Government Transparency Essay

The Importance of Transparency in Government

We live in an age where government, more and more, appears to be transparent and responsive on social media. It is possible to communicate with public figures through a series of clicks on Twitter or Facebook, and to read moment-by-moment accounts of their comings and goings via the 24/7 news cycle. Yet despite this technological innovation, concerns about the transparency and fairness of government are greater, not less than ever before.

It is important to note that there are many bright spots to increase the knowledge of the public about their governments. For example, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently reported upon a policy conference designed to promote awareness of policy and dialogue about the creation of micro enterprises to fuel economic growth, and the need for government support of such emerging economic entities (ASEAN, 2019). The Internet not only offers information about the meeting’s content but also alerts emerging regional enterprises about the possibility to obtain government grants and assistance. Government and solutions to poverty on a macro level are indissolubly linked, and the more people know how information is collected and analyzed by the government regarding social justice issues, the greater the likelihood of arriving at a solution. In the past, it may have been difficult for such small enterprises to learn about such opportunities and to call for more financial backing. The Internet itself has enabled freer disclosure and propagation of voices that might otherwise have gone unheard of in the past.

According to a study conducted by UN Development Programme and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “people valued governance not only as an enabler of development, but also as a stand-alone objective” and a study by Transparency International indicated a “clear connection between poor governance and poverty” (UN SDG, 2014). People need to become more aware of how policies can help or hurt them on a personal level, particularly if they are poor. Communications via accessible channels such as the Internet are at least a first step in enhancing populist…