The Importance of Good Governance on Achieving Sustainable Development Case Study: Yemen
Abstract
Governance has become one of the most important concepts in developing countries. Consequently, many countries are trying to pursue good governance and adoption according to the established concept of governance in order to achieve the desired sustainable economic growth and development. Yemeni economy has been in deep recession due to Saudi alliance war since March 2015. Once the war stops, restructuring economy required a new development approach with firm and well define good governance principles aiming to achieve Sustainable Development goals. Yemen as one of the least developing country, not all of its efforts to move ahead economically have been successful. There is more than one reason for its failure to achieve sustainable economic development, but one is absence of good governance. International organizations, donors, and researchers have prescribed good governance as a solution to persistent development problems. This paper is an attempt to enrich this subject, at least in part, by examining the value of adopting good governance on achieving sustainable development. Based on research findings and learning from other countries experience, development progress and challenges, general framework to implement good governance has been recommended to be consider in the future national development agenda to tolerate achieving sustainable development. Building human capacity is one of the key requirements needed to make a qualitative shift towards sustainable development. The current situation of sustainable development and governance in Yemen as a case study has been reviewed in an explanatory methodologies using regional statistics and global database such as UN organizations, World Bank, HDI, SDGs and Governance indicators to examine the progress made over the last decade. Paper recommended practical steps and actions to be taken to help the official government to reform the current institutional arrangements at the regional as well as national levels, such as adopt governance principles, long term planning, and establishing “High Councils for good governance” to ensure integrated policy formulation, adequate cooperation and coordination among different government entities, and between the government and non-state stakeholders. These recommendations and result have been presented to the Yemeni official government and economic institutions aiming to be integrated in the reform strategies, in particular in the Yemen National Development Strategy (2030). Based on research findings and learning from other countries experience, development progress and challenges, general framework to implement good governance has been recommended to be consider in the future national development agenda to achieve sustainable development.
Keywords: Sustainable Development, Good Governance, Economic Reform, Yemen, SDGs
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