Good Governance and e-Governance Combat Corruption in Bangladesh

Governance is an exercise of economic, political and administrative authority for managing a nation’s affairs at both micro and macro levels. Good governance is equivalent to purposive and development-oriented administration which is committed to improving the quality of the life of the people, without being necessarily democratic in nature. Good governance assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and the voices of the most vulnerable in the society are heard in decision making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of the society. Among the public policy innovations around the globe, e-governance is the latest addition to the services of the people with better efficiency. The new mode of governance in using the modern Information Communication Technology (ICT) is designed to ensure citizens’ quicker and hassle-free access to the service delivery and establish better efficiency, transparency, accountability and participation in the governance process. Although e-governance sounds like a buzzword connoting a reform developed overnight, it entails a long and an evolutionary process to transform the government into an e-government. The problem of corruption in the government and public life has been universally recognized as a major concern in the public management. Forms of corruption also include nepotism, common theft, overpricing, establishing non-existing projects, payroll padding, tax collection and tax assessment frauds. The incidence of corruption varies enormously among different societies, ranging from rare to widespread to systemic. Good governance, e-governance and corruption are very relevant and contemporary topics nowadays. These three valuable topics has been accurately and diligently focused in Anu Mahmud’s book.