Good governance, accountability key to dev't, progress — UN exec

Middle-income countries like the Philippines may achieve further economic progress and development by instituting frameworks and mechanisms that ensure good governance and accountability, an official of the United Nations told The STAR yesterday.

- 

In an interview, UN Undersecretary-General and UN Development Program (UNDP) associate administrator Haoliang Xu highlighted opportunities for middle-income countries as they try to achieve their development goals.

"Good administration has to be effective. You have to get things done professionally and effectively. But that's not enough. The second area is you need to be accountable," he said, referring to the UN's 11 principles of good public administration.

"If you want to be effective, you have to have professional institutions. You have to have strong institutional capacity and professionalism... The second, accountability, is that you must have rule of law," he added.

Xu, who is in the Philippines for the HighLevel Ministerial Conference of Middle-Income Countries, recognized challenges that hinder development and progress globally.

For instance, in the Xu Philippines, he noted the continuing issue of regional disparity and inequality.

But he remains optimistic despite the country's delay in achieving its original target of reaching upper middle-income status last year.