Afghanistan and the Need to Improve Governance

The concept of governance means the method that the rulers or politicians who are at the top of the power pyramid use to exercise power in the political, economic and social institutions of a country, and with correct and appropriate policies, they define and manage all relations of the country in all areas of life. However, in order to successfully overcome the burden of the heavy responsibility that they carry, governments need to mix the governance process with “good” and “decent” features, and as a result, succeed in this great test.
Good governance is a goal or a process that places the people and citizens of a country in its first priority. This means that the most important and preferred goal and program of the government is to eliminate poverty, provide security and eliminate discrimination and inequality in the country, and all policies and policy-making are based on a development based approach.
Therefore, if a government wants to be accepted by everyone in the society, have a place in the hearts of the people and gain national legitimacy, it should never forget the great and heavy responsibility that it bears before the people and instead of mobilizing resources towards economic, educational and social growth and development of the society and planning in the path of achieving scientific and economic progress should give priority to other marginal issues.
Undoubtedly, there are governments that use all the resources and national wealth of their country to strengthen the foundations of the rulers’ power. In this way, they allocate a huge part of the country’s assets and budget to military and security issues exclusive to a specific area, and they also limit the scope of the issue of security from all the people to a small number of rulers. On the other hand, such governments take governance in all spheres exclusively and do not give any share or position to groups and organizations that are outside the government. This method of governance has ultimately distanced the country from its main goal of governance, which is to ensure the welfare and comfort of the citizens, eliminate any discrimination and inequality, create comprehensive stability and security, and eliminate poverty and unemployment, and deprives that government of the “good” feature.
Afghanistan, as a third world and severely backward country that has always been deprived of good and decent governance throughout history, is in dire need of a government that has this rare characteristic and puts the people at the center of all affairs. As said, monopoly in governance reduces and minimizes the success rate of development and development, because three key elements are involved in good governance, and in the meantime, along with the government, civil society and the private sector are two very vital and decisive arms that, according to their capacity and ability, can play a very important and effective role in good governance and establishing progress and development.
The objective reality in Afghanistan shows that the civil society and the private sector do not have an active and decisive presence with the government as needed. The private sector, which drives a very large part of the country’s economy, was also fed up with the high level of corruption and inefficiency in the republican government, and after the recent political changes, most of the private sector members ceased to operate and made the country’s economy smaller than the past. Of course, as it can be seen, it promises a bright future recently due to the setting up of some factories and foreign investments in mining, oil and gas and other areas. The increase in the efficiency of the private sector and the upward trend of their role in the country’s economy directly depends on the government programs and policies and the existing security range in the country.
Finally, if Afghanistan wants to experience decent and acceptable governance, it should change the process of governance to good governance and remove the dust from the dusty face of Afghanistan by involving all the elements in the process.