Reforming the African public sector retrospect and prospects - Ayee, Joseph R. A. (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2008)
Includes bibliographical references (p. [152]-175)
Chapter 1. The public sector and administrative reform. Introduction -- Defining the public sector and its scope -- The public sector in development -- The Concept of administrative reform -- Litarature review of the factors influencing public sector reform in Africa -- The Structural or institutional approach --- Chapter 2. The politics of state capacity building in frica: issues and challenges. Introduction -- Strategies of Administration and Governance -- The State, the Market and Public Purpose in Africa -- Reasons Underlying State Intervention in Africa -- Building State Capacity -- Literature Review of State Capacity in Africa -- The Governance Agenda -- Contextual Variables Affecting State Capacity --- Chapter 3. Theoretical Drivers of Public Sector Reform Initiatives in Africa. Introduction -- New Institutional Economics -- Development Theory -- New Public Management -- The Classical or Traditional Public Administration Model -- Post-Public Administration Models ---
- Chapter 4. Phases of Public Sector Reform in Africa. Introduction -- Phase One Reforms: 1980s to Early 1990s -- Phase Two Reforms: Mid-1990s to 2000 -- Phase Three Reforms: 2000 to Present -- E-Government -- Outcome of the Reform Phases --- Chapter 5. Strategies of Public Sector Reform: The Balance Sheet. Introduction -- State Enterprise Reforms -- Positive Cases of Privatisation -- Major Obstacles to Accelerated Privatisation -- Lessons of Privatisation in Ghana for the African Continent -- Corporate Plans, Performance Contracts and Non-privatised SOEs -- Public-Private Partnerships -- Case Study of Partnerships and Services in Ghana -- Case Studies of Partnerships in Health -- Experiences and Dimensions of Decentralisation - in the Context of the Public Sector Reform Agenda -- Two Case Studies of Decentralisation in Africa -- Decentralisation, Local Government and the Democratic Wave in the Late 1980s and Beyond -- 'Successful' Cases of Decentralisation --
- Strategies for Strengthening Decentralisation and Local Government -- Civil Service Reforms: Dimensions and Consequences -- Continuity and Change in Civil Service Ethos, Esprit de Corps and Professionalism -- Enhancing Public Service Accountability --- Chapter 6. The Future of the African Public Sector: Alternative Approaches to Renewal and Reconstruction. Introduction -- The New Partnership for Africa's Development -- Millennium Development Goals -- Effective Local Community Governance -- Redefinition of the Role of the State in Development -- Reforms Must Be Home-Grown, and Made to Fit Real Needs -- Developing a Public Sector Ethos in Africa -- Assisting African Countries with Institution-Building
Reforming the African Public Sector: Retrospect and Prospects is 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)