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DPMF Publications: |
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Editorial: The Changing African Public Administration: New Challenges. |
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In 1998, a Study commissioned
under the joint auspices of the Tokyo based United Nations University (UNU) and
the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) to examine in
comparative perspective the development experiences of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
and South East Asia concluded that the superior institutional capacity of the
‚Asian Tigers' had propelled them into the ranks of the developed countries,
whereas Africa's chaotic Public Bureaucracies had in large part failed to meet
the aspirations of the continent's inhabitants for better living standards.
The major challenge for Africa's academics and public policy makers may therefore be to emulate the ‚Asian Economic Miracle' in terms of reconfiguring and restructuring Public Administration in order to provide an enabling environment for sustainable economic growth, which can result in reduced poverty levels on the continent.
Indeed, as African countries grapple with the specter of being marginalized to the outer periphery of the global economic order, they are increasingly confronted by the reality of more restrictive trade practices on the part of the developed countries. This situation has led to African countries to experience diminished earnings from their major exports. In other words, the majority of Public Administrations in Africa must endeavor to achieve more and more with less and less.
Whereas in the euphoric aftermath of the attainment of self determination in the 1960s Africa's political leaders mandated their Public Administrations to play the role of prime mover of development in order to achieve Basic Needs Satisfaction for the majority of their citizens, it is now abundantly clear that in the 21st century, the margins of state intervention in the development process will have to be further curtailed. It is in this bleak context, that practically all SSA countries have had to adopt and implement socially rigorous Economic Reform Programs tailored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in order to meet specific macro-economic stabilization targets. A key thrust of these programs has emphasized the need to make Public Administrations leaner through downsizing, the introduction of better pay and incentive systems for the leaner bureaucracies as well as the installation of transparent practices in terms of policy formulation, implementation and appointments into positions at all levels. Since these Programs of Civil Service Reform/Administrative Reform have been in vogue for about twenty years in SSA, it may perhaps be opportune in this edition of the DPMN Bulletin, to carry out an assessment of how implementation of these reforms has fared. There is broad consensus among the four contributors, that in the 21st century, a range of complex challenges for African Public Administration is clearly on the rise. The major issue, which they tackle in this edition, is whether the various Reform Packages being implemented offer an adequate institutional response to the daunting range of political, social and economic challenges that must confront SSA Public Administrations in the context of declining economic performance.
The First Article submitted by Guillermo Mangue, entitled, 'Civil Service Reform and Administrative Incapacity in Equatorial Guinea' offers a graphic historical overview explaining the phenomenal expansion in Equatorial Guinea's Public Administration following the attainment of self-determination in 1968. The author proceeds to outline the detrimental impact of prolonged political interference in the operations of the country's Public Administration. It emerges that owing to the excessive politicization of the public Administration, there was absolutely no attempt to establish a coherent correlation ship between planning, management, budgeting and policy implementation in Guinea's civil Service. The author proceeds to assess the impact of the reform initiative to restructure the Civil Service, particularly in the era of 'A Better Guinea'. However, he arrives at the rather pessimistic conclusion that the political will to carry through bold and innovative change is lacking.
The Second Article by Tshikala Biaya, entitled, 'Structural Adjustment as A Catalyst for Underdevelopment and the Privatization of Public Administration in the DRC: 1977-2000'asserts that as in the era of King Leopold, Congo's former colonial overlord, who treated this huge Central African country as his private fortune, subsequent rulers in conjunction with the administrative elite have treated the country's Public Administration as their ‚private property' from which lucrative benefits can be obtained. He argues further, that the various Civil Service Reform Initiatives carried out under the framework of Structural Adjustment Programmes designed by the World Bank/IMF coalition may not have succeed in effecting positive administrative transformation on account of not having recognized the enduring impact of this 'Leopoldan legacy'.
The Third Article by Njunga-Michael Mulikita, 'Reform and Crisis in Zambia's Public Administration' questions the level of commitment on the part of the country's bureaucratic elite to the major goals of the country's Public Service Reform Program. The author demonstrates that, during previous attempts to make the bureaucracy leaner, more efficient and better responsive to the aspirations of the Zambian public for improved service delivery, the socialist inclined political class balked at effecting measures that might instigate severe social and political repercussions. This ideological stance therefore short-circuited any meaningful attempts to shake-up and reinvigorate the Public Administration. Following the installation of a pro-IMF/World Bank administration, after the landmark election of 1991, it was widely expected that the Government would transparently implement the Public Service Reform program of 1993 and thus reinvigorate the Public Service to make it more efficient and effective in terms of service delivery. Mulikita ends his submission by observing that Zambia's Administrative elite is largely concerned with using the PSRP as a façade to sell to donors so that they can continue to provide resources that sustain the conspicuous consumption of senior bureaucrats.
The Final Article, by Kassahun Berhanu, entitled 'The Changing Features of Public Administration in Ethiopia: The Challenges' assesses the complex challenges confronting the evolving patterns of Public Administration in Ethiopia. The author then outlines the major factors that have shaped Ethiopia's system of Public Administration. Dr. Berhanu then demonstrates that Ethiopia's Public Administration, as in the case of most developing countries, has had to assume the role of prime mover in the process of promoting sustainable human development. This article also demonstrates that despite attempts to subject it to political control, the Ethiopian Civil Service has manifested a fairly high degree of resilience in terms of asserting and defending its professional integrity particularly during the era of the rule of the Dergue Administration. In order to re-introduce a professional bureaucracy the author highlights the most salient aspects of the Civil Service Program unveiled following the change of government in 1991. Dr. Berhanu concluded his think piece by observing that for the technocratic vision enunciated in the current Civil Service Program to attain fruition, it is imperative that the country's leadership accords the program the highest level of political support.