholders in governance dialogue, “let us not fall in the trap of trying to out do each other, but in the spirit of unity and dialogue to achieve a common goal.”
Delivering the keynote address, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Honourable Joe Ghartey reiterated that Ghanaians were all stakeholders in the governance process, and have a stake in ensuring good governance in the country.
He said good governance connotes the establishment and institutionalisation of processes, mechanisms, and Institutions that protect and promote citizens rights and freedoms under democratic rule. This, he pointed out must include participation, saying, “Participation by all is a necessary part of the process of governance that must take place within well defined laws, rules and regulations.”
He noted that though Ghana has made remarkable gains in the area of good governance, there was the need to further strive on, “until our good is better and our better best.”
