of the fund and bank programmes constitute the framework for essentially all other donor assistance. reflecting their concerns with governance, and predicated on their assertion that bad governance lies at the heart of the poverty problem in sierra leone, both the bank and fund programmes for the country lay stress on the governance factor in the prsp and prgf. the prsp, for example, has three pillars, the first of which is promoting good governance, peace and security ; the other two being promoting pro - poor sustainable growth ; and promoting human development. one may note that within its wider interpretation, some commentators may include aspects of human development promotion under the general rubric of governance. the prgf also contains a measure of governance requirements. the governance dimensions of the prsp emcompass a number of the standard elements of the governance package. it thus calls for action on public service reform ; tax reform ; strengthening public financial management and procurement ; decentralisation ; anticorruption measures ; and improvement of the statistical base. specific measures include the institution of public expenditure tracking surveys ( pets ) ; medium term expenditure framework ( mtef ) ; strengthening the internal audit function ; improved parliamentary oversight of budgetary processes ; and procurement reform. within the sphere of transparency, accountability and democracy, the anti - corruption agenda is emphasised, as well as strengthening the capacity of the national electoral commission. the decentralisation process should be pursued through the formulation and implementation of a devolution plan. a comprehensive civil service reform programme should also be formulated and implemented. there are also requirements for anti - money - laundering measures, as well as adoption and adherence to the kimberley process for diamond marketing, and the extractive industries transparency initiative ( eiti ). similar requirements are built into the prgf. three points should be noted at this stage. the governance aspects built into the basic programmes of assistance from the world bank and imf are extensive and comprehensive ; these requirements are conditionalities for release of funds and other assistance ; in some cases they are triggers for other lines of action. the following statement reflects the importance attached to governance issues in sierra leone ’ s assistance programme by the donor community : “ to underline the importance of the quality of governance, government and its four budget support donors ( adb, dfid, ec and the world bank ) issued a joint communique in july 2006 referred to as the “ improved governance and accountability pact ”. this pact reasserts the commitment of the government to good governance and it

while its genesis may be traced to the greek city - states, its meaning, purpose, practice and extent have evolved over the centuries, reflecting changing circumstances and specific concerns. in the context of developing country relationships with the international donor community however, we are dealing with a recent manifestation, which surfaced in the 1990s. hyden and court in their 2002 discussion paper, governance and development, relate the emergence of this dimension of governance to the changing paradigms in thinking on development. they trace the evolution of development thinking from the emphasis on projects to programmes, then to policies, and the latest recognition that in addition to these, politics is also important. the inclusion of the political dimension in development practice has altered the development landscape, prompting intrusion into aspects of policy earlier deemed beyond the limits of donor activity ; with concomitant protests of violation of sovereignty and related controversies. the concept of governance arising from this process is not precise in meaning. despite attempts at distinguishing between the political, economic and administrative aspects of governance, its analytic and operational dimensions, and its constitutive and distributive elements, in the final analysis governance is essentially all - embracing in its essence. it percolates through the entire fabric of the political, economic and social life of a nation. recognition of this is reflected in the diversity of definitions given to the concept. while it may be too time - consuming to provide a sampling of these definitions, the flavour of the concept can be savoured from the following statement of vivien collingwood of nuffield college, oxford in the paper, good governance and the world bank. it states : there are many competing views on what the term “ good governance ” should mean, but most donors agree that it should include some ( if not all ) of these : increased public accountability and transparency ; respect for and strengthening of the rule of law and anticorruption measures ; democratisation, decentralisation and local government reform ; increased civil society participation in development ; and respect for human rights and the environment. further, we are reminded that apart from the lack of precision in the meaning of governance, it is also an evolving concept, embracing new elements with the passage of time. this arises from its normative conception and the observation that “ the values that provide the underpinning for governance are the values postulated by international donor institutions ”. when it was initially embraced by the donor community in the early 1990s, it was seen as limited to the exercise of authority with