A Theory of Trust

The art of building trust between government and the people

By Geletaw Zeleke

In Ethiopia, in order to build trust between government and the people two kinds of trust must be supported for building a successful reliable system, namely, conscious and systemic trust. The confidence flowing between the people and the government moves through the following channels to build a successful and reliable system: The following points are very important.

Building Accountability

In all institutions of the government should be structured by and around a system of accountability. For example, in a given sector when officials provide a service to people there should be an organizational body that is responsible for holding that official accountable for his conduct and service, among other things.

Accountability can be seen from two perspectives one is accountability for upholding rules and regulations and the other is accountability of conscience. People trust and rely on the system and the fair judgments of civil sector officials and employees. There are a multitude of day to day judgments and practices that are not written into the management of offices and official duties. It is the responsibility of the civil servant to protect the interests of the people.

Transparency

The system itself has to be clear for people and available for them to know, use, understand and rely on.

The smooth flow of operations as well has to be clear for people. It should be timely and reliable so that people can depend on getting tasks accomplished efficiently and effectively.

Vision

A clear vision has to be presented and known through out sectors. Those leaders who do not have a clear vision are blind leaders who people can not trust in. Sectors lacking vision lose the power to make change. Those leaders who lost vision are victims of emergencies.

Participation

The government sector has to allow the populace access to administrative positions and the power to influence and evaluate government performance. Plans and programs of sectors must serve the community base. Just as corruption will destroy confidence and trust in government serving the populace will build confidence and trust in local government.

Competence

Another critical element to build confidence and trust in government is competent leadership and civil servants including level of skill, knowledge and attitude.

Building Independent Institutions

The civil service sector has to be free from the direct or indirect interference of political parties. Especially the court and media must be free from any political interference. The Ethiopian Constitution of course declares that these sectors are free and independent from the influence of politics, but in reality they are highly dependent on government interference. The problem is that the constitution does not have the power to influence public sectors instead the power is transferred to officialized and highly centralized government representatives.

Leader personality

The personal character and personality of high ranking government officials can impact the fate of our nation either positively or negatively. People who are affected by corrupted personalities or those who have psychological problems can spoil the system as a whole. Look at the differences brought about by Adolf Hitler, Muammar Gaddafi, Mohamed Suharto, Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu Sese Seko, Sane Abacha and Idi Amin,

On the other hand look at the differences brought about by Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln.

When parties recruit or select representatives they should be very careful to judge their physical and psychological health and character as it can have such a beneficial or detrimental affect.

Top-down trust

When we talk about vertical trust we are talking about the flow of trust from government to people and from people to government as we have said. The government needs to trust its own people by the following areas.

Working habits

The government in order to implement its own development plan it needs a good working habit.

Capacity building

The people capacity to accept innovative ideas and to implement its programs

Perception and attitude of the people

Perception of the people towards change and the attitude of the people is a social capital for policy makers.

Horizontal Trust and Across the groups

Mostly horizontal trust is the reflection of vertical trust. If the vertical trust, which means the trust between the political representatives and the government and the people in good conditions then the reflection of this can be seen in the people’s day to day life.

Ethnic groups naturally do not fight by their external differences I have never heard that a group who fought my food is delicious your is not good my clothes are beautiful your clothes are ugly My wedding ceremony is meaningful yours is meaningless, my holidays are important yours are not or my dance is beautiful yours is talent less my language is expressive yours is simplistic or we are beautiful but you are not Etc.

Instead groups are interested in seeing new culture excited by usually, Groups fight whenever their differences are politicized. And because of this when they lack justice and democracy they develop politicize their identity and they become greedy about their immediate geography and natural resources. After this they become los to trust amongst the groups.

To build horizontal trust the play of politics has to be far away from religion and ethnicity. In Ethiopia the groups’ difference can be seen under culture and language we can not put the Ethiopian ethnic groups’ difference on the level of race since all Ethiopians are Black under the major race categories.

The government and the people have to work hard on the horizontal cultural unity that can be an anchor for the unity of the people and it is important to stable peace and development.

Development needs peace it is impossible to make a positive change if there is a conflict and fractured social structure.

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http://www.ethiopianreview.com/index/36704