ROSS HARVEY | Good governance empowers citizens, improves lives

What is good governance? We frequently hear how important it is, partly because there’s so little of it on offer.

Good governance is the transparent, accountable and appropriate allocation of resources required to extend the public good and improve citizens’ lives. In that vein, our vision at Good Governance Africa (GGA) is to improve citizens’ lives through strengthening governance across the continent.

We envision a continent where poverty is eradicated, corruption is destroyed, the rule of law is deeply embedded and broad-based development is realised. Our mission is to influence policy formation and empower citizens to achieve this vision.

We are guided by five unique differentiating values –independence, incisiveness, integrity, courage and credibility. A significant part of empowering citizens is to ensure that we harness the power of the vote, especially that we hold elected officials to account between elections.

In a bumper election year across the continent, it’s crucial to guard against the global trend of “democratic backsliding ”. Of the 59 countries classified as “authoritarian” in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy index for 2022, Sub-Saharan Africa hosts 23 of them, followed by the Middle East and North Africa with 17.

For many, the idea of elections and the purported value of democracy is losing its shine. However, the evidence remains clear that democracies serve the objective of broad-based growth best in the long run.

In SA, there are approximately 14 million unregistered young voters between the ages of 18 and 39, and voter turnout has steadily declined to just 66.05% by 2019. The ANC’s vote share has declined too, and many local pre-election polls suggest that it will drop below 50%, precipitating a national coalition government.

It’s also deeply disconcerting that 72% of respondents in the latest Afrobarometer Survey indicated they would be willing to exchange the right to vote for improved material wellbeing.

So, is it still worth having the vote, especially given the apparent success of countries like China and Rwanda that do not entertain democracy? The short answer is yes.

Countries that do best economically typically exhibit not only effective states but also a citizenry equipped and willing to hold their governments to account. Our theory of change at GGA is largely derived from the work of economists Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson.

They propose that state capability and citizen strength need to work arm in arm to produce a “narrow corridor” – a window in which economic dynamism can thrive and drive road-based development.

If you have an effective government at the expense of citizens’ ability to hold governments to account, you’re in for a hard landing. In SA, we have good evidence that well-governed municipalities strongly correlate with higher voter turnout and lower levels of violent protest.

Citizens need to engage with elected officials between elections and develop effective mechanisms of holding elected elites accountable.

■ Dr Harvey is the director of research and programmes at Good Governance Africa: SADC office