Civil society: a revived mantra in the development discourse

Abstract

There is an assumption that the inclusion of civil society in governance processes promotes democratic performance and contributes to 'good governance', in the sense of pluralism, accountability and transparency. This paper refers to the governance process of the water utility in Accra involving the private sector, and examines the validity of the assumed roles regarding the inclusion of civil society in the governance process. For the purposes of this study, civil society is defined as 'non-state and non-market organisations that can, or have the potential to, champion democratic governance reforms and act as agents for political and socio-economic change'. Contrary to assumptions made about the inclusion of civil society, the analysis herein shows that the inclusion of civil groups in the governance process of the water utility led to hostile and undemocratic processes and to weak indicators of 'good governance'. The main concern of the key actors was centred on how to build consensus around the privatisation programme of the water utility. 'Managing consensus', however, is an inappropriate planning measure. It is argued here that the focus should rather be on how to design governance structures and arrangements, mobilised by legitimate and committed political leadership, to build and enhance the capacity of governance processes.

Key issues and trends in the water policy literature

“…Five papers focused upon regulatory reforms in individual countries: Mapedza and Geheb (2010) reviewed water sector reforms in Zimbabwe, Movik (2011) in South Africa, Tankha and Fuller (2010) in India and Brazil, Luzi (2010) in Egypt and Pearson and Collins (2010) in Australia. In 2011, three papers related to privatisation issues (Asthana 2011;Pezon 2011;Suleiman 2011) and one on regulatory reform (Sanz, Schouten et al 2011). Five papers examine water policy governance and reform in a specific national context (Barua and van Ast 2011;Carrozza 2011;Gopakumar 2011;Schwartz 2011;Steinman, Nicholas et al 2011), while a paper by Huitema et al (2011) look policy transmission globally and the role played by policy entrepreneurs.…”

How Frames Matter—Common Sense and Institutional Choice in Ghana’s Urban Water Sector

“…Previous studies have addressed the nature and direction of these more recent reforms and their associated governance and democratic aspects (see for example Yeboah, 2006;Whitfield, 2006;Suleiman, 2011, Hirvi 2012. Bohman (2012) and McCaskey (2009) make efforts to historicize contemporary policy debates in Ghana by examining discussions on urban water management during the colonial era.…”

“…Water sector reforms in Ghana have attracted some previous scholarly interest due to the debates and controversies generated by the PSP reform in Ghana’s urban water sector. Previous studies have addressed the nature and direction of these more recent reforms and their associated governance and democratic aspects (see, e.g., Hirvi, 2012; Suleiman, 2011; Whitfield, 2006; Yeboah, 2006). Bohman (2012) and McCaskey (2009) make efforts to historicize contemporary policy debates in Ghana by examining discussions on urban water management during the colonial era.…”