Ever since modern states have been built their strength and efficiency has always relied on the existence of strong, neutral and efficient institutions. Whenever there were no reliable institutions the treatment of all clients on an equal basis risks existing.
If leaders are not checked by effective laws, rules and regulations equal service to all begins to be conditioned and compromised. Every decision of the leader or head of any office relies on their preference or even some would say mood. The leaders tend to be arbitrary unless he or she is checked by the confines of the law. The personal choices of the head affect deeply the clients. This opens the doors wide to corruption and other malpractice.
The efficiency of any state administration or government is weighed against the efficiency and strength of institutions. The existence of strong institutions is a guarantee for effective judiciary, effective government without any allegations of personal and discriminatory treatment among citizens. We have seen that strong democratic states are characterized by effective and reliable institutions. The more these institutions are well known and respected by citizens, the more efficient the government becomes and citizens have trust and confidence in their government.
In weak democratic states, particularly in the less developed countries, there are always doubts about how citizens are treated when they have some business with the state. Many people allege that the exposure to corruption and discriminatory treatment is often high. Complaints are day to day occurrences.
The unpredictability of the behaviour of the official leaves the citizen in eternal doubt and approaching the official with gifts and money the citizen hopes to carry out his or her business promptly and positively. If for instance it is about the payment of taxes, the official may find a way of discounting the amount due in exchange for personal financial benefits or advantages. If however the citizen is not ready to have a special relationship with the relevant office or official, the amount to be paid could be unfairly staggering and this clearly damages fair competition in business circles and that reflects badly on the economy.
Preferential treatment of certain business persons as opposed to others means that healthy and fair competition is compromised and the damage to economic growth becomes inevitable. Countries especially developing ones cannot afford to have similar scenarios and it has been found out that such occurrences are highly damaging to growth. The non existence of strong institutions that are governed by clearly visible and understandable laws and directives is a handicap to growth and this means people will continue to lose confidence in government and go their way to resolve their issues with certain offices.
That is why we see throughout the world that the most advanced nations are characterized by strong institutions. And this reduces to the minimum the personal decision of officials. The private choices of individuals and the bias and prejudices of people vis a vis certain clients. The equal treatment of every citizen in front of the law should be guaranteed so that people have confidence in their government. Whenever the confidence in government is eroded, the efficiency of administration is curtailed and this has a clear influence on the economic performance of the country.
Academics have always insisted that democracy is well characterized by strong and reliable institutions. The existence of a strong and independent judiciary, an efficient and law abiding executive, the carrying out of free and fair elections to choose the peoples representatives in the legislature who in turn brings about elected persons to power, a credible and independent well qualified media all means that people will have confidence and trust in their state institutions and are willing to do as told.
There are no gaps between the government and the governed and this is a huge blessing for any country especially for a developing country such as ours which can then embark on a growth trajectory away from internal controversies and disputes over power.
The turnover of personalities in offices does not compromise the efficiency and the good delivery of the institutions who ever may be at the head of the institution. In weak democracies, weak states changes in personalities affect deeply the performance of the institutions. Relying on certain personalities rather than the well organized and efficient institutions is a liability because whenever personalities change the efficiency of the organisation is compromised and citizens are negatively affected. In strong democracies on the other hand, the turnover of staff in the administrative institutions does not affect so much the overall performance of the institutions.
People know what to expect even if the heads of offices or leaders are changed for whatever reasons. Even weak leaders are compensated for in strong institutions with clear directives and manners of executing the activities of the state in general or the specific department in question.
Governments that rely on strong personalities rather than institutions are exposed to discriminatory practices, unfair treatment of certain citizens over others. This is a characteristic of authoritarian states and governments not democracies. In the past decades many African countries have been run by such personalities and the struggle to build strong institutions has been going on. The excessive power exercised by certain personalities has been a sad feature of many African states.
That is why we always talk about rampant corruption and inequalities among citizens. The basis of unequal treatment could be political affiliation, ethnic factors as well as social or economic status. When people feel that they have been treated unfairly due to their beliefs or affiliations, their social status including may be their gender that is where you see the weaknesses of the system, the frailty of institutions.
The issue of transparency and accountability is raised and several questions arise. People tend to lose confidence and trust in the laws and they do not hope that they could be redressed with the wrongs rectified if they bring the case to a court of law demanding that the relevant personalities or officials account for their actions.
These officials turn out to have influence on the efficiency of the institutions because of their unfettered power or influence. This is in other words an expression of one form of corrupt practice that affects the state apparatus. In all countries where the boundaries of personal power are not well defined by strong and clearly established institutions, the space for corrupt practice is dangerously big. Well defined and clearly set laws and rules are the only remedy for such wrongs.
Countries such as Ethiopia hence need to work a lot on strengthening democratic institutions such as the judiciary who are free to exercise their duties without being threatened or conditioned by the creation of officials or personalities with some influence. Citizens’ confidence on strong and neutral institutions is a must and it should be nourished by clear and applicable laws in independents courts of law.
The flourishing of democratic states relies on strong institutions. When people trust the government that is when going ahead with long term plans becomes realizable and uncertainties wither away. Human beings are always susceptible of changing moods or behaviour but if laws and directives put to run institutions are clearly put in place the personal attitude of any official could be checked before stepping on the legitimate rights of citizens.
Every activity of any official that wields a lot of power must be checked to operate only within the bounds of the law and this is a result of strong institutions with clearly devised mandates. The chances of committing injustices are very narrow and this is a source of great confidence among citizens. There are no irreplaceable officials if the institutions are strong and efficient and taking over on an official or any person of responsibility becomes relatively simple without and gaps and disruptions.
If we agree with the saying that power corrupts, what we need to do is circumvent it within the confines of strong checks and balances in a set of clearly put laws. When some countries say that ‘they are a country of laws and not personalities’ they mean the supremacy of the law is paramount over any kind of personal attitude.
Everybody is equal before the law and every person is accountable for what they do, especially in positions of high responsibility. The guarantee for the continuation of the existence of a state is the existence of strong institutions that always operate freely based on the laws of the state. There is no alternative to this and peace is guaranteed only when there is justice for all based on laws.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 21 MARCH 2024
