ABSTRACT
The Chinese proverb says, “give a man a fish and you feed him a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a whole life.” This very principle guides the citizen-centric policies and services. As the neighborhood grew larger, promoting protection and cohesiveness to the society has become problematic. Therefore, a radical devolution of powers and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups would be palliative for promoting active citizenship. In defining governance Huther and Shah (1998) espoused for “a multi-faceted concept encompassing all aspects of the exercise of authority through formal and informal institutions in the management of the resource endowment of a state. The quality of governance is thus determined by the impact of this exercise of power on the quality of life enjoyed by its citizen” (p. 2). Andrews (2008) argued such “good governance picture of effective government… constitutes a threat, promoting isomorphism, institutional dualism and ‘flailing states’ and imposing an inappropriate model of government that ‘kicks away the ladder’ today's effective government climbed to reach their current state” (p. 2). Further, Ivanyna and Shah (2010) defined governance as “an exercise of authority and control to preserve and protect public interest and enhance the quality of life enjoyed by citizens.”
