THE TWO PHASES OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT/149conditions. Good governance is one such condition. Although the
implementation of SAPs absolutely requires a toughening of state
authoritarianism, a fagade of 'democratisation' is demanded as an
adjunct to the 'free' market.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, after SAP implementation
caused popular revolts in a number of countries, the World Bank has
made good governance a priority. No surprise here: governments
that implement SAPs lose their legitimacy in the eyes of the people,
in as much as they appear to have lost all autonomy in their relations
with the international financial institutions. The World Bank's
response is to wash their hands of the entire matter, holding the
defects of the governments concerned responsible for popular distur
bances. Good governance has become another way to keep debtor
countries in line.
In 1990, Barber Conable, World Bank president from 1986 to
1991, made the following declaration to a number of the Bank's
African governors:
Let me be frank: political uncertainty and arbitrary rule in so many
sub-Saharan African countries are major obstacles to their
development.... In saying this, I'm not talking politics. Rather, I'm
speaking as a defender of increased openness and responsibility, of
respect for human rights and the rule of law. Governability is
linked to economic development. Donor countries are increasingly
indicating that they will cease to back inefficient systems which do
not meet the population's basic needs, (quoted in Lancaster, 1993)For the World Bank, good governance is advantageous in two
other ways. First, as a way to respond to ever more virulent interna
tional criticism: the Bank reassures its critics that funds provided to
governments are managed in such a way that the 'aid' reaches the
target groups, whether they be the poor or industrialists. Second, as
a strategy for establish a local network of non-governmental bases of
support to meet its objectives: local and foreign NGOs, the media,
religious institutions, chambers of commerce and employers' organi
sations. Governability has become such a priority for the Bank that
in 1992 it published a special report, 'Good Governance and
Development' (World Bank, 1992).
In 1985, Jean Leca provided the following definition of 'good
governance':