GOOD GOVERNANCE ACCELERATES OUR DEVELOPMENT
Ministry of information
Friday, May 9, 2008
The Ethiopian government is implementing various policies and strategies to ensure economic growth and prosperity for the peoples of our country through accelerated development. In particular, as a result of the implementation of the policies directed to pull the country out of the quagmire of backwardness and poverty, our development performance over the last five years has proved to be increasingly successful. One of the testimonies to this is the sustainable economic growth registered at the national level.
The government is periodically designing and implementing additional policies and strategies aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the country's economic growth. The activities carried out, so far, as regards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the national level, in the short term, thereby ensuring sustainable development, are quite promising, though they need to be further enhanced. In this regard, enabling all stakeholders to contribute their share to development, peace, democracy and good governance is important. This, of course, demands increasing the motivation of the public, government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
For the implementation and success of the policies and strategies, ensuring the prevalence of good governance at all levels is a task that deserves the government’s special attention. Good governance is mandatory because it enables citizens to properly use their human and democratic rights and develop their country with a sense of ownership and responsibility. The prevalence of good governance at all administrative levels and government bodies is vital for accelerating development and ensuring that citizens benefit from development and the national wealth. Moreover, it is the foundation for the development of peaceful and democratic governance.
Through measures that help citizens become equal beneficiaries of the human and democratic rights that are enshrined in the country’s Constitution, the Ethiopian government is making relentless efforts to ensure these rights. In this regard, it has been taking various measures to alleviate the deep-rooted challenges in the field of good governance, which are linked with corruption. These measures will continue in an enhanced manner. In a way that is helpful to address this social ill from its root, the government has established governmental executive bodies with institutional organizations and has also put in place various legal frameworks and systems to fight the scourge.
Governmental executive, administrative and justice bodies need to work with a sense of responsibility in order to ensure that all citizens benefit from good governance and that their constitutional rights are respected. In this regard, to ensure the human and democratic rights of citizens are respected, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws and procedures that emanate from it, the government has established the institution of the Ombudsman, the Human Rights and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commissions. Building the capacities of these institutions to attain the level at which they can ensure the full benefits of the society is an issue that has merited the government’s special attention.
Even though, establishing institutions is important, it cannot be considered as the ultimate goal. Therefore, in view of ensuring respect for the human and democratic rights of citizens and the prevalence of good governance, it is essential that governmental bodies at all levels and the public at large exert concerted efforts. To this effect, by using their human and democratic rights and by discharging their share of responsibility, the public need to further strengthen the policies and strategies adopted by the government, and the institutions organized to execute them.
We need to recognize that corruption and poor governance are the main impediments of development and should condemn them. The civil service must work with a sense of serving the public as that is the purpose of its existence. The public should not cooperate with those who offer favors and indulge in corruptive acts but focus on ensuring the common and national benefits. Through the full participation of the public, the government stands to support the efforts of the society to fight corruption and will take appropriate legal measures to curtail it.
Therefore, through closing ranks against all circumstances and obstacles, that challenge democratization and by further enhancing the efforts of our country for development, peace, democracy and good governance, we need to pull our country from the prevalent state of poverty and backwardness. By recognizing the crucial role of good governance for the development of our country, we must work in unison, with a sense of civil responsibility.
