Reforming the African Public Sector. Retrospect and Prospects

R.A. Ayee

Description

Reforming the African Public Sector: Retrospect and Prospectsis an in-depth and wide-ranging review of the available literature on African public sector reforms. It illustrates several differing country experiences to buttress the main observations and conclusions. It adopts a structural/institutional approach which underpins most of the reform efforts on the continent. To contextualize reform of the public sector and understand its processes, dynamics and intricacies, the book examines the state and state capacity building in Africa, especially when there can be no state without an efficient public sector. In addition, the book addresses a number of theories such as the new institutional economics, public choice and new public management, which have in one way or another influenced most of the initiatives implemented under public sector reform in Africa. There is also a survey of the three phases of public sector reform which have emerged and the balance sheet of reform strategies, namely, decentralization, privatization, deregulation, agencification, co-production and public-private partnerships. It concludes by identifying possible alternative approaches such as developing a vigorous public sector ethos and sustained capacity building to promote and enhance the renewal and reconstruction of the African public sector within the context of the New Partnerships for Africa's Development (NEPAD), good governance and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Informations

• Publié par: CODESRIA
• Date de parution: 15 septembre 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782869784154
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Reforming the African Public Sector

Author

Joseph R.A. Ayee is Professor of Political Science and Dean, Faculty of Social Studies, University of Ghana, Legon since April 2002. He obtained the BA and MPA degrees from the University of Ghana and the PhD from the Hebrew Uni- versity of Jerusalem. He was appointed a lecturer at the University of Ghana in 1984, promoted Senior Lecturer in 1990, Associate Professor 1995 and Professor 1997. He was Head, Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon from October 1995 to September 2000. He served as the Chair in Leadership Studies at the UNESCO/United Nations University Leadership Academy (UNULA) in 2001. He also lectured at the College of Administration, Polytechnic of Sokoto State, Nigeria and the Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Swaziland. He was Visiting Commonwealth Research Fellow, Department of Politics, University of Glasgow, Scotland from October 1993 to July 1994. He won the University of Ghana 2006 Best Teacher Award in the Humanities. He is a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Ghana Institute of Management. Professor Ayee is the author of four books, editor of three and co-editor of one. In addition to these, he has over 120 publica- tions as articles, chapters in books and book reviews.

Reforming the African Public Sector

Retrospect and Prospects

Joseph R.A. Ayee

Green Book

© Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2008 Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop Angle Canal IV, BP 3304 Dakar, 18524 Senegal www.codesria.org

Layout: by Hadijatou Sy Printed by Imprimerie Graphiplus, Dakar, Sénégal

CODESRIA Green Book ISBN: 2-86978-214-4 ISBN 13: 978286972143

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is an independent organisation whose principal objectives are facilitating research, promoting research-based publishing and creating multiple forums geared towards the exchange of views and information among African researchers. It challenges the fragmentation of research through the creation of thematic research networks that cut across linguistic and regional boundaries.

CODESRIA publishes a quarterly journal, Africa Development, the longest standing Africa-based social science journal;Afrika Zamani,journal of history; the a African Sociological Review;African Journal of International Affairs(AJIA);Africa Review of Books; and the Journal of Higher Education in Africa. It copublishes theAfrica Media Reviewand Identity, Culture and Politics: An AfroAsian Dialogue. Research results and other activities of the institution are disseminated through 'Working Papers', 'Monograph Series', 'CODESRIA Book Series', and theCODESRIA Bulletin.

CODESRIA would like to express its gratitude to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA/SAREC), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Corpo- ration, NORAD, the Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA), the French Ministry of Cooperation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rockefeller Foundation, FINIDA, CIDA, IIEP/ADEA, OECD, OXFAM America, UNICEF and the Government of Senegal for supporting its research, training and publication programmes.

Contents

Chapter 1 The Public Sector and Administrative Reform Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Defining the Public Sector and Its Scope ............................................................... 3 The Public Sector in Development .......................................................................... 4 The Concept of Administrative Reform ................................................................. 9 Literature Review of the Factors Influencing Public Sector Reform in Africa ................................................................................................ 12 The Structural or Institutional Approach ............................................................ 16

Chapter 2 The Politics of State Capacity Building in Africa: Issues and Challenges Introduction ............................................................................................................ 18 Strategies of Administration and Governance ................................................... 19 The State, the Market and Public Purpose in Africa .......................................... 22 Reasons Underlying State Intervention in Africa ............................................... 23 Building State Capacity ......................................................................................... 25 Literature Review of State Capacity in Africa ..................................................... 26 The Governance Agenda ....................................................................................... 27 Contextual Variables Affecting State Capacity ................................................... 30 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 31

Reforming the African Public Sector

Chapter 3 Theoretical Drivers of Public Sector Reform Initiatives in Africa Introduction ............................................................................................................ 34 New Institutional Economics ............................................................................... 34 Development Theory .............................................................................................. 40 New Public Management ...................................................................................... 48 The Classical or Traditional Public Administration Model .............................. 52 Post-Public Administration Models ..................................................................... 53 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 55

Chapter 4 Phases of Public Sector Reform in Africa Introduction ............................................................................................................ 56 Phase One Reforms: 1980s to Early 1990s ........................................................... 56 Phase Two Reforms: Mid-1990s to 2000 .............................................................. 58 Phase Three Reforms: 2000 to Present ................................................................. 59 E-Government ......................................................................................................... 65 Outcome of the Reform Phases ............................................................................. 67 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 68

Chapter 5 Strategies of Public Sector Reform: The Balance Sheet Introduction ............................................................................................................ 70 State Enterprise Reforms ....................................................................................... 70 Positive Cases of Privatisation .............................................................................. 83 Major Obstacles to Accelerated Privatisation ..................................................... 87 Lessons of Privatisation in Ghana for the African Continent ........................... 88 Corporate Plans, Performance Contracts and Non-privatised SOEs ............... 91 Public-Private Partnerships .................................................................................. 95 Case Study of Partnerships and Services in Ghana ........................................... 98 Case Studies of Partnerships in Health ............................................................. 100 Experiences and Dimensions of Decentralisation in the Context of the Public Sector Reform Agenda .................................... 101 Two Case Studies of Decentralisation in Africa ............................................... 105 Decentralisation, Local Government and the Democratic Wave in the Late 1980s and Beyond ....................................................................... 117

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Contents

‘Successful’ Cases of Decentralisation .............................................................. 119 Strategies for Strengthening Decentralisation and Local Government .......... 120 Civil Service Reforms: Dimensions and Consequences ................................... 122 Continuity and Change in Civil Service Ethos, Esprit de Corpsand Professionalism ............................................................. 137 Enhancing Public Service Accountability ......................................................... 141 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 143

Chapter 6 The Future of the African Public Sector: Alternative Approaches to Renewal and Reconstruction Introduction .......................................................................................................... 144 The New Partnership for Africa’s Development .............................................. 144 Millennium Development Goals ........................................................................ 146 Effective Local Community Governance ........................................................... 147 Redefinition of the Role of the State in Development ....................................... 147 Reforms Must Be Home-Grown, and Made to Fit Real Needs ........................ 148 Developing a Public Sector Ethos in Africa ....................................................... 149 Assisting African Countries with Institution-Building ................................... 150 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 150

Notes ...................................................................................................................... 151

Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 153

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