UCLA Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies Title Market-Oriented Public Management in Uganda: Benchmarking International Best Practise? Publication Date Market-Oriented Public Management in Uganda: Benchmarking International Best Practise? (original) (raw)
Related papers
Market-Oriented Public Management in Uganda: Benchmarking International Best Practise?
Ufahamu, 2000
This paper examines the phenomenon of"new" pulblic management in Uganda in the broader context of the history of administrative reform, the quality management revolution, and the rise of economic rationalism over conventional public administration. The durability of Uganda's donor-driven reforms is critically analysed. Using a Best-Practices Benchmarking {BPS) model, this paper argues that Uganda's edition of market-oriented public management is inconsistent with the logic of consciously benchmarking international best-practices in public service delivery. The definition of the reforms by the IMF/World Bank fraternity, as a conditionality for further "development assistance" is found to institutionalise a top-down approach which is antithetical to durable change management If Uganda is to pursue durable reforms, a fundamentally re-engineered bottom-up approach is not optional. It is a must. The country must deploy a genuine best-practices benchmarking str...
Three Decades of Orthodox Approaches to Administrative Reform in Africa: The Ugandan Experience.
SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2097123 , 2012
Administrative reform has become an ever present slogan of modern life. Developing countries, Uganda inclusive, have often looked abroad for ideas about how to reform sometimes under duress but often quite willingly. However these processes have often been disastrous. Yet, no one seems to possess a coherent explanation as to why they should fail with such predictable regularity. In this paper, I use case examples in Uganda’s administrative reform to establish why orthodox approaches to administrative reforms in Africa fail. Specifically, I assess theoretical propositions for why orthodox administrative reforms fail; evaluate the trends of administrative reform in Uganda; and suggest major considerations for administrative reform in Africa. Naturally, the study is intended to contribute to the current debate on the applicability of orthodox approaches to administration in African countries. It is hoped that the study will encourage the process of reflection and the search for optimal administration strategies and approaches based on local conditions and tools.
A key aspect of public policy development is that government takes the lead and in the process it endeavours to consult other stakeholders such as the citizenry and the third sector in order to develop effective and acceptable policies. This process has its own challenges because public policy operates in an extremely wide and complex environment and there is need to strike a balance among a wide range of competing interests or priorities without losing sight of the desired policy outcome. This paper examines the public policy process in the Ugandan context in juxtaposition with a number of policy models proposed by different scholars and it reveals that the Uganda Government molded its public policy process on the Linear/Rational Policy model. The paper concludes that the public policy process in Uganda can further be strengthened by the Government's vigorous pursuance of a combination of the socioeconomic , institutional, network and group approaches in its public policy development and management framework.
The growing discourse on public administration system reform process is a result of the very inadequacies generated by the process itself. This paper based on literature review delves into the various phases of the public administration system reform process to assess the levels of achievement of intended objectives, the constraints thereof and proposed solutions. Whereas sequential interventions – both legal and administrative – have littered the reform process since NRM government captured power in 1986, the political will to actualize them has remained wanting. This has not been helped by the conceptually transfixed civil service which has continued to see reform after reform elements came into being with minimal effects on their mind sets or attitudes to see them work. Unless government allows institutions to work with autonomy and detach them from individuals; strategize to deliberately psych up the civil service through better remunerations; it is predictable that the multitude of legislation and reform programmes will remain on paper and the blame game shall continue between the political leadership and civil servants.
The politics of core public sector reform in Uganda: Behind the facade
2017
The Ugandan state presents an interesting puzzle for the advocates of public sector reforms (PSR). Whereas it has been subjected to several waves of reforms over the last three decades, these changed form but have generally not translated into significant changes in the functionality of central government. This research argues that answers to this conundrum are rooted in the country’s political settlement. Drawing on ESID’s expanded political settlement framework, the study finds that the last 15 years have seen Uganda’s ruling elite exposed to unprecedented internal and external competition leading to a shift in the balance of power from dominant to vulnerable dominant political settlement. Although the president still wields significant power, this has been used to influence government agencies to meet the short-term needs for regime maintenance, as opposed to supporting the goals of PSR implementation. Almost all PSRs are donor driven and the government accepts them not so much a...
Many sub-Saharan countries have sought "new public management" (NPM) reforms to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. While these reforms have been implemented, public sector organisations have largely remained inefficient and ineffective. Some of the reforms have included adoption of private sector practices in the public sector, yet the two are uniquely different in their purpose, design, and operation. Moreover, human resource practices are continually evolving to become more strategic so as to achieve the desired goals through a combination of strategic and operational effectiveness. Whereas operational performance is crucial for improvement in service delivery through achievement of effectiveness, timeliness and efficiency, it has been given limited attention especially in public sector human resource practices. Therefore, we bring strategic human resource management (SHRM) into this forum by demonstrating how human resource (HR) practices can be used to improve operational performance in the Public Sector. In doing so, we pay special attention to three issues: (a) SHRM and operational performance, (b) NPM and operational performance, and (c) HR practices implementation in Uganda's Public Sector. Accordingly, we call for the implementation of the ability-, motivation-and opportunity-enhancing HR practices in public sector organizations. Our conceptualization offers a novel perspective to both NPM and SHRM with the goal of guiding future research that will result in more applicable and relevant knowledge for both scholars and practitioners.
Public Administration and Development, 2010
This article examines the agencification of public service in Tanzania. This is discussed with reference to the New Public Management (NPM)-inspired reforms of which the creation of executive agencies is one of its core features. The article attempts to understand the extent to which executive agencies in Tanzania display characteristic features of an ideal-agency model as propagated by the NPM reform doctrines. Key features of the ideal-agency model have been described as structural disaggregation, autonomy and contractualisation. It questions views held by many NPM-minded reformers, such as the EU and World Bank that this model is universally applicable and can be emulated in different parts of the world. The article's assumption is that the NPMagency model is based on a weak empirical foundation and its universal applicability is questionable. To illustrate our arguments we confront the NPM-agency model with the empirical data drawn from the agencification of public services in Tanzania. Findings indicate that agencies in Tanzania display hybrid characteristics in terms of their autonomy and control. Our conclusion is that the universality of NPM-agency model is illusive.
80 - Making Public Sector Management Work for Africa: Back to the Drawing - Board
2005
This paper critically examines key concepts that have been dominant in the international development community in the past twenty years. Starting with an analysis of the state in Africa, it shows how the international donors have ignored many of the underlying conditions that make it weak and soft. It continues to argue that while the New Institutional Economics (NIE) is a step forward in the economics discipline by transcending the limiting conditions inherent in the neoclassical model of the “perfect†market, it encourages a definition of “market failures†that can only be perceived by economists who have the necessary overview and comprehensive information at their disposal. The paper continues with an examination of the operational experience associated with NIE and New Public Management (NPM), looking specifically at the issues of revenue collection and administration, decentralization, and civil service reform. The final part of the paper traces the evolution of donor as...