Examine the main principles of good governance highlighting their importance in

planning.

The main thrust of this essay is to explain the main principles of good governance
and revealing their importance to planning. Good governance is the management
of resources and policy making by means of exercising authority. Thus, it entails
all instruments through which different policy stakeholders exercise legal rights
with the aim to achieve political, economic, cultural and social objectives, so good
governance link to planning since planning is also emanated with planner choosing
the best alternative to achieve certain goals through using available resources
within a period of time. The main principles of good governance are public
participation,inclusiveness,transparency,equity,accountability,effectiveness,respon
siveness and others ,these principles are crucial in as far as urban planning is
concerned.

To commence with, Public participation as a principle of good governance ,In

puplic participation all men and women should have a voice in decision making,
either directly or through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their
intention. Such broad participation is built on freedom of association and speech,
as well as capacities to participate constructivel.Public participation must include
all the stakeholders and the public for decision making for example say in a
community there might be two problems say lack of clean water and lack of good
roads ,so the stake holders must gather the community members for decision
making on the best solutions to the problems and also to decide what problem
needs to be solved first basing on the resources available.Public participation is
crucial in planning if one consider the fact that it saves time in decision making
since the people who know the problems in their community are being envolved in
decision making.According to Olson, Mancur.[1965 ] public participation is the
most crucial principle of good governance since it address the real community
problems in time by consulting the society.From the above explanation one can say
participation is a principle of good governance which is important to planning
since it includes the community in problem solving and decision making their by
saving time and resources.

Inclusiveness is also another principle of good governance , in the principle of

inclusiveness the government’s plans will be catering for the welfare of every one
including the vulnerable people ,the poor and the majority.According to Gert De
Roo and Geoff Porter[ 2007] A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its
members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the
mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but particularly the most
vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well
being.Inclusiveness is important to planning if one consider the fact that the
inclusion of the people in need, in the society’s budget and plans ,helps the non
governmental organizations such as CARE with information on which society
needs food aid.it is also important in the sense that it helps in development through
the help of developed countries.

More so, Transparency is also another principle of good governance which is

important to planning .Transparency means that decisions taken and their
enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also
means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who
will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It also means that
enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable
forms and media ,Transparency in all aspects of governance to build trust and
accountability. It starts with decision made at the top levels and moves down
through every level of implementation , be it the enactment of a policy or delivery
of aid.When the intended results are not achieved , the transparency of the process
allows those responsible to be held accountability for their actions. This
combination of transparency and accountability instills a government with
legitimacy both in the eyes of its people as well as in international arena.The issue
of transparency is important in planning since it reduces corruption in the
government.According to Van Assche[ 2013] transparency is the best in fighting
corruption at international level of governance.

Further more,Consensus oriented is also another principle of good governance

which is crucial in planning,In consensus oriented there are several actors and as
many view points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the
different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the
best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires
a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human
development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only
result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a
given society or community.This principles is mainly aimed at the archievement of
the interests of the people or a group ,this is important in planning since it
encompass the issue of rationality where all stakeholders must come to one
decision to achieve a certain goal.The issue of being rational is important to
planning since it comes with the best solution.A Rose-Ackerman, Susan. [1999]
states that “Business, government, non-profit, social and community organizations
can all benefit from Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making. Whether you are a
designated facilitator or an active participant, understanding this powerful
framework will help you contribute to the success of your group through achieving
maximum participation and efficiency, a clearer decision-making process, better
decisions, and improved group dynamics”.

More over, Efficient and effectiveness is also another principle of good governance
since its processes and institutions produce results that meets the needs while
making the best use of resources (Governance for Sustainable Human
Development, 2005). A good government is to effectively rule set on delivering
positive results for communities.This principle is important to planning if one
consider that by efficient and effectiveness use of resources it promotes sustainable
development.Efficient and effective governance is important to planning since is
there for the proper use of resources and problem solving using the available
resources. Rueter, F. H. [1973]The concept of efficiency in the context of good
governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection
of the environment.

Responsiveness is also another principle of good governance and it requires that

institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable
timeframe,Responsiveness is crucial in planning if one consider that a planner
might propose on a certain project say building a clinic in a certain community,so
the planner needs the authority to approve it.Rule of law is also another principle
of good governance it requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially.
It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities.
Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial
and incorruptible police force .the rule of law is also important to planning
especially in zoning .
However, some of these principles of good governance they have some drawbacks
in as far as planning is concerned , say the principle of participation have
disadvantages if one consider that public participation can be time consuming and
sometimes expensive to do it effectively, organizations have to build capacity and
train staff. If done poorly, public participation processes can result in, for example,
loss of faith in the agency. A negative experience of the process may lead
participants to have negative perceptions of the outcome, and they may be less
likely to participate in future processes. Mosse (2001) argues that “participation no
longer has the radical connotations it once had. Participation is expressed as the
view of the poor or marginalized people, in reality but this knowledge is
manipulated by power relationships. Chambers (1994b:1260) argue that “in a
group, one person may dominate and overrule others.” This can limit the benefits
of participation in the event that one or several people (local elites) dominate a
group or an activity, which can lead other people to assume passive roles ,hence
participation principle has some limitations in terms of planning.

More so, Consensus orientation group decision making as another principle of

good governance has also some limitations if one consider that people are
inexperienced and don’t know how to use the process efficiently, discussion
digresses, people don’t listen .People have to learn skills and practice them until
they come naturally . Often groups spend too much time on unimportant issues.
Endless wrangling due to one or several people’s ignorance about how the
consensus process should work . Poor decisions made by inexperienced people
.Lots of time spent informing everyone of all the factors necessary for a good
decision . Manipulation of the decision so that one person’s or group’s view
prevails .Since consensus orientation involves everyone’s idea , poor decisions
based on admiring the views of a charismatic person may emerge. Cleaver (2001)
also argues that consensus orientation has become an act of faith that people
believe in and rarely question. The implication therefore is that despite being
romanticized by its proponents, consensus orientation does not always lead to the
claimed benefits.

In conclusion, Governance principles entails all instruments through which

different policy stakeholders exercise legal rights with the aim to achieve political,
economic, cultural and social objectives, so good governance link to planning since
planning is also emanated with planner choosing the best alternative to achieve
certain goals through using available resources within a period of time,these
principles include
inclusiveness,transparency,equity,accountability,effectiveness,responsiveness.
References.

Chambers, R. (1994) “The Origins and Practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal”,

World Development, 22 (7): 953-969.

Cleaver, F. (2001) “Institutions, Agency and the Limitations of Participatory

Approaches to Development” In: Cook, B. and Kothari, U. (eds.), Participation -
the new tyranny? London, Zed Press, 36-55.

deRoo, G. and Porter, G. (Eds.) Fuzzy Planning: The Role of Actors in a Fuzzy
Governance Environment, (Burlington: Ashgate).

Rueter, F. H. 1973. Externalities in urban property markets: an empirical test of

the zoning ordinance of Pittsburgh. Journal of Law and Economics 16, 2: 313-
50.

Mosse, D. (2001) “People's knowledge', Participation and Patronage: Operations

and Representations in Rural Development” In: Cook, B. and Kothari, U. (eds.),
Participation - the new tyranny? London, Zed Press, 16-35.

Van Assche, K., Beunen, R., Duineveld, M., & de Jong, H. (2013). Co-evolutions
of planning and design: Risks and benefits of design perspectives in planning
systems. Planning Theory, 12(2), 177-198.

Olson, Mancur.1965. The logic of collective action. Cambridge, Mass. Haward

University Press.