Back in January 2013, the then Opposition led by Joseph Muscat had pledged a lot of things. After being elected, the opposition-turned-governing party made good on some of those pledges, most notably those concerning civil liberties, while it has failed quite miserably to live up to others, most notably those involving the promises of instilling levels of political accountability and transparency never seen before in this country.

Others still appear to have fallen by the wayside, perhaps because they have simply been forgotten by the public at large or because they have turned out to be rather cumbersome to deal with once the reality of governing a country sets in.

One such pledge among that virtual flood of electoral pledges was one in particular that held the possibility of fundamentally changing the way things operate in this country, and it appears to have been completely overlooked by the populace and government alike. It held the promise of a new way of doing things, of empowering the citizens themselves.

That pledge was the introduction of the concept of ‘open governance’. In a nutshell, Labour at the time had proposed a pilot project through which the public would nominate and vote for one representative on the boards of all government corporations and regulatory authorities; and make upcoming legislation and government policies publicly-available in layman’s language.

The concept of having publicly-elected board members for state corporations would have been a watershed moment for the country’s administration. While the party had said that the parameters for nominations would be wide, to be eligible those nominated would need to have a proven track record in the area in question.

The party had also proposed the online publication of all draft legislation for public consultation, and that information technology and social networking be used to the maximum to encourage and receive as many policy suggestions as possible, suggestions that would be taken on board before parliamentary debates. Documents exceedingly technical in nature and those written in pure legalese would be summarised and abridged for easier public consumption.

As matters currently stand, and quite irrespective of who is in government or opposition, so many government proposals are disputed by an Opposition merely for the sake of it – a situation in which the desire for political mileage many times trumps the best interest of the people. This second leg of Labour’s open governance proposal had taken aim at such situations.

Another part of that open governance concept was the Labour pledge to publish MPs’ attendance records online, making those select few more accountable to their constituents – those who elected them in the first place.

After all, open governance is not just about giving the people a token input in the decision-making processes of the country; it also gives citizens the right to access government documents and proceedings, such as through the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, to allow for effective public oversight of the running of the government.

 “We want an accountable, transparent government and we are not afraid of letting go of some power to open government up beyond politicians,” now Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said at the time, and this newspaper agreed wholeheartedly with in principle. It still does. It is a pity that the Prime Minister appears to have changed his mind quite drastically in this respect.

And while on the surface such open governance concepts may seem a little simplistic to some, there is a whole lot more to it than that. Open governance is about making the people part of the decision-making process more often than once every five years when election time rolls around. It is about involving the public in the running of the country; it is about creating the types of active citizens that will take this country upward and onward in the decades to come. It is all about active citizenship, and opening up government structures to the public.

Open governance means making sure that the public has access to government information so that they can engage more effectively with their government. At the same time, it also means that governments have the ability to respond more effectively to citizens and work collaboratively to solve difficult governance issues.

Openness makes a government more transparent and accountable to its citizens and as such it enhances the legitimacy of those in power, in the process creating more faith in those who run the country.

Open governance provides a platform between the government and its citizens. It can have crucial roles in, for example, ensuring budget allocations or that the use and provision of social services go to areas where the people feel they are most needed. 

It puts governments in greater contact with the people and at the same time it gives people better access to their government. It provides a mechanism through which better and more accurately-developed services can be demanded, a mechanism through which a government also greatly increases its capacity to respond quickly to public concerns and demands.

According to the World Bank, a big backer of open governance, the practice can lead to more efficient use of public spending, such as roads and schools being built where they are needed; improved delivery of government services through better management; and an overall improved quality of life for its citizens.

The practice of governments engaging effectively with citizens, as well as with organisations from the private and civil society sectors, helps ensure that that policies implemented by the government are in tune with citizens’ actual needs.

But perhaps given the following staggering electoral victory the party had secured and the virtually unassailable parliamentary margin it was awarded, it felt it could leave such lofty notions by the wayside.  There are, however, many of us who are still waiting.