Media and NGOs: Strategic Effective Governance

Media as the fourth estate, along with the Civil Society Think Tanks that operates as non-government organizations (NGOs), plays a strategic role in advising government for improving governance issues for overall development of the society. Throughout the human history, ‘governance’ has been an essential element for the advancement of the people of any country. However, at present ‘governance’ occupies a key phase in the development discourse. Governance is a key component exercised in a country’s economic and social resources for development. A key analytical standpoint views media and NGOs cooperating with each other in a synchronized manner in public and private avenues for developing a congenial atmosphere in Bangladesh for helping governance- related issues. Whilst analyzing, it is necessary to keep in mind that more popular writers tend to use ‘governance’ synonymously with ‘government’. By definition, governance stands to mean policies and continuous monitoring of proper implementation of tasks by the members of the governing body of an organization. Globally, the perception of poor people about governance is that there is a profound and prevalent crisis in managing the affairs of governance. Although different groups of multiple institutions play significant roles in poor people’s lives, they are, however, excluded from their participation in the process of governance. In Bangladesh, problems of governance have been very critical and the concept of governance that entered the progress exposition did not always stem from these realities but from experiences mediated and negotiated through the donor communities. Thus, one must not forget that the ‘governance’ not only consists of “organs” or actors, but more importantly, it is about the quality of control of actions and affairs of the management which expresses itself through such attributes, as accountability, transparency, empowerment, participation, sustainability, equality, and justice. Media, as the fourth estate, refers to the press and news media in its explicit capacity to advocate and frame political issues aimed at protecting citizens. Therefore, the part being played by media has become difficult for the functioning of governance smoothly and effectively. All forms of media have a specific set of followers and therefore, they together ensure effective governance. Indeed, all developing countries face a myriad of issues on a day-to-day, short- and long-term basis, and Bangladesh is no exception to it. The media is to hold the flag with an open mind for its consistent and transparent role. The essential elements for good governance include participation by a large section of the population, ensuring accountability and transparency of the service providers. All these qualities are required for freedom of action, independent and vigorous information. A free media, which generally monitors, investigates and criticizes administrative policies and actions, is a fundamental driving force for good governance. In the case of the development of Bangladesh, the civil society has increasingly taken the cooperation of NGOs which is remarkably visible everywhere in the development sector of Bangladesh. The critical form of civil society is having both a social value and a set of institutions so that NGOs can play a vital role in improvement of good governance for helping the poor in the society, and thus they can contribute a lot for patron-client relationship on which they have to depend (Chowdhury, Critical overview of the growth of the media in Bangladesh, 2005). It is remarkable that one of the major contributions of NGOs in the development sector of a developing country like Bangladesh is making social awareness among the poor people about the major causes of poverty. Thus, NGOs play an effective role in alleviating poverty from the society by putting them on various programs, jobs, and other measures so that they may get rid of the burden of poverty by working together. A limitation is the concern that NGOs set different criteria for enrolment applicable to only those people for whom the organization has been formed. This limitation to framing enrolment policies should be modified by keeping pace with the situation and circumstances (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, The State of Governance in Bangladesh, 2006. BRAC–IGS, 2006). However, the concept of the poor significantly varies from organization to organization. At one stage, the definition includes only the destitute as poor, while in other stages it is defined to include the people with middle income that join the different groups under various organizations. The concept of the poor, therefore, can now be determined and defined not only the poorer classes people, but also the people with middle income that strive for their existence in their day-to-day life. This chapter will also focus to examine arguments for effective governance. Objectives/Research-Related Questions The research objectives of the chapter are as follows: (a) to look into existing status of the governance; (b) to highlight strength of the media and NGOs that are helping in making governance more effective; and (c) to suggest ways and means on how to overcome barriers in effective governance. Research Argument: Against the backdrop of the existing situation, the chapter would provide arguments as regards the approaches of media and NGOs towards the governance as well as to the people’s overall mental state and sentiment. Methodology: The chapter would mainly use research books, articles, and secondary sources of evaluation reports available in print media on governance in Bangladesh. Findings/Discussion: Based on the discussion on the existing realistic grounds, the special focus is to look at the coordinated approach of media and NGOs for improving the governance in terms of paving the ways to meet challenges between public and private sectors and among various agencies of the government.