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Governance Comes of Age in the PacificGiven the link between good governance and the well-being of the poor, improving public administration needs to be high on the policy agendaBy Jak Jabes (jjabes@adb.org) and
Thuy Mellor
(tmellor@adb.org)
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WEIGHING THE CHOICES Workshop participants agreed that change is required in the Pacific, but tradition must be balanced with modern governance to have sustainable impact
Improving governance in the Pacific will help achieve the Millennium Development Goals, promote economic development, and improve livelihoods, concluded representatives of governments and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) from 11 Pacific countries at a workshop on Regional Governance Strategy for the Pacific held in late July in the Fiji Islands.
They discussed preliminary findings of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) governance assessments and considered the relationship between modern public administration systems and traditional “custom” societies of ADB’s Pacific developing member countries (DMCs).
In recent years, ADB has been conducting governance assessments to look at the “machinery of government,” civil service, local government, public expenditure management, justice and regulatory systems, and civil society participation in public policy making.
ADB has gathered country-specific data through discussions with senior officials, NGO representatives, development partners, and available published material.
The governance assessments have concluded that Pacific DMCs tend to share similar weaknesses in governance. Key areas for improvement include policy analysis and formulation, budgeting to permit greater forward planning and control, and interaction between civil society and government.
The assessments have also pointed to weak oversight mechanisms, both at the administrative and parliamentary levels. The clash between traditional and modern governance was found to be pervasive, as reflected in numerous failed attempts to apply the merit principle in the civil service.
Based on the country assessments and ADB’s capacities, it was suggested that ADB’s governance support focus on public financial management—helping countries rein in public expenditures and strengthen control mechanisms. ADB could also help develop NGO capacity to comprehend—and support improvements to—public administration, including expenditure management.
While generally concurring with ADB governance assessments, workshop participants identified areas requiring further attention. For example, some observed that national reform agendas have often been driven by donors and consultants without adequately considering country-specific factors. This tendency has negatively affected the sustainability of reform initiatives, which have faltered when consultants depart and donor projects come to an end.
Several participants encouraged ADB to further analyze the quality of senior leadership, and the limited understanding by politicians of the respective roles of Parliament, its committees, and individual parliamentarians. These issues were considered very important, given the potential impact of corruption in public service systems on economic and social development, or abuse of traditional customs and values.
While participants noted a need to balance tradition with modern governance, they also agreed that change is required. They identified as particularly important strengthening parliamentary oversight committees, training media, introducing civic education in schools, and enhancing policy-making and implementation skills. Many called for a translation of laws and other governance documents into local languages—a daunting task in some countries where local languages number in the hundreds.
Looking beyond the productive exchange of information and views at the workshop, participants agreed that next steps should include setting governance reform priorities for each country. Given the well-established relation between good governance and the well-being of the poor, it was recognized that improving public administrations must be high on the policy agenda for all Pacific DMCs.
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