Making Government an Effective Partner : Civil Service Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa

Making Government an Effective Partner : Civil Service Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa

The paper previewed in this article focuses on the implementation of a long-term capacity building approach to civil service reform. It starts with a review of past World Bank support to civil service reform and confirms that the cost containment a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dia, Mamadou
Format: Brief
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
CIVIL SERVICE
CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT
GOVERNANCE
CREDIBILITY
RULE OF LAW
INSTITUTION BUILDING
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
PAYMENTS SYSTEMS
INCENTIVES
PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES
GOVERNMENT COMMITMENTS
PARTICIPATION OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
BUREAUCRACY
COST CONTROL
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
CAPACITY BUILDING ACCOUNTABILITY
AUTHORITY
BEHAVIORAL CHANGES
BUDGET MANAGEMENT
CAPACITY BUILDING
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
DECISION-MAKING
DEMOCRATIZATION
DIRECT IMPACT
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
EMPLOYMENT
EVALUATION SYSTEMS
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
LAWS
LOBBYING
LOCAL COMMUNITIES
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
NATIONALS
POOR PERFORMANCE
PRIVATE SECTOR
PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
PUBLIC ENTERPRISES
PUBLIC EXPENDITURES
PUBLIC SECTOR
PUBLIC SERVICES
REFORM PACKAGE
REFORM PROGRAM
REFORM PROGRAMS
REGULATORY BURDEN
RESOURCE MOBILIZATION
SECTOR WORK
SERVICE DELIVERY
STATE SECTOR
STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
TRANSPARENCY
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1993/10/1570734/making-government-effective-partner-civil-service-reform-sub-saharan-africa
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10029
Description
Summary:The paper previewed in this article focuses on the implementation of a long-term capacity building approach to civil service reform. It starts with a review of past World Bank support to civil service reform and confirms that the cost containment approach achieved neither fiscal stabilization nor efficiency objectives despite heavy political and social costs. The rather disappointing results are traced to the patrimonial character of the state whose features in the civil service context are: recruitment based on subjective and ascriptive criteria; public employment managed as a welfare system; pay levels that are unrelated to productivity; loyalty of officials to the person of the ruler rather than to the state; and formalism of administrative rules and procedures rather than the substance. The paper argues that the direction of improvement lies in improved governance; a broader approach to civil service reform. Improving governance would begin with an assessment of the institutional environment which determines the patrimonial profile of the country: high when all of these factors are absent, low when they are present. This would be followed by the adoption of a strategy for reform that could be a comprehensive approach, an enclave approach or a hybrid approach, depending on whether the country's patrimonial profile is high, low or average, respectively.

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