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| Title: | Public sector reforms in Africa |
| Author: | Edigheji, Omano |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Periodical: | Africa Development: A Quarterly Journal of CODESRIA (ISSN 0850-3907) |
| Volume: | 33 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Pages: | 1-131 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | Africa Botswana Kenya Tanzania Uganda |
| Subjects: | public enterprises civil service reform privatization decentralization public services |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/i24480417 |
| Abstract: | Developmentalism has been one of the main justifications for many public sector reforms. In Africa this has, in part, been based on the assumption that public sector reforms, which will make the State effective, efficient, accountable and productive, are necessary conditions for development. The introductory article in this special issue of 'Africa Development', by Omano Edigheji, focuses on public sector reforms in Africa, especially since the 1980s, and the quest for democratic developmentalism. Paul Omoyefa interrogates the philosophical and normative underpinnings of public sector reforms. His main argument is that African leaders do not understand the philosophical basis of public reforms, which ultimately are foisted by the Western world on Africa and are such as to enable Western powers to encourage African leaders to generate enough funds to pay off external debts. Recognition of the dictatorship of the donor community and the consequent lack of African ownership of some of the key reform agendas, including public sector reforms, led to the Paris Declaration of 2005 as a new aid architecture for Africa. This is the subject of Lennart Wohlgemuth's article. While Wohlgemuth expresses optimism about the new aid architecture, public sector reforms have not fundamentally altered the performance of the African State, as is evident from the remaining articles in the volume. Lewis Dzimbiri focuses on one component of public sector reforms, namely the performance management system (PMS), with Botswana as a case study. Roberts Kabeba Muriisa, in his article on decentralization in Uganda, notes that subnational governments lack the capacity and personnel to exercise responsibility for service delivery. William Muhumuza points out that decentralization is part of a neoliberal agenda, serves the interests of the African political elite and has been implemented without due regard to democratic principles. Honest Prosper Ngowi notes that as from the mid-1980s, the role of the public sector in service provision in Tanzania has considerably diminished as a result of privatization and 'agentification' (the use of executive agencies to deliver public services). Kenneth Nyangena looks at the privatization of water and sanitation services in Kenya, focusing on the shortcomings and challenges. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French. [ASC Leiden abstract] |
