Strengthening our institutions

IT is easy to call for a from-theground-up approach to governance and development; but it is difficult, nay impossible, unless we focus on ensuring that our institutions, from the ground up as well, are strengthened through the observance of proper governance practices. And this has to be done at all levels.

Paulo Cobankiat stresses the imperative of taking a comprehensive view of what this demands of us in the few decades ahead. He says:

• “Strengthen the role of civil society and non-government institutions.” This presumably includes both business and civic clubs and other organizations. Moreover, it is best that at the local level, i.e., at the city, provincial, and regional levels, these private institutions get involved in good governance, in the exercise of responsible citizenship, for city, provincial and regional development, in line with national priorities.

• Even at the local level, before reaching the national level, we should all be working to ensure “greater continuity of development, without constant disruption every 6 years.” We should then attract the “best and brightest” to serve government, business and civil society for coordinated area and regional development. An absolute must: a long-term strategy for an area or a region, with that strategy executed and promoted for the long term.

• Then, the national government itself and its many different instrumentalities at the national level should abide by the discipline of good governance, i.e., long-term strategic thinking; delivery of game-changing results over the short term; ensuring that a core staff of strategy managers, aimed with skills and motivated by attractive packages (which go beyond the monetary), should be made accountable for strategy execution. In other words, there should be greater professionalism in government, i.e. “government should be a reputable employer”; “succeeding in government should be through merit”; “compensation packages should be commensurate with competencies and years of experience”; and above all, “performance management must be strict” and demanding such that there is a natural process of “weeding out non-performers.”

• Finally, “political institutions should be invested with much “greater independence and autonomy such that they are “not beholden to any sitting higher officer or president.” They should be able “to set and execute policies that can last through ‘regime changes,’ so we avoid instances where a new President comes in and scraps everything the old president did”. By extension, governance should apply to political parties too: “these should have stronger identities. And political party reform should be done such that people rise based on merit, and not on fame” (or even notoriety).

The above listing may look like broad-brush. But it indicates the sweep and scale of the good governance program that needs to be promoted at all levels and across all sectors. The program is pitched to business and civil society in every local community, as much as it is pitched to government and its instrumentalities at all levels, from the barangay up to Malacañang.