Strengthening Institutions for Better Governance

After thirty years of political independence, it is time for critical reflection on the state of the nation.  It is fair to say that we have not made the kind of progress we should have at this juncture.  The economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. 

The production base remains narrow despite many years of talk of and varying levels of effort at diversification.  Consumption is financed in large measure by foreign aid.  Four out of ten people live below the poverty line. Citizens continue to leave in large numbers as they find it very difficult to realize their needs and aspirations at home. 

Our institutions are performing below par and consequently do not inspire confidence.  We speak of globalization, but we have yet to broach the requirements of globalization.

After thirty years, it is time for a re-birth—for a new vision, a heightened sense of purpose, a new ethos whose visible demonstration will unambiguously tell the world that we as a people are industrious, proud, are animated by vibrant and intelligent debate and are striving in earnest towards a mature democracy.

Key to the reform process is the building and strengthening of institutions in the governance of the country.  We must start with the Constitution.   It gives too much power to the Prime Minister without adequate checks and balances. 

This situation is more akin to the old colonial governance structure and does not meet the requirements of a modern democracy. By stipulating that all Ministers should be members of the Parliament, the Constitution makes the Parliament a rubber stamp of the Cabinet.  The Parliamentary majority is in the Cabinet. 

Thus, the Constitution does not adequately and effectively separate the Executive and the Legislature.  This requirement also denies us the talent of our most able citizens.  The Minister of Finance must be an elected Member of Parliament.  In 2003, we had a Finance Minister who could not explain a sales tax. 

Many capable persons would be willing to serve at the highest level in government but are fearful of the mepuis politics.  Let us reform the Constitution to better serve us.  Broad areas of reform would provide for:

 
 - Clear separation of the Executive and the Legislature.  A Minister of Government would not be allowed to sit in the Legislature.  He or she will, however, be accountable to the Parliament;

 
-  the head of government to select Ministers from outside the political party that wins the general elections;

 
-  Effective checks and balances (and hence accountability) among the three branches of Government;

 
-Greater transparency in the management of the public affairs of the country; and

 
- The re-orientation of the public service from a focus on administrative bureaucracy to a strategic focus on delivering growth and development. 

The post of Permanent Secretary, which encourages complacency through its lifetime tenure until retirement, should be abolished.   Let us have professional managers employed on performance-based contracts head our public service ministries and agencies. Let us empower them to make a difference by granting line ministries more autonomy in managing their budgets and staff.  Greater autonomy will increase efficiency, ceteris paribus.

The reports of the Constitutional Reform Committees, which are gathering dust on the shelves in the offices of decision makers, should be revisited.

Notwithstanding the need for reforms, we the governed must also insist that the institutions that the current Constitution provides for are put to work.  The Parliamentary Commissioner (the Ombudsman) must be appointed.  The Public Accounts Committee must get down to work and do so faithfully and transparently.

Besides making the Constitution work for us, we must give deliberate attention to empowering participatory and development-focused civil society organizations.  One may find that Dominica has many civil society organizations relative to its small population.  The Integrated Development Planning Project (IDP) of 2001/2002 identified some sixty (60) such organizations.  However, this seemingly high organizational density does not constitute a countervailing power to the omnipotence of the State, in particular that of the Government.  Many of these organizations only have a name.  They are not organized for playing an effective role in politics and decision-making.

An enlightened government and a people would allocate a percentage of the national budget to strengthen civil society.  Assistance is needed in building advocacy capacity.  In this regard, training should be provided in analytical and presentation skills to enable non-state actors to process information and to articulate policy positions.  Grants should be made available to improve their financial status. Providing support for improving organizational structure and independent initiatives is also required for enhancing civic participation in the development process. 

These recommendations are supportive and accord with the needs and the issues that civil society has identified as priorities.  According to the IDP report, the top ten priority issues of civil society are:

1. Lack of mechanisms for sharing information
2. Lack of bottom-up mechanisms
3. Weaknesses and fragility of civil society organizations
4. NGO sustainability
5. Public Education for IDP
6. Lack of mechanisms for input to budget implementation
7. Accessing support
8. Credibility and maintaining the momentum of IDP process
9. Poor coordination and implementation record
10. New information data to drive partnerships

Participation must be institutionalized by setting up formal mechanisms.  Roles, responsibilities and expectations must be clearly defined and communicated, and measures must be taken to avoid dominance or capture by specific or narrow interests.  

The treatment of the empowerment of non-state actors as a priority of the national development agenda reinforces accountability by complementing horizontal accountability (meaning checks and balances within institutions of the State) with vertical accountability (accountability of government to citizens).  Empowerment entails a more equitable sharing of power and strength for the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, which are usually left out in the policy process.  In this way, democratic governance is significantly enhanced.

In summary, the essential message of this short paper is this: our institutions have not served us well in the thirty years of political independence.  At this juncture, we as a people need a re-birth, our own Renaissance.  Strengthening our institutions of governance is a seminal aspect of this re-birth.  Institutions ground our social realities and mediate our interactions.  Therefore, by building stronger institutions that reflect our present day needs and aspirations, we build a better society.