Overview

A growing middle class in South Asia is demanding even faster development and improved living standards.

Increasingly sophisticated electorates, strong civil societies, a lively media with growing experience in investigative journalism especially in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and activist judiciaries are trying to hold governments to account and are demanding improved governance.

The region's growth has been affected by weak governance. The rule of law (especially property rights enforcement, and law and order) and judicial systems are weak, and some parts of public administration appear to be worsening due to politicization, distorted incentives and limited accountability.

The costs of poor governance -- whether unenforceable property rights and contracts, deteriorating law and order, or widespread teacher and doctor absenteeism -- are largely borne by the poor.

Also, the widening gap between the rich and the poor carries huge risks to stability and social cohesion.

The World Bank's Support for Governance and Public Sector Management

The World Bank is supporting incremental reforms in governments’ public administration reform and decentralization, which aim to bring government closer to the people and make it more accountable. The Bank’s strategy is to help governments:

• Deal with administrative fragmentation, cumbersome business processes, and overlapping roles and responsibilities 
• Adopt international standards in accounting, auditing, procurement, financial management, and regulatory reform 
• Enhance the capacity, independence and effectiveness of oversight functions (such as the courts, central banks, regulatory agencies, supreme audit institutions and parliament). Most countries in South Asia suffer from weak judicial systems. The Bank is supporting legal and judicial reform interventions in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
• Develop baseline public financial management (PFM) indicators to help governments determine the status of financial management and monitor progress over time. The Bank has completed supporting analytic and public expenditure-related work for most of the countries. Efforts to move to more strategic budgeting through developing medium term expenditure frameworks are currently underway in several countries, including several states in India.
• Facilitate e-governance initiatives (e.g., the E-Sri Lanka program in Sri Lanka and the e-Seva program in Andhra Pradesh, India) to enhance government transparency and responsiveness by making information available through public websites and portals

The Bank is also strengthening the fiduciary controls in its operations to improve effectiveness and reduce opportunities for corruption in our projects. Anti-corruption activities are part of the financial management and supervision of projects.

More broadly, the Bank is supporting the growth of the private sector and civil society, both of which raise awareness of governance issues and reduce the discretionary authority of government officials.