African Journal of Public Administration and Managementunpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/AAPAM/UNPAN02671… · African Journal of Public Administration and Management

African Journal ofPublic Administration

and Management

Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007

African Association for Public Administrationand Management (AAPAM)

AJPAM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

AAPAM is very grateful to its membership comprising corporate organisations, training institutions, individualsas well as African governments, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Instituteof Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) for the financial support given to publish this Journal.

GUIDE TO CONTRIBUTORS

AJPAM is the official Journal of the African Association for Public Administration and Management(AAPAM), Africa’s only continent-wide professional association that brings together policy makers,management practitioners and scholars associated with the state and non-state sectors. AAPAM is affiliatedwith the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) and Commonwealth Association of PublicAdministration and Management (CAPAM), among other international professional and academic organisations.AJPAM is an annual publication, which appears in July each year. Manuscripts focusing on any aspects ofpublic and development administration and management in Africa are invited from all parts of the world.Contributions based on experiences outside Africa but which provide useful comparative lessons are alsowelcome. AJPAM’s editorial policy is to give preference to original works that are empirically based and/orsuggest new insights and innovative ideas in African Administration and Management. Relevantbibliographical notes, literature and book reviews are invited as well.

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Contributions should be forwarded to:Professor V. O. Ayeni, Editor, AJPAM • Governance and Institutional Development Division •Commonwealth Secretariat, London, Malborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX, UnitedKingdom • E-mail: [email protected] • [email protected]

EDITORIAL BOARD

V. O. Ayeni (Chairman and Editor). Stephen Adei (Associate Editor), M. Njau and K C Sharma (BookReview Editors);OTHER MEMBERS: Gelase Mutahaba; Peter Anyang Nyong’o; Abdullahi M. Yahie; Yolamu R.Barongo; Pontso Sekatle; T. B. Wereko; A D Yahaya; H. Bigogo.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Hon. Ponatohego K.H. Kedikilwe, (Minister of Finance, Gaborone, Botswana)Mr. W. N. Wamalwa, (former AAPAM President, Nairobi, Kenya)Hon.Prof.Dr. Apollo R.Nsibambi (Hon. Prime Minister of Uganda)Director-General, ESAMI (Arusha, Tanzania)Mr. John Mitala (President, AAPAM)Dr. Mohan Kaul (Director-General, Commonwealth Business Council, London)Hon. Simone de Comarmond (Minister of Education, Mahe, Seychelles)Ms. Angela King (Special Adviser, UN Headquarters, New York)Prof M J Balogun (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York)

African Journal ofPublic Administration

and Management

Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007

EditorVictor O. Ayeni

(Commonwealth Secretariat)

ISBN: 9966 920 01 3

AJPAM

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

CONTENTS

Foreword, Editor v

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in BankingOperations in Nigeria—An Evaluation of Recent ExperiencesAkinlolu Agboola 1

The National Policy Environment of Small, Micro and MediumEnterprises in South Africa—An Empirical StudyDinesh C. Jinabhai and Farida Kadwa 15

Brain Drain of Intellectuals and Professionals from Africa: Causes,Issues and ConsequencesDonald P. Chimanikire 26

Reforming Human Resource Development in Tanzania—Issues,Challenges and LessonsFaisal H. H, Issa 39

Implementation for Service Delivery in South Africa—Issues andLessons of ExperiencePetrus A. Brynard 51

Enhancing Sustainable Governance and Development in Africa—AReassessment of Current Challenges and Future ProspectsJohn W. Forje 68

The Role and Performance of the Legislature in Public Policy Makingin ZambiaW. N. Mafuleka 80

Book Review

iv AJPAM Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007

AJPAM Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007 v

FOREWORD

Editor

vi AJPAM Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007

AJPAM Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007 vii

viii AJPAM Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007

AJPAM Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007 1

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY(ICT) IN BANKING OPERATIONS IN NIGERIA –AN EVALUATION OF RECENT EXPERIENCES

Akinlolu Agboola1

The study is a comprehensive evaluation of the response of Nigerian banks to theadoption of ICT. Three categories of variables that relate to the adoption andimplementation of information technology devices were used for the study. Theseinclude the nature and degree of adoption of innovative technologies; degree ofutilisation of the identified technologies; and the impact of the adoption of ICTdevices on banks operation. The study covered 36 out of the 89 banks in thecountry as at the end of 2005. A total of 216, 180 and 36 questionnaires wereadministered to the employees, customers and Head of Systems Units of the 36selected banks respectively. Out of these, 90.28%, 77.78% and 97.22% were re-spectively retrieved.

The study revealed that the period between 1990 and 2005 was character-ized by fundamental changes in the content and quality of banking business in thecountry. Technology has been discovered to be the main driving force of compe-tition in the banking industry during the period of study. Whereas only one bankhad ATM in 1998 by 2004, 14 of the studied banks had acquired the technology.EFT also increased from 3 to 14; Smart Cards from 1 to 11; Electronic Home andOffice Banking from 3 to 9 and Telephone Banking from 3 to 12 within the sameperiod. The adoption of ICT in banks has improved customer services, facilitatedaccurate records, provides for Home and Office Banking services, ensures con-venient business hour, prompt and fair attention, and enhances faster services.The adoption of ICT improves the banks’ image and leads to a wider, faster andmore efficient market. It has also made work easier and more interesting, im-proves the competitive edge of banks, improves relationship with customers andassists in solving basic operational and planning problems.

1Obafemi Awolowo UniversityIle-Ife, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

Today’s business environment is very dy-namic and undergoes rapid changes as aresult of technological innovation, in-creased awareness and demands from cus-

tomers. Business organisations, especiallythe banking industry of the 21st centuryoperates in a complex and competitive en-vironment characterized by these changingconditions and highly unpredictable eco-nomic climate. Information and Commu-

2 AJPAM Vol XVIII, No. 1 • January 2007

nication Technology (ICT) is at the centreof this global change curve. Laudon andLaudon, (1991) contend that managers can-not ignore Information Systems becausethey play a critical role in contemporaryorganisation. They point out that the entirecash flow of most fortune 500 companiesis linked to Information System.

The application of information and com-munication technology concepts, tech-niques, policies and implementation strat-egies to banking services has become asubject of fundamental importance andconcerns to all banks and indeed a prereq-uisite for local and global competitiveness.ICT directly affects how managers decide,how they plan and what products and ser-vices are offered in the banking industry. Ithas continued to change the way banks andtheir corporate relationships are organizedworldwide and the variety of innovativedevices available to enhance the speed andquality of service delivery.

Harold and Jeff (1995) contend that finan-cial service providers should modify theirtraditional operating practices to remainviable in the 1990s and the decades thatfollow. They claim that the most signifi-cant shortcoming in the banking industrytoday is a wide spread failure on the partof senior management in banks to grasp theimportance of technology and incorporateit into their strategic plans accordingly.Woherem (2000) claimed that only banksthat overhaul the whole of their paymentand delivery systems and apply ICT to theiroperations are likely to survive and pros-per in the new millennium. He advicesbanks to re-examine their service and de-

livery systems in order to properly posi-tion them within the framework of the dic-tates of the dynamism of information andcommunication technology. The bankingindustry in Nigeria has witnessed tremen-dous changes linked with the developmentsin ICT over the years. The quest for sur-vival, global relevance, maintenance ofexisting market share and sustainable de-velopment has made exploitation of themany advantages of ICT through the useof automated devices imperative in the in-dustry. This study evaluates the responseof Nigerian banks to this new trend andexamines the extent to which they haveadopted innovative technologies in theiroperations and the resultant effects.

INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Information Technology (IT) is the auto-mation of processes, controls, and informa-tion production using computers, telecom-munications, software and ancillary equip-ment such as automated teller machine anddebit cards (Khalifa 2000). It is a term thatgenerally covers the harnessing of elec-tronic technology for the information needsof a business at all levels. Irechukwu (2000)lists some banking services that have beenrevolutionized through the use of ICT asincluding account opening, customer ac-count mandate, and transaction processingand recording. Information and Commu-nication Technology has provided self-ser-vice facilities (automated customer servicemachines) from where prospective custom-ers can complete their account openingdocuments direct online. It assists custom-ers to validate their account numbers and


receive instruction on when and how toreceive their chequebooks, credit and debitcards. Communication Technology dealswith the Physical devices and software thatlink various computer hardware compo-nents and transfer data from one physicallocation to another (Laudon and Laudon;2001).

ICT products in use in the banking indus-try include Automated Teller Machine,Smart Cards, Telephone Banking, MICR,Electronic Funds Transfer, Electronic DataInterchange, Electronic Home and OfficeBanking.

Several authors have conducted investiga-tion on the impact of ICT on the bankingsector of the Nigeria economy. Agboola etal (2002) discussed the dimensions inwhich automation in the banking industrymanifest in Nigeria. They include:

(i) Bankers Automated Clearing Services:This involves the use of Magnetic InkCharacter Reader (MICR) for chequeprocessing. It is capable of encoding,reading and sorting cheques.

(ii) Automated Payment Systems: Devicesused here include Automatic TellerMachine (ATM), Plastic Cards andElectronic Funds Transfer.

(iii)Automated Delivery Channels: Theseinclude interactive television and theInternet.

Agboola (2001) studied the impact of com-puter automation on the banking servicesin Lagos and discovered that ElectronicBanking has tremendously improved theservices of some banks to their customers

in Lagos. The study was however restrictedto the commercial nerve center of Nigeriaand concentrated on only six banks. Hemade a comparative analysis between theold and new generation banks and discov-ered variation in the rate of adoption of theautomated devices.

Aragba-Akpore (1998) wrote on the appli-cation of information technology in Nige-rian banks and pointed out that IT is be-coming the backbone of banks’ servicesregeneration in Nigeria. He sited the Dia-mond Integrated Banking Services (DIBS)of Diamond Bank Limited and ElectronicSmart Card Account (ESCA) of All StatesBank Limited as efforts geared towardscreating sophistication in the banking sec-tor. Ovia (2000) discovered that bankingin Nigeria has increasingly depended on thedeployment of Information Technology andthat the IT budget for banking is by farlarger than that of any other industry inNigeria. He contended that On-line systemhas facilitated Internet banking in Nigeriaas evidenced in some of them launchingwebsites. He found also that banks nowoffer customers the flexibility of operatingan account in any branch irrespective ofwhich branch the account is domiciled.

Woherem (1997) discovered that Nigeriabanks since 1980s have performed betterin their investment profile and use of ICTsystems, than the rest of industrial sectorof the economy. An analysis of the studycarried out by African Development Con-sulting Group Ltd. (ADCG) on IT diffu-sion in Nigeria shows that banks have in-vested more on IT, have more IT person-nel, more installed base for PCs, LANs, and


WANs and a better linkage to the Internetthan other sectors of the Nigerian economy.The study, however pointed out that whilstmost of the banks in the west and other partsof the world have at least one PC per staff,Nigerian banks are lagging seriously be-hind, with only a PC per capital ratio of0.18 (Woherem, 2000).

This study carried out a more comprehen-sive evaluation of the response of Nigerianbanks to the adoption of ICT. The studycovered 36 out of the 89 banks in the coun-try as at the end of 2005. A total of 216,180 and 36 questionnaires were adminis-tered to the employees, customers and Headof Systems Units of the 36 selected banksrespectively. Out of these, 90.28%, 77.78%and 97.22% were respectively retrieved.Three categories of variables that relate tothe adoption and implementation of infor-mation technology devices were used forthe study. These are:

(i) Nature and Degree of adoption of in-novative technologies

(ii) Degree of utilisation of the identifiedtechnologies:

(iii)Impact of the adoption of IT deviceson banks operation

The first variable refers to how banks havemade new products and services availableto customers. These services include com-puterized credit ratings, programs that de-termine when cheques should be madeavailable to customers and daily calcula-tion of accounting balances. It also involveshow various types of information technol-ogy devices are made available in each ofthe studied banks. A table was used to dis-

play the availability of the ICT in the stud-ied banks.

The Likert-type rating was used to mea-sure and analyse the degree of utilisationof identified technologies and the variationsin their rate of adoption. The responseswere analysed on a 4-point itemized rat-ing. Impacts of the adopted technologieswere examined on specific areas of bank-ing services. The impact analysis modeldeveloped by Agarwal and Tanniru (1992)was used to assess the effects of ICT onboth the process generated (task performed)and the process dimensions. Both local andglobal impact criteria were considered. Theimpact is global when the resource used orreleased by a process impact other pro-cesses outside the main decision, but localif it affects only the generation of the prod-uct or task performed (Ugwu et al., 1999).Direct impacts of IT on local criteria suchas time saving, error rate reduction, en-hanced management decision making, andimproved speed of service delivery as per-ceived by the bank workers and customerswere examined. The impact on global cri-teria such as competitive advantage, mar-ket segmentations, high revenue and fore-casting were also assessed. The impactassessment model looks at the performance(effectiveness and efficiency) and effectwhich the applications of systems havewithin an organisation. The performanceassessment helps to determine whether toreadjust or put more resources to improveperformance of the system while applica-tions assessment helps to determine howthe implementation and use of introducedsystems affects the organisation (Senn,1982). The responses of customers on the


impact of IT were measured on a 5-pointLikert-type rating scale. Arithmetic meanand standard deviation of the local and glo-bal impact criteria were calculated to de-termine their levels.

Table 1 shows that the adoption of most ofthe ICT products in the studied banks tookplace within the last five years. AutomatedTeller Machine, Smart Cards and Tele-phone Banking were not available between1990 and 1996 in any of the studied banks.Only one bank claimed to have ElectronicHome and Office Banking within the sameperiod. However striking exceptions werenoticeable in the adoption of the MICR andLAN technologies where most of the bankshad adopted the use before 1998. The rea-son for the early adoption of MICR tech-nology was due to the mandatory stand ofthe apex bank (CBN) on a phased imple-mentation of automation of clearing housescheduled to take place between 1990 and1993. Since MICR cheques were centralto the implementation of this policy most

banks were forced to adopt its use. Earlyadoption of Local Area Network in theearly 1990’s was influenced by the adventof Micro Computers in the fourth genera-tion which made connectivity feasible.

Rate of adoption increased progressivelyin all the studied banks between 1990 and2004 because of the crucial roles it playsin the operations of banks. This agrees withLaudon, and Laudon, (1991) who contendthat managers cannot ignore InformationSystem because they play a critical role incontemporary organisation. Adetayo, et al,(1999) and Boyett (1995) also maintain thatin order to succeed (or even to survive) inthis dynamic world, companies must takenot only traditional actions such as lower-ing cost, but keep pace with ever changingcapabilities of IT. Harold et al (1995) con-tend that it has become axiomatic that toremain viable in the 1990s and the decadesthat follow, financial service providers mustmodify their traditional operating practices.Woherem (2000) claimed that only banks

Table 1: Number of Banks that Adopted Various ICT Products at Different Periods

1990- 1993- 1996- 1999- 2002-1992 1995 1998 2001 2004

Automated Teller Machine – – 1 4 14Electronic Funds Transfer 4 1 3 10 14Electronic Data Exchange 2 2 4 5 7Smart Cards – – 1 12 11MICR Cheques – 20 10 4 1Local Area Network 13 8 6 5 3Wide Area work 5 3 7 13 5Point of Sales System 2 1 3 9 10Electronic Home and Office Banking – 1 3 6 9Telephone Banking – – 3 10 12Make Cheque Available Program 1 1 3 7 10Computerized Credit Rating 1 3 2 6 13Daily Calculation of Accounts Program 19 2 4 6 3

Source: Research Survey, 2004


that overhaul the whole of their paymentand delivery systems and operations andapply IT devices are likely to survive andprosper in the new millennium.

Table 2: shows the spread of ICT technolo-gies between the headquarters and branchesof each of the studied banks. The mostwidely adopted products were Wide AreaNetwork (3.75), MICR (3.67), Local AreaNetwork (3.67), DCB (3.50) and programfor Daily Calculation of Accounts. Thisimplies that the products were adequatelyspread from the headquarters to most of thebranches. Direct observation by the re-searcher also confirmed the availability ofthe products in most of the branches vis-ited. This shows a growing trend in therate of adoption of ICT in banking opera-tions. The spread of Electronic FundsTransfer (3.29) ranked next to four ICTproducts mentioned above. There was agrowing trend in the use of electronicmeans of transferring funds both at the lo-cal branches and headquarters. Money isnow being transferred at the press of but-ton. This agrees with Ovia (1997) whostates that the new technologies have cre-ated unparalleled wired economy and thatthe transfer of money from point ‘A’ topoint ‘B’ has resulted in turning the actualmoney into bits and bytes through satellitetransponders, fibre optic cables or regulartelephone.

The use of Computerized Credit Rating,Smart Cards and Electronic Data Inter-change (EDI), could also be found in thebank headquarters and very few branches.Other ICT products such as ATM, Elec-tronic Home and Office Banking, Tele-

phone Banking and Make Cheque Avail-able Programs could only be found in theheadquarters of most banks. In line withour findings in the period of adoption, ATMstill ranked least in its spread while Tele-phone Banking, Make Cheque AvailableProgram and Electronic Home and OfficeBanking follow in that order. Low rate ofspread of these technologies might be dueto cost, fear of fraudulent practices and lackof facilities necessary for their operation.Increase in the rate of adoption and thespread of ICT products, especially the useof cards has reduced the influence of cashon financial transactions. This agrees withthe findings of David (1982) that there hasbeen a very modest move away from cash.Frazer (1985) also contends that the advan-tages of cash diminish as the value of trans-actions increases. Some payments are nowbeing automated and absolute volumes ofpaper transactions have declined under theimpact of electronic transaction broughtabout by the application of ICT to the pay-ment system in Nigeria.

Tables 3 and 4 show the impact of localand global criteria on the adoption of ICTproducts in the banking industry. The cri-teria used for the local impact are time sav-ing, error rate reduction, management de-cisions and speed of transaction while thoseconsidered for global impact are competi-tive strength, market segmentation, im-proved revenue, proper forecasting andmodernisation. Respondents believe thatICT impacts positively on all the criteria.The calculated mean of 4.97 on the likertscale, which is close to 5 also supports thatit saves time. It also reduces error (4.54),speeds up transaction (4.54) and assists


Table 2: Spread of Innovative Technologies in the Studied Banks

x f fx x S %

a. Spread of ATMHeadquarters and most branches 4 4 16 11.8Headquarters and few branches 3 12 36 2.15 1.92 35.3Headquarters only 2 3 6 8.8

Not yet available 1 15 15 44.1

b. Spread of Electronic funds transferHeadquarters and most branches 4 21 84 3.29 0.969 61.8Headquarters and few branches 3 4 12 11.8Headquarters only 2 7 14 20.6Not yet available 1 1 2 5.9

c. Spread of Electronic Data InterchangeHeadquarters and most branches 4 17 68 3.04 1.26 60.7Headquarters and few branches 3 1 3 3.6Headquarters only 2 4 8 14.3Not yet available 1 6 6 21.4

d. Spread of Smart CardsHeadquarters and most branches 4 16 64 55.2Headquarters and few branches 3 6 18 3.10 1.19 20.7Headquarters only 2 1 2 3.4Not yet available 1 6 6 20.7

e. Spread of MICRHeadquarters and most branches 4 27 108 3.67 0.73 81.8Headquarters and few branches 3 1 3 3.0Headquarters only 2 5 10 15.2Not yet available 1

f. Spread of Local Area NetworkHeadquarters and most branches 4 27 108 3.67 0.73 81.8Headquarters and few branches 3 1 3 2.8Headquarters only 2 5 10 5.6Not yet available 1 – –

g. Spread of Wide Area NetworkHeadquarters and most branches 4 30 120 3.75 0.60 83.3Headquarters and few branches 3 3 9 8.3Headquarters only 2 3 6 8.3Not yet available 1

h. Spread of PSSHeadquarters and most branches 4 10 40 2.83 1.07 33.3Headquarters and few branches 3 10 30 33.3Headquarters only 2 5 10 16.7Not yet available 1 5 5 16.7


management to take quality decisions(4.54). Similarly, it improves competitivestrength (4.86), enhances proper marketsegmentation (4.24), improves revenue(4.18), ensures modernisation (4.69) andproper forecasting (4.30).

The positive impact of ICT on the globalcriteria, especially improved revenue cor-

x f fx x S %

i. Spread of Electronic Home and Office BankingHeadquarters and most branches 4 6 24 2.72 1.11 18.8Headquarters and few branches 3 9 36 28.1Headquarters only 2 10 20 31.3Not yet available 1 7 7 21.9

j. Spread of Telephone BankingHeadquarters and most branches 4 14 56 2.31 1.70 40.0Headquarters and few branches 3 6 18 17.1Headquarters only 2 12 4 34.3Not yet available 1 3 3 8.6

k. Spread of MCACHeadquarters and most branches 4 11 44 2.73 1.23 42.3Headquarters and few branches 3 4 12 15.4Headquarters only 2 4 8 15.4Not yet available 1 7 7 26.9

l. Spread of Computerized Credit RatingHeadquarters and most branches 4 14 56 3.12 1.09 53.8Headquarters and few branches 3 4 12 15.4Headquarters only 2 5 10 19.2Not yet available 1 3 3 11.5

m. Spread of DCBHeadquarters and most branches 4 27 108 3.5 1.0 79.4Headquarters and few branches 3 – – –Headquarters only 2 4 8 11.8Not yet available 1 3 3

Source: Field Survey, 2004

roborates the findings Laudon and Laudon,(1991) who studied the entire cash flow ofmost fortune 500 companies and linkedtheir success to Information System. Theyconcluded that Information Technologydirectly affects how managers decide, howthey plan and what products and servicesare produced.


Table 3: Induced Impact of ICT Devices on Local Criteria

x f fx x %

a. Influence of ICT on Time Saving

Very High 5 34 170 4.97 97.1High 4 1 4 2.9Moderate 3Low 2Very Low 1

b. Influence of ICT Devices on Error Rate ReductionVery High 5 24 120 4.54 88.6High 4 6 24 17.1Moderate 3 5 15 14.3Low 2Very Low 1

c. Influence of ICT on Management DecisionsVery High 5 21 105 4.54 60.0High 4 12 48 34.3Moderate 3 2 6 5.7Low 2 –Very Low 1 –

d. Influence of ICT on Speed of TransactionVery High 5 32 160 4.91 91.4High 4 3 12 8.65Moderate 3 –Low 2 –Very Low 1 –

Source: Research Survey, 2004.

Table 4: Induced Impact of ICT on Global Criteria

x f fx x %

a. Need for Competitive StrengthHighly Responsible 5 30 150 85.7Responsible 4 5 20 14.3Fairly Responsible 3 – – 4.86Hardly Responsible 2 – –Not Responsible 1 – –

b. Need for Market SegmentationHighly Responsible 5 15 85 50.0Responsible 4 14 54 41.2Fairly Responsible 3 3 9 4.24 8.8Hardly Responsible 2 2 4 5.9Not Responsible 1 – – –


Table 4 cont.: Induced Impact of ICT on Global Criteria

x f fx x %

c. Need for Improved RevenueHighly Responsible 5 17 85 50.0Responsible 4 9 36 26.5Fairly Responsible 3 5 15 4.18 14.7Hardly Responsible 2 3 6 8.8Not Responsible 1 – –

d. Need Proper ForecastingHighly Responsible 5 17 85 51.5Responsible 4 11 44 33.3Fairly Responsible 3 4 12 4.30 12.1Hardly Responsible 2 – – –Not Responsible 1 1 1 3.0

e. Need for ModernisationHighly Responsible 5 26 130 4.69 72.5Responsible 4 7 28 20.0Fairly Responsible 3 2 6 5.5Hardly Responsible 2 2.5Not Responsible 1


Some factors identified to show the effectsof ICT products on customer services areshown in Tables 5 and 6. These factors in-clude facilitation of accurate records, en-hancement of convenient business hour,facilitation of prompt and fair attention, en-hancement of faster services and availabil-ity of Home and Office Banking services.About 46 of the customers strongly agreedand 45 agreed that the adoption of ICTproducts in banking facilitates accuraterecords. The mean of 4.34 on the likert scalealso supports this view. Similarly, the se-lected customers believed that the adoption

enhanced convenient business hour, facili-tates prompt and fair attention, enhancesfaster services, and makes Home and Of-fice Banking available to customers.

The result of the interview conducted forthe customers also showed their positiveresponse towards the adoption of ICT. Cus-tomers were happy with great improvementon statement generation, accounts recon-ciliation and balance enquiry making.Manual recording system through the useof ledger, cash books have been replacedby computerized information system.


Table 5: Effects of the Adoption of ICT Products on Customer Services

x f fx x S %

a. Adoption of ICT Products Facilities Accurate RecordStrongly Agree 5 65 325 46.4Agree 4 63 252 45.0Hardly Agree 3 8 24 4.34 0.75 5.7Disagree 2 3 6 2.1Strongly Disagree 1 1 1 0.7

b. Adoption of ICT Facilities Convenient Business HourStrongly Agree 5 48 240 34.5Agree 4 72 288 51.8Hardly Agree 3 9 27 4.13 0.85 6.5Disagree 2 9 18 6.5Strongly Disagree 1 1 1 0.7

c. Adoption of ICT Enhances Prompt and Fair AttentionStrongly Agree 5 47 235 33.6Agree 4 67 268 47.9Hardly Agree 3 20 60 4.10 0.82 14.3Disagree 2 5 10 3.6Strongly Disagree 1 1 1 0.7

d. Adoption of ICT Enhances Faster ServicesStrongly Agree 5 64 320 47.8Agree 4 52 208 4.26 0.91 38.8Hardly Agree 3 9 27 6.7Disagree 2 7 14 5.2Strongly Disagree 1 2 2 1.5

e. Ability to Access Accounts at Any LocationStrongly Agree 5 48 240 35.6Agree 4 40 160 29.6Hardly Agree 3 21 63 3.76 1.24 15.6Disagree 2 18 36 13.3Strongly Disagree 1 8 8 5.9

f. Ability to Access Account at Any Point in TimeStrongly Agree 5 36 180 26.5Agree 4 33 132 24.3Hardly Agree 3 31 93 3.46 1.23 22.8Disagree 2 29 58 21.3Strongly Disagree 1 7 7 5.1

g. Adoption of ICT Makes Enquiries on Accounts FasterStrongly Agree 5 14 70 10.6Agree 4 63 252 47.7Hardly Agree 3 23 69 4.19 0.78 17.4Disagree 2 26 52 19.7Strongly Disagree 1 6 6 4.5


Table 5 cont: Effects of the Adoption of ICT Products on Customer Services

x f fx x S %

h. Adoption of ICT hastens Funds TransferStrongly Agree 5 57 285 41.3Agree 4 61 244 44.2Hardly Agree 3 16 48 4.23 0.79 11.6Disagree 2 3 6 2.2Strongly Disagree 1 1 1 0.7

i. Adoption of ICT Makes International Market AccessibleStrongly Agree 5 34 170 26.0Agree 4 55 220 42.0Hardly Agree 3 28 84 3.80 1.01 21.4Disagree 2 10 20 7.6Strongly Disagree 1 4 4 3.1

j. Adoption of ICT reduces in Interpersonal RelationshipsStrongly Agree 5 14 70 10.6Agree 4 63 252 47.7Hardly Agree 3 23 69 3.40 1.06 17.4Disagree 2 26 52 19.7Strongly Disagree 1 6 6 4.5

k. Adoption of ICT makes Communication EasyStrongly Agree 5 43 215 30.9Agree 4 77 308 55.4Hardly Agree 3 13 39 4.12 8.0 9.4Disagree 2 4 8 2.9Strongly Disagree 1 2 2 1.4


Table 6: Attitude of Customers Towards the Adoption of ICT Devices

N Mean Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum

Adoption of ICT devices in banksenhances accuracy of records 140 4.34 0.75 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banksenhances convenient business hour 139 4.13 0.85 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banksleads to more prompt and fair attention 140 4.10 0.82 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banks leadsto faster services 134 4.26 0.91 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banksenables customers to access accountsat any location 135 3.76 1.24 1 5


Table 6 cont: Attitude of Customers Towards the Adoption of ICT Devices

N Mean Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum

Adoption of ICT devices in banksenables customers to access accounts attheir convenient time 136 3.46 1.23 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banks makesenquiries faster 139 4.19 0.78 1 5

Adoption of ICT devicesin banks makes transfer of funds faster 138 4.23 0.79 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banks enhancesaccess to international markets 131 3.80 1.01 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banks reducesinterpersonal relationships 132 3.40 1.06 1 5

Adoption of ICT devices in banks easescommunication 139 4.12 0.80 2 5


Adoption of ICT has influenced the con-tent and quality of banking operations.From all indications, ICT presents greatpotential for business process reengineeringof Nigerian Banks. Investment in informa-tion and communication technology shouldform an important component in the over-all strategy of banking operators to ensureeffective performance. It is imperative for

bank management to intensify investmentin ICT products to facilitate speed, conve-nience, and accurate services, or otherwiselose out to their competitors. The bankingindustry in Nigeria presents ICT providerswith great opportunity to market their in-novations. Success in this area however de-pends on how they can customise their ser-vices to appeal to the ready minds of vari-ous stake holders in the industry.

REFERENCES

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Ugwu L.O. Oyebisi T.O., Ilori M.O. and AdagunodoE.R. (2000) ‘Organisational Impact ofInformation Technology on Banking andInsurance Sector in Nigeria’ TECHNOVATIONVol. 20, No 12.

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THE NATIONAL POLICY ENVIRONMENT OFSMALL, MICRO AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN SOUTH AFRICA –

AN EMPRICAL STUDY

Dinesh C Jinabhai1, Farida Kadwa2

With unemployment levels in South Africa standing at 42%, the government’spriority is to focus on economic transformation and SMME development. Thegovernment hopes to fast track the development of micro and small business,allow greater access to finance for people operating in the second economy andto reduce the cost of setting up new business - all in a bid to stimulate jobs. Infact, South Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world on several entrepreneur-ship indicators. Of the 31 countries surveyed last year, total entrepreneurshipactivity was 8.8%, while for developing countries it was 18.4%. South Africa’stotal entrepreneurship activity was 4.3% and the country was ranked 22. Morealarming is that the rate is dropping significantly year-on-year. In 2001 the ratewas 9.4%, while in 2002 it was 6.5%. Focusing on the experience of the clothingindustry, this paper reveals that the picture in this sector is not particularly bettereither. A response rate of 52.29% was obtained using the mail survey for theempirical investigation. A key finding was the lack of government support for thecontinued growth of SMMEs. Similarly, it was noted that recent shedding of jobsin the textile, clothing and mining sector is likely to be a cause of instability onthe labour front. All told, clear government policies and goals are imperative inorder to negate barriers for sustainable SMME development and growth.

gies. Quality, design and image are becom-ing more important to the upwardly mo-bile as income distribution patterns changewithin the South African society. More-over, sophisticated consumers are demand-ing increasing variety of product choices.This, according to Salinger, Bhorat,Flaherty and Keswell (1998:6) is leadingto shorter product seasons, more rapidproduct cycle turnover, and smaller lotsizes. In support Kaplinsky and Manning

INTRODUCTION

As early as 1996 it was clear that politicaland economic changes in South Africa werehaving a profound impact on the clothingretail sector (Harrison and Dunne,1998:13). Social and cultural changes inthe country have led to huge changes in themarket place. Consumer awareness hasincreased through global exposure, adver-tising and the use of multi-media technolo-

1Department of HR Management, Durban University of Technology, South Africa2Department of Fashion Design, Durban University of Technology, South Africa


(1998:157) inform that the scope forSMMEs will strengthen as per capita in-come increases and consumers are preparedto pay more for non-standardised productsmanufactured (and sold) in smaller units.The key to unlocking the potential growthof the SMME sector is clear policy man-dates and enabling legislation. These im-peratives should be underpinned by con-crete initiatives by government policy in-terventions.

By international standards, South Africa’sunemployment and poverty levels are dis-proportionately high for the country’s percapita income. Growth, job creation andpoverty alleviation are pressing priorities,both economically and politically (Driver,Wood, Segal and Herrington, 2001:6). TheBusiness Bulletin, (2001:2), further high-lights the situation in the country, “the un-employment level in South Africa is stillrising. The South African economic growthrate is expected to fall short of the antici-pated 3% per annum, again mainly becausethe SMME contribution/output is fallingshort. Although the SMME sector is al-ready carrying some 57% of jobs in theSouth African economy, expectations arebeing pinned on the sector to create furtherjobs, because that is not forthcoming frombig business”. With as much as forty per-cent of the employable labour force unem-ployed in some parts of the country, labourintensive development strategies are keyeconomic topics of discussion (Salinger etal. 1998:4). South Africa faces importantchallenges in the area of targeted initiativesfor SMME growth and employment gen-eration.

Against this background the paper seeksto achieve the following objectives: a) toinvestigate the barriers influencing theSMME development in the clothing indus-try; b) to ascertain the perceptions of smalland medium manufacturers in procuringGovernment tenders or contracts, and c) toevaluate the regulatory environment inwhich clothing SMMEs operate.

THE ROLE OF SMMES INDEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH

AFRICA

SMMEs in South Africa are not contribut-ing to the growth of the economy, and toemployment generation as in other parts ofthe world. This is equally applicable to theclothing industry in KwaZulu-Natal. TheSMME sector in Europe, as an example, isconsidered crucial to competitive develop-ment. It employs the majority of the Euro-pean labour force and commands two thirdsof sales volume in the non-primary sector.Most of the expansion of employment inEurope over the last decade has been invery small firms (Mulhern, 1995:83). Inggs(2005:1) quotes Brian Brink the chief ex-ecutive of the SA Textile Federation whenhe states that “we need some sort of gov-ernment support on interest rates so that itwould be easier for us to upgrade our tech-nology” (Sunday Tribune, Business Report,23 January 2005:1). In a recent studySewsunker (2004:2) reports that South Af-rica is lagging behind the rest of the worldon several entrepreneurship indicators. Ofthe 31 countries surveyed last year, totalentrepreneurship activity was 8.8%, whilefor developing countries it was 18.4%.South Africa’s total entrepreneurship activ-


ity was 4.3% and the country was ranked22. More alarming is that the rate is drop-ping significantly year-on-year. In 2001the rate was 9.4%, while in 2002 it was6.5% (Sewsunker, 2004:2).

The NCMA Report (1999) indicates thatemployment in the Clothing Industryreached its peak in 1990. In the greaterDurban area, some 45 000 employees wereemployed by 450 companies. During thisperiod, protectionism was offered to manu-facturers because quantitative customs per-mits controlled clothing and fabric imports.Only 7% of garments sold by retailers wereimported. The effect of this protectionistpolicy has been to make domestically pro-duced and imported goods more expensivein South Africa, than they would have beenin the absence of these policies. Secondly,it made South African exports more expen-sive on international markets, because ofthe higher cost of inputs (Salinger et al.1998:1). This resulted in the clothing in-dustry being inwardly focused, rather thanbeing export oriented.

The Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) indicated that while the tariffs (Table1) were being reduced, some supply sidemeasures would be introduced. This wasintended to offset the higher cost of im-ported inputs and thereby replace local

sales with export sales. For this restructur-ing exercise to work it was essential thatthe Customs and Excise department en-forced and policed tariffs at the variouspoints of entry. Custom and Excise failedto provide this short-term protection andare therefore blamed by clothing manufac-turers for contributing to the job losses pres-ently being experienced (NCMA Report,1999:4). In an attempt to compensate ex-porters for the Rand’s overvaluation, theSouth African government introduced theGeneral Export Incentive Scheme (GEIS)in 1990. This strategy was further aug-mented by other general schemes, whichallowed duty exemptions or rebates ongoods imported for the production of ex-ports (Salinger et al. 1998:8).

GEAR STRATEGY: The Growth, Employ-ment and Redistribution (GEAR) macro-economic strategy, announced in mid 1996,showed that the government of South Af-rica recommended a conservative fiscal andmonetary programme to dampen inflationand stabilise the domestic currency (Rand).Although strongly supported within thegovernment, the GEAR strategy wascriticised for raising domestic interest rates,curbing economic expansion, and therebyexacerbating unemployment, in a countrywhere employment patterns are alreadyhighly skewed (Salinger et al. 1998:8).

Table 1: Tariff phase done under the World Trade Organisation

Description 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 19991 2000 2001 2002

Textiles 30.1 33.8 31.8 24.9 23.4 21.9 20.3 18.7 17.3Clothing 73.7 73.6 68.2 54.6 50.5 46.4 42.4 37.7 33.2ElectricalMachinery 11.0 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7Source: Cassim, R. and Onyango, D. 2001. (Adapted). South Africa’s Trade Reform and the World TradeOrganisation: Background and Progress. Trade & Industry Monitor, Vol. 19, Page 3.


UNEMPLOYMENT: The GOVZAEconomy Report (2002:33) highlights thatunemployment remains South Africa’smost formidable economic challenge. Sta-tistics South Africa (2001) announced inSeptember 2001 that the country’s officialunemployment rate stood at 26,4% for Feb-ruary 2001. In February 2000, it stood at26,7%. Government is focusing on the for-mal sector and small-business growth, andsupporting development sector initiativesto create more jobs. Patrick Craven(2005:1) spokesperson of the Congress ofTrade Unions in South Africa warns that“thousands more jobs will be lost if the in-dustry collapses, which will be a tragedyfor the South African economy, whichwould have lost a major part of the manu-facturing industry (Inggs, 2005, SundayTribune, Business Report, 23 January2005:1). According to the GEM Report(2001:46), the general consensus is thatsmall business development is seen as highpriority for policy at national governmentlevel. However, putting this commitmentinto practice has proved complex in termsof both the general policy environment andprogrammes aimed specifically at support-ing small enterprises. This sentiment isechoed by the Business Bulletin (2001:2)“the back-up, especially from other centralgovernment departments also dealing withthe SMME sector, is lacking. It is as if atcentral government level the role-playersare fiddling around, not knowing exactlywhat and how to do, let alone provide cleardirections and encouragement”. Govern-ment officials lacking business experiencehave little understanding of the varied andcomplex needs of entrepreneurs (GEMReport, 2001:48).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ANDDESIGN

Sekeran (2000:265) states that surveys areuseful and powerful in finding answers toresearch questions, but they can do moreharm than good if not correctly targeted.The research methodology for the studyprovided both primary and secondary data.The primary data collected formed the in-vestigation using a structured question-naire. The scope of the SMMEs concen-tration was delimited to the Kwa-Zuluprovince of South Africa. The target popu-lation meeting the criteria was extractedfrom The Industrial Council list of Cloth-ing Firms and the 2000 Clofed (ClothingFederation) Handbook. Initially, the prob-ability sampling method using simple ran-dom sampling (SRS) was found to be themost appropriate for the present study. Theselection criteria adopted to form the tar-get population included the following:

• Small businesses located in KwaZulu-Natal; and

• Businesses whose employee composi-tion was less than two hundred employ-ees or who stipulated owning less thantwo hundred sewing machines.

SAMPLE SELECTION AND DATA COL-LECTION: Both the lists were composedof large as well as small manufacturers. Ascreening procedure was used to eliminatethose firms who were not members of thegroup under study. The literature highlightsvarious probability and non-probabilitysampling methods, as well asrandomisation using numbers from tables(Bless and Higson-Smith, 1995; Melville


and Goddard, 1996; Welman and Kruger,2001). For this study it was initially de-cided to draw numbers out of a jar, usingthe simple random sampling technique.Mixing the numbered slips and returningthem between every selection ensured thatevery element in the sampling frame hadan equal chance of selection (Welman andKruger, 2001; Cooper and Emory, 1993;Melville and Goddard, 1996). Accordingto Cooper and Schindler (2003:185) thisserves as an alternative to selecting a ran-dom sample with the aid of computer soft-ware, a table of random numbers or a cal-culator with a random number generator.Care had to be taken not to duplicate firmsthat appeared in both the lists. The Indus-trial Council list showed that approximately100 firms had ceased to exist. The finaltotal of Clothing SMMEs in the two listswas 109 firms (N=109). It was decided touse the survey method and target the entiresample frame because of its small size. Theprecoded questionnaires were initiallymailed and constant follow ups with gentlereminders saw the collation of some 57 re-turns equating to a 52.29% response rate.The response rate seemed adequate to drawmeaningful inferences when compared tothe results depicted in the following surveys:

• The response rate of 29.6% in a studyconducted by Sullivan and Kang (1999)explains that this return rate is compa-rable with other published studies ofapparel manufacturers.

• Wijewardena and Tibbis (1999) at-tribute the low response rate of 28.4%of their study with the nature of smallfirms and the response usually associ-ated with most mail surveys.

• For similar reasons an 18.3% responserate to an SMME study conducted inKobe, Japan (1995) was consideredadequate (Wijewardena and Cooray,1995).

ANALYSES OF THE DATA

Once the data were edited and cleaned theywere captured on the computer by the re-searcher for statistical analysis (Babbie andHalley, 1994). The questionnaires werecollated and numerically referenced to fa-cilitate the process of data capturing. Therelevant statistical techniques were thenapplied to test the various hypotheses.Descriptive statistics facilitates initial dataanalysis, but the researcher is also inter-ested in making statistical inferences aboutthe population from the sample (Babbie,1991; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill,2000). Hence, the use of inferential statis-tics is introduced to present the data in sta-tistical format so that important patterns,relationships and analysis become moremeaningful (Bailey, 1994; Babbie andHalley, 1994).

The Microsoft Word and Excelprogrammes were used to present thegraphics. For this study the use of descrip-tive statistics as well as the less robust toolsof non-parametric tests were also used toanalyse the empirical data.

KEY FINDINGS AND RESULTS

The statistical programme used for theanalyses and presentation of data in thispaper is the Statistical Package for the So-cial Sciences (SPSS) Version 11.0 for Win-


dows. This section consists of descriptivestatistics which uses frequency tables anddisplay charts to provide information onkey demographic variables in the study.The nature of the data accessed in this studywas in a nominal and ordinal form. Thedescriptive statistics of the sample profileand its characteristics facilitate integrationwith the more pertinent findings of the re-search hypotheses. The analysis of theempirical findings shows strong support forthe hypotheses tested. Meaningful resultsare also conceptualised within the contextof the study. In order to enhance the qual-ity of the research, significant trends emerg-ing in the data analysis are also highlighted.The following section uses inferential sta-tistics for the presentation and analyses ofthe empirical data. The analyses involvedthe use of non-parametric tests, utilisingchi-square and binomial methods whereapplicable.

SKILLS TRAINING: There is a signifi-cant difference in perception towards skillstraining provided by Government and thetargeted growth of the SMME clothing sector.

Table 2:Provision of training support(n=57)

SMME Response Frequency %

Yes 22 38.6No 35 61.4

Total 57 100

Table 2 reveals that 61.4% of the respon-dents were negative in the belief that gov-ernment had provided support with regardto skills training. Only 38.6% of the samplehad received training support. A binomial

test produced a non-significant result(p=0.112) for SMMEs who had been re-ceiving training support. These data mayimply that SMMEs see a role for govern-ment in facilitating and promoting provi-sion of skills training. The World Bank sur-vey (2001:26) conducted by Chandra,Moorty, Nganou, Rajaratnam and Schaefer(2001) shows that while around 40% offirms face difficulty in finding skilledlabour, less than 25% of firms engage inany form of training. Due to resource con-straints within SMMEs, it is not surprisingthat most firms perceive they are not ableto adequately respond to a skills shortagewithout some government assistance. Gov-ernment has to determine what role is mostappropriate, and how best to ensure that thegains from training efforts are realisedquickly, and focused on efforts to achievefaster growth at the SMME level.Rogerson’s (1999) study found that emerg-ing enterprises do most of their employeetraining in house but that 40% of estab-lished firms used external courses linkedto Training Boards. These Training Boardshave since ceased to exist and have beenreplaced by the Sector Education and Train-ing Authorities (SETAs). Martins andTustin (1999) found that just over two-thirds of SMMEs in their survey indicatedthat they needed training, of which man-agement training is perceived as most im-portant, followed by book-keeping andmarketing. The same survey pointed outthat, business advisors should visit own-ers/managers to help with implementationof training. According to Autio andKlofsten, (1998) a gap often exists betweenthe actual business support delivered andhow the firms themselves perceived thissupport.


MENTORING ASSISTANCE: There is asignificant relationship betweenmentorship assistance and the productivegrowth of SMMEs in the clothing sector.

Table 3: Provision of mentorship support(n=57)

SMME Response Frequency %

Yes 9 15.8No 48 84.2

Total 57 100

Table 3 indicates that only 15.8% of thesample had received mentorship support.84.2% of the respondents did not receivementorship support. A binomial testyielded a highly significant result (p<0.001)for non-support. Many organisations haveset up formal mentoring programmes of-ten as part of their affirmative action or ori-entation efforts. In the case of SMMEs thementor may provide coaching by suggest-ing work strategies, which will result inproductivity improvements. The KZNMAC previously (DUMAC) advertises aMentorship Programme to SMMEs(DUMAC News, 2001:7). The newsletterindicates that the pool of experts availableto them, are hands on and get directly in-volved in the business. The net result is thatthe entrepreneur develops the capacity todeal with business related challenges withmore confidence. According to the August2001 statistics in the DUMAC newsletter,23% assistance was offered to the clothingand textile industries. This assistance isbased on subsidised projects. Clients arerequested to fill in a subsidy matrix forwhich points are scored. Factors taken into

consideration are turnover, number ofworkers, new company etcetera. Based onthe points scored the KZN MAC will paya percentage to the service provider and theclient will pay the balance. For example,if the KZN MAC pays 70% then the clienthas to pay 30%. Service providers offeredby the KZN MAC to SMMEs are for pro-ductivity improvement, marketing, humanresources development, skills training, ac-cess to finance and quality systems.

TARIFFS ON IMPORTED INPUTS:There is a significant relationship betweenduty levels imposed on SMMEs and theirability to generate employment and growth.Textile manufacturers are unable to meetthe local demand of clothing manufactur-ers as noted in Table 4. This inadequacyon the part of the textile mills forces cloth-ing manufacturers to import fabric inputs.82.5% of the respondents in Table 4 agreedthat the duty levels have adversely affectedthe SMME clothing manufacturer. Thisyielded a highly significant result(x≤=62.842, df=2, p<0.001) for inefficien-cies caused by duties resulting in highergarment costs. By imposing high dutieson fabric inputs, protection is offered to thelocal textile mills and this will have theopposite effect on job creation in the cloth-ing firms.

Table 4: The detrimental effect of high dutylevels on imported inputs (n=57)

Response to duty levels Frequency %

Yes 47 82.5No 8 14.0CMT firm therefore notapplicable 2 3.5

Total 57 100


GOVERNMENT TENDER CON-TRACTS: There is a significant relation-ship between application rates for Govern-ment tender contracts by SMMEs andpolicy initiatives to build capacity amongSMMEs in the clothing sector. Table 5 re-veals that only 3.5% of sample respondentstendered for government contracts. A chi-square test pointed to a highly significantresult of (x2=49.281, df=1, p<0.001) forSMMEs that had not applied for govern-ment contracts. Supporting SMMEs in thetendering process is the mandate of Ten-der Advisory Centers (TACs). SMMEs inthe World Bank Survey (2001:44) indicatedthat increased contracts from governmentand large firms were needed for them toexpand their employment.

Table 5: Clothing SMMEs tendering forGovernment contracts (n=57)

SMMEs tenderedfor contracts Frequency %Yes 2 3.5No 55 96.5

Total 57 100

Low application rates for tenders were alsonoted in the World Bank Survey (2001:42),which were in contrast to the high impor-tance that SMMEs attached to increasedgovernment support for their growththrough improved procurement policies.Only 5-6% of SMMEs obtain businessfrom government in the World Bank Sur-vey (2001:44). These data suggests thatimproved efforts to expand procurement toSMMEs and build entrepreneurial capac-ity among SMMEs in the clothing sectorfor government tenders should be acceler-

ated. However, low application occursperhaps because firms are either not awareof the programs, or find the applicationprocess tedious, or because some (such aspost-apartheid or Black firms) may lackbusiness expertise, or find inadequate gov-ernment support systems (World Bank Sur-vey 2001:42). This suggests that govern-ment promotion and procurement policiescould be improved to boost growth in theSMME level, as could efforts to promotenetworking and sub-contracting arrange-ments between large firms and SMMEs. Inthis respect contracts given to large firmscould specify subcontracting to SMMEs.

CONCLUSION ANDIMPLICATIONS

The findings arising from the empiricalevidence have been contextualised withinthe broader framework of the study. Thefindings clearly indicate that Government’sintentions for SMMEs development as avehicle for job creation have notmaterialised. Programmes need to berationalised and advertised to reach theSMME. Reducing the administrative bur-den of compliance for established smallfirms will encourage businesses to enter theformal sector. High priority areas needingattention as indicated by respondents wereaccess to finance, control of imports, tradeunion interference, cost of raw materialsand the quality of labour.

The implications of the foregoing forSMMEs in South Africa can be summarisedas follows:

• South Africa’s SMME sector is ex-pected to fulfill a number of roles rang-


ing from poverty alleviation and em-ployment creation to international com-petitiveness.These are very differentpolicy objectives and the policy instru-ments introduced to meet these objec-tives can be equally different, rangingfrom literacy training to skills training,from productivity improvement totechnological advice. Therefore, deter-mining clear government policies andgoals is imperative to negate barriersfor sustainable SMME developmentand growth.

• After many years of isolation SouthAfrica has rejoined the family of na-tions. Commitments have been madeby South Africa to the World TradeOrganisation that quantitative barriersbe removed and tariffs be reduced.Trade liberalisation and tariff reductionon ready-made apparel has impacted onthe growth of clothing SMMEs. Whilemany firms are concerned and fear fortheir future survival others are beingproactive and taking the necessarysteps to reorganise, retrain andmodernise production to meet interna-tional standards. Numerous firms haveindicated their desire to expand intointernational markets to increase theirmarket share. However, governmentobjectives are too broad and over am-bitious. In this respect governmentprogrammes need to be targeted to offerfocussed support to assist in the growthand development of these enterprises.

• The priority areas for acceleratingSMME growth need to be identified forgovernment decision-makers if successis to be achieved. Survey results indi-cate that the two major areas of con-

cern for clothing SMMEs are access toaffordable finance and clothing im-ports. Following in close proximity, inranking order of concerns are: the tradeunion movement with its stricter labourpolicies; duty levels on imported in-puts; raw material costs; and the qual-ity of labour. According to the respon-dents of this study, lack of financialassistance and legislation are seen tobe the two most important factorscontributing to failure of clothingSMMEs. Evidence in this report indi-cates that SMMEs have received mini-mal support from the Government togrow their businesses. There is an ur-gent need to sustain the survival ofSMMEs in the long run so that they canmake a meaningful contribution toeconomic growth. Narrowly targetedprogrammes such as the NationalManufacturing Advisory Centreprogramme tend to be more focused onproductivity improvement and aremore successful. It is important thatthese programmes remain targeted anddo not come under pressure to deliveron broader fronts, thus undermining thesource of their original success.

• Empirical evidence suggests that insuf-ficient demand for SMME products(that is, market conditions); legal andillegal imports, labour and capital mar-ket constraints were key reasons for adecrease in employment growth.Shortage of skilled labour, labour leg-islation and labour market regulationwere seen as deterrents to employmentcreation. Lack of access to capital andhigh interest rates to SMMEs were rea-sons for the diminishing growth of


SMMES. Evidence indicates thatSMMEs would like Government toprovide cheaper financial assistance,increased government promotion ofSMMEs, followed by more contractsfrom government and large business.

FUTURE RESEARCHDIRECTIONS

Future research can also examine the ex-

tent of procurement activities offered toSMMEs to date. Decisions with regard toresource allocation and the commitment ofGovernment to SMME development inSouth Africa could also be further scruti-nised. It would also be useful to conduct aparallel study of SMMEs in the footwearindustry. This industry is also prone to thevolatility of exchange rates, dumping, tar-iffs and duty as well as government sup-port interventions for encouraging sustain-able development of SMMEs.

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BRAIN DRAIN OF INTELLECTUALS AND PROFESSIONALS FROMAFRICA: CAUSES, ISSUES AND CONSEQUENCIES

Donald P. Chimanikire1

A growing number of African intellectuals and professionals are entering thestream of international migration away from the continent. This paper examinesthe growing migration of African intellectuals and professionals to developedcountries. It focuses on the causes of the migration, its history and current trends,the consequences for African economic development; and the prospects for fu-ture emigration and policy options for both African and developed countries.Drawing on the case of Zimbabwe, the paper argues that four major factors ac-count for the patterns in African migration: globalization and integration of theworld economy, economic and political development failures in Africa immigra-tion and refugee policies in Europe and the United States; and colonial back-ground of the respective countries. In addition, economic globalization, lack ofdevelopment and political instability, industrialized nation’s policies, and lin-guistics and historical ties are major factors that account for Third World immi-gration to developed countries in general. Most African immigrants are respondingto push factors at home. SAP’s designed to combat Africa’s economic problemscreate, at least in the short term, conditions that actually increase the pressureson the educated skilled to emigrate. The result is that as in Europe, especially,many of these migrants are forced into lower-skilled jobs despite the fact thatthey are among the more skilled and educated citizens in their own countries.With regard to the future, two variables will determine the scale of future Africanimmigration to developed countries: what happens in terms of economic andpolitical development in African countries, and developed countries’ immigra-tion and refugee policies.

has intensified, with the media referring tothe “regionalisation and globalisation” ofmigration. The major centers of attractionare the same: United States and the Euro-pean Union, with countries in southernEurope gradually becoming immigrant re-ceiving countries. The third major regionthat attracts migrants is the oil-rich Middle

1Director, Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe,

Harare, Zimbabwe

INTRODUCTION

Migrant flows are always from the poor-est countries with a low probability ofemployment towards less poor and moredynamic countries where there is an op-portunity to find some sort of job. Overthe last few years international migration


East. The fourth major region set to be thetarget for increasing numbers is Asia/Pa-cific, including Australia and New Zealand.

What are the effects of migration on thecountries of origin? Funds sent by migrantto families back home often play a consid-erable part in the development of the localeconomy. However, when highly qualifiedpeople leave their home country, the invest-ment made by the developing countries intheir higher education is lost. To remedythis, programmes have to be set up to en-courage immigrants to return, so that theycan contribute to the economic develop-ment of their home country. The politicalenvironment in some African countriesmust be conflict free for African profession-als overseas to return home.

Africa is certainly experiencing a debili-tating flight of professionals and skilledpeople escaping their countries’ economiccrisis. The level and trend of brain drainhas reached unsustainable heights. In thelast few years, the brain drain has escalatedin magnitude to levels that have seriousimplications on economic growth in coun-tries like Zimbabwe.

Why have African intellectuals and profes-sionals left or thinking seriously of leav-ing their countries? Previous studies havediscovered extremely high levels of dissat-isfaction with the cost of living, taxation,availability of goods, and salaries. Thenumber of poor living below the povertydatum line has surged progressively in thelast few years because of economic crisisand spiraling inflation.

The situation has been exacerbated by de-clining real savings compounded by highlevels of taxation and rising unemploymentlevels. The decline in real gross domesticproduct(GDP), is reflective of failure toattract foreign direct investment(FDI) andincreased external debt due to chronic for-eign currency shortages to procure rawmaterials, fuel, electricity and spare parts,against a background of rising productionand labour costs due to high inflation haveled to declining savings. The contractionin the formal sector, owing to companies’downsizing, reducing working periods andclosure, have led to significant fall in em-ployment levels.

Growing lawlessness and politically-mo-tivated violence are some of the push fac-tors for many intellectuals and profession-als. The dissatisfaction goes deeper thaneconomic and political circumstances toinclude housing, medical services, educa-tion, education and a viable future for chil-dren. Against this background, manyskilled persons and professionals have mi-grated to other countries and the potentialfor emigrating among African universitystudents and other is most probably veryhigh. There is therefore need to enact poli-cies in Africa to curb these massive braindrain and offer incentives to make stayingand working in African countries attractivefor professionals and skilled people1

The broad objective of this paper is to high-light African brain drain, its causes andconsequences. Brain drain is seen in thispaper as a complex problem created by bothendogenous and exogenous factors, whichprey on the disparity between technologi-


cally developed and industrialized world,and the poor developing countries.

THE CAUSES OF INTERNATIONALMIGRATION

Some theories of international migra-tion: There is no single, well-developedtheory of international migration. Amongthe various models attempting to explainwhy international migration begins, fivemajor approaches can be discerned: Thesewere offered by Sharon Stanton Russell 2.

Neoclassical economics: Macro theory(arguably the body of theory most familiarto World Bank staff) views geographic dif-ferences in the supply and demand for la-bor in origin and destination countries asthe major factors driving individual migra-tion decisions. Among the assumptions ofthis model are that international migrationwill not occur in the absence of these dif-ferentials, that their elimination will bringan end to international movements, and thatlabor markets (not other markets) are theprimary mechanisms inducing movements.Government policy interventions affectmigration by regulating or influencing la-bor markets in origin and destination coun-tries.

Neoclassical economics: Micro theory fo-cuses on the level of individual rationalactors who make decisions to migrate basedupon a cost-benefit calculation that indi-cates a positive net return to movement. Inthis approach, human capital characteris-tics that raise the potential benefits of mi-gration, and individual, social, or techno-logical factors that lower costs, will lead

to increased migration. Differences in earn-ings and employment rates are key vari-ables, and governments influence migra-tion through policies that affect these (e.g.,through development policies that raiseincomes at the point of origin, decrease theprobability of employment at destination,or increase the costs of migration).

The new economics of migration views:Migration as a family (i.e., group) strategyto diversify sources of income, minimizerisks to the household, and overcome bar-riers to credit and capital. In this model,international migration is a means to com-pensate for the absence or failure of cer-tain types of markets in developing coun-tries, for example crop insurance markets,futures markets, unemployment insurance,or capital markets.

Dual labour market theory: Holds thatdemand for low-level workers in more de-veloped economies is the critical factorshaping international migration. To avoidthe structural inflation that would resultfrom raising entry wages of native work-ers, and to maintain labor as a variable fac-tor of production, employers seek low-wage migrant workers. In this model, in-ternational migration is demand – basedand initiated by recruitment policies ofemployers or governments in destinationareas.

World systems theory focuses not on labourmarkets in national economies, but on thestructure of the world market-notably the“penetration of capitalist economic rela-tions into peripheral, non-capitalist societ-ies, “which takes place through the con-


certed actions of neocolonial governments,multinational firms, and national elites.International migration is generated as land,raw materials and labour in areas of originare drawn into the world market economyand traditional systems are disrupted.

CAUSES OF AFRICANBRAIN DRAIN

In the 1960s most of the African countriesbecame independent, with the former Por-tuguese territories in 1975. In 1995, thelast colony in Africa – South Africa –achieved majority rule. With accession toindependence there was a marked changein the pace of migration. The first devel-opment plans and those subsequentlyadopted, accentuated existing disparitiesbetween urban areas which enjoyed thebenefit of investment and rural areas. Insome countries the most elementary free-doms were denied, giving rise to mass exo-dus of people unprecedented in the historyof Africa. The gap between the economicand social development of different regionswithin countries and of different countriesinside and outside Africa, has continued towiden over the years.

Brain drain is a migration of professionalpeople(as scientists, professors, or physi-cians) from one country to another, usu-ally for higher salaries or better living con-ditions. Despite the clarity of this defini-tion, most efforts to halt the brain drain orreverse the process, especially in Africancountries, seem to pay little attention toeconomic and social imperative to braindrain, and instead, centre on appeals to thespirit of nationalism and patriotism. In ex-

treme cases, some governments threaten tohire foreign professionals as replacementlabour for those who left-a more compli-cated and costly option.

Political Turmoil : Political turmoil islinked to the failure of economic develop-ment. As pressures of poverty, rapid popu-lation growth, disease and illiteracy andenvironmental degradation mount, theyproduce a volatile cocktail of insecurity.Resulting war, civil strife, state – sponsoredterrorism, riots and other forms of politi-cal violence can lead to the displacementof large numbers of people as migrants,refugees, or asylees. In the late twentiethcentury, compared to previous centuries,more wars are taking place, and they arelasting longer and causing more devasta-tion. According to Papademetriou bothinternal and regional conflicts, often basedon religion and ethnicity, are precipitatingunprecedented high levels of internationalmigration.

Economic and Political factors: The eco-nomic and political factors associated withinternational migration that have so farbeen discussed so far forces on the lack ofeconomic development and political stabil-ity in many Third World countries. Theyare the major push factors in migration.

The push factors are circumstances in thehome environment that make a person thinkabout leaving his normal place of abode foranother part of the same country,neighbouring countries, or for a more dis-tant place like the United Kingdom or theUnited States.6


Pull Factors This refers to those factorsthat draw people to particular destinations,are equally important. The post – WorldWar II expansion of the industrial econo-mies of Western Europe and North America(especially the United States) has led toimmigration policies in these countries de-signed to meet a burgeoning demand forcheap labour. Globalization has made pos-sible a massive transfer of resources liketechnology and capital; labour has becomeanother form of large-scale resource trans-fer. Although more than half of recent in-ternational migration flows are betweendeveloping countries, the flow from theThird World to industrial nations has grownto unprecedented levels. That developedcountries are a magnet for the world’s mi-grant is evident from statistics. In 1990,half of the world’s migrants (excludingthose naturalized, which would increaseeven more than the number in developedcountries) were in industrial countries: 15-20 million were in Western Europe, 15-20million were in North America, and 2-3million were in the industrial nations ofAsia (e.g. Japan, Taiwan).

This globalization phenomenon has notescaped the attention of Deepak Nayyar,who observes that: the process of global-ization is bound to exercise a significantinfluence on the push-factors underlyinginternational migration. It would decreaseemigration pressures if it leads to a con-vergence of levels of income between theindustrialized countries and the develop-ing countries. But it would increase emi-gration pressures if it leads to a divergencein levels of income between the industrial-ized countries and the developing countries.

Similarly, it would decrease emigrationpressures if it leads to a reduction in pov-erty, an expansion of employment oppor-tunities and an improvement in the qualityof life for the people in developing coun-tries. But it would increase emigrationpressures if it leads to rising poverty, grow-ing inequality, worsening employmentprospects and deterioration in the qualityof life of people in developing countries.

In summary it should be realized that theglobalization of economies, lack of devel-opment and political stability in ThirdWorld countries, and immigration policiesthat reflect the need for labour in the re-ceiving industrialized countries have thusfar been proposed as the major factors ex-plaining international migration from theThird World to the developed countries e.g.USA, UK., etc. But these alone do not ad-equately explain why certain countries orindividuals, not others, dominate migrationflows nor do they explain the particulardestination choice of migrants.

As earlier discussed, economic globaliza-tion, lack of development and political in-stability, industrial nations’ immigrationpolicies, and linguistic and historical tiesare major factors that account for ThirdWorld immigration to developed countriesin general. The same factors enable us tounderstand African immigration to Europeand the United States of America.

Sub-Saharan Africa, like most other devel-oping regions, has been integrated into theglobal economy primarily as a source ofcheap primary goods and cheap labour.Initially, African labour was exploited


within colonial boundaries but after WorldWar II African labour was often activelyrecruited by ex-colonial European powersas competition for more expensive Euro-pean labour. For example, France gave itsformer African colonies favoured nationstatus and formed agreements with suchAfrican states as Senegal, Mauritania, andMali to promote labour migration. By1960, about 20 000 Sub-Saharan Africanswere in France; 12 000 in the late 80s.

The British were less hospitable to immi-grants from their former African colonies.Beginning in 1962, Africans in Englandwere denied full social and political rights.They were subject to four immigrant con-trol and three race relations outs that gradu-ally withdrew their citizenship rights. Passlaws and voucher systems were introducedin order to “terminate black settler immi-gration and to introduce repatriation. In1971, the British passed an immigration actto expressly limit immigration from itsformer colonies.9

It can, therefore, be said that Sub-SaharanAfrica has generated significant globalflows of migrants in the post-war era,mainly to ex-colonial states: Nigerian, Tan-zanian, Ugandan, Asians and of late Zim-babweans have migrated to the U.K., Cen-tral and West Africans to France; Zairians(Congolese) to Belgium. However, theOECD has argued that these movementsare dwafted by regional migrations withinAfrica. Regional labour have flowed pri-marily to Nigeria, South Africa, Gabon andthe Ivory Coast. The main countries ofemigration have been Zaire (now Congo),Angola, Mozambique, Cameroon and

Botswana as well as all of the North Afri-can Nations, though rarely have their emi-grants crossed the Sahara. The scale ofmigrants of West Africans to oil-rich Ni-geria is most sharply revealed by the levelof expulsions that occurred after the eco-nomic downturn of the early 1980s. SouthAfrica has provided the other major poleof migration, where a long established tra-dition of labour importation to the gold-fields for the Transvaal continues to oper-ate. Migrants have come from Botswana,Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zim-babwe for over a century. Since the 1960sthese migrants have declined as indigenoustrade unions have strengthened their holdon the labour market. Foreign workers inthe mining industry have declined fromover 600 000 in 1960 to fewer than 400000 in the late 1980s and numbers continueto fall. However, such is the economic dis-parity between South Africa and its North-ern neighbours that unorganized and ille-gal migration continues, disappearing intothe vast, unpoliced townships of urbanSouth Africa.

Political Instability

Political instability is linked with and ex-acerbates the economic crisis of the Afri-can continent. Two-thirds of all the vic-tims of war during the 1980s were Afri-cans. In 1991 alone, military conflict af-fected one third of Africa’s fifty-four coun-tries. As of 1994, Africa had surpassed Asiaas the world region with the most refugees.Of the ten countries in 1995 with the mostpeople living as refugees eight were in Sub-Saharan Africa.


Figure 1 gives a breakdown of causes ofconflicts surveyed in Africa. From the find-ings, the major causes of conflict are eco-nomic and political. Competition for re-sources and ethnicity are significant causesof conflict. Ideological factors and religionare also clearly discernible causes of con-flict.

Economic causes pervade all the conflicts,as the Matrix 1 shows. Ethnicity is a causeof conflict in some places but not in oth-ers. It is not cause of the conflict in Ethio-pia, Sierra Leone and Mozambique. Onthe other hand, political causes feature inall the conflicts. Ideology causes apply tothe conflict in Ethiopia (until 1991), but notsince. Politics and competition for re-sources are major factors that are experi-encing internal conflicts. Further, eco-nomic issues cause conflict in all the coun-tries studied. This finding suggests an im-portant link between politics, economicsand resources. It can be hypothesized onthis basis that patterns of governance and

economic policy, both of which have muchto do with how resources are shared, leadto internal conflicts.

In summary, it can be pointed out that overthe last 40 years nearly 20 African coun-tries (or about 40% of Sub-Saharan Africa(SSA)) have experienced at least one pe-riod of civil war. It is estimated that 20%of SSA’s population now live in countrieswhich are formally at war and low inten-sity conflict has become endemic to manyother states. This state of affairs has cre-ated stereotypes of Africa as a doomed con-tinent with inescapable ethnic cleavagesand violent tribal conflict. The more inci-dents of political violence we observe inAfrica, the more support for this simplisticand negative perception.

However, careful analysis of the determi-nants of civil wars in Africa and a system-atic comparison to other regions points toa more complex picture. Deep political andeconomic development failures (not trib-

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alism or ethnic hatred) are the root causesof Africa’s problems. The implication isthat political and economic developmentcan effectively reduce or eradicate politi-cal violence in Africa.

As several researchers point out, most Af-rican immigrants are responding to pushfactors at home, namely economic and po-litical development failures. In Europe es-pecially, many of these migrants are doinglower skilled jobs despite the fact that theyare among the more skilled and educatedcitizens of their own countries. From 1960to 1989, an estimated 70 000 – 100 000highly skilled African workers and profes-sionals left their countries to go to Europeor secondarily, the United States.14

Structural Adjustment Programmesand The Brain Drain

SAPs designed to combat Africa’s eco-nomic problems have created, at least inthe short run, conditions that actually in-crease the pressure on the educated andskilled to emigrate. By forcing govern-ments to lay off public sector workers, opentheir economies to foreign competition, andlower wages, SAPs have compounded theplight of Africa’s middle classes, whose liv-ing standards have declined drastically.

The brain drain from developing to devel-oped countries is becoming an issue ofmajor international concern. It is not newin itself, but in the past it received onlypassing attention or controversial treat-ment, and barely made an appearance onthe political agenda. A number of factorshave contributed to an increasing aware-

ness of the problem and increasing atten-tion to possible counter measures.

The United Kingdom and France, the twoEuropean countries receiving the greatestnumber of students and professionals fromdeveloping countries, have concluded of-ficial studies on highly qualified immi-grants and the dynamics of their migration.Further afield, a number of OECD coun-tries have been showing a marked interestin the migration of highly qualified indi-viduals. At the same time, in the develop-ing countries themselves, the topic has beenthe subject of numerous meetings – espe-cially in Africa. These have attempted toassess the extent of the phenomenon, therange and seriousness of its effects and howto limit its damage.

Measuring the emigration of highly quali-fied people has always been a major diffi-culty in studies of the subject and thingshave hardly changed. Figures that are ac-curate, reliable, comparable and detailed arerare, and they illustrate part of the picture.

Tr ends in Migration

Nevertheless, the figures that are availableeven if they are less than wholly accurate,do illustrate some important trends. It ap-pears that the emigration of highly quali-fied people towards economies relyingheavily on knowledge has been on the in-crease for several decades and has acceler-ated over the last few years in particular.This can be seen in the statistics of coun-tries like India and South Africa (“Sourcecountries”) and the United States andFrance (“target countries”)


The explanation for this is clear. It lies insustained economic activity that increas-ingly requires highly qualified human re-sources. Those segments of the labourmarket that contain the skills needed areincreasingly important in OECD countries.The highly qualified proportion of theworking population is continuing to grow.Today it represents more than one third ofthe population, compared with one quarterjust two decades ago. In this context, theincrease in qualified immigration simplyreflects a global increase in the number ofqualified personnel available in the work-ing population. For example, Americanfigures show the number of engineers offoreign origin working in the United Stateshas grown considerably during the lasttwenty years. But their proportion amongengineers has not changed at all. Peopleof foreign origin represent 12% of thewhole “highly qualified” segment of theAmerican labour market. This percentageis very similar in many other western coun-tries.

IMPACT AND CONSEQUENCES OFAFRICAN BRAIN DRAIN

So in simple numbers the contribution ofthe developing world to the developed isrelatively marginal. It is nevertheless stra-tegically important, since it eases shortagesof labour market in the target countries. Butabove all it is crucial for the source coun-tries. For them the volume of skills in-volved is sizeable. What constitutes a smallproportion of personnel in the North is alarge one for the South.

A Global Phenomenon

The minor role of the Southern Hemisphereand its limited influence on markets couldhave concealed the problem confrontingdeveloping countries for a long time. Butthe skills exodus is not a localized phenom-enon. It affects all countries in one way oranother. It is no longer an exclusivelyNorth/South phenomenon, as it now affectsNorth/North and South/South relations. Inaddition, there are substantial flows fromcountries in the former eastern bloc.

Here is just one example to illustrate thisnew, complex and global dynamic. SouthAfrica receives numerous Zambian andabove all, Cuban doctors. It is acknowl-edged fact that its own health profession-als emigrate to the United Kingdom and toOceania. Specialists in New Zealand’s bio-medical sector choose to emigrate to theUS and Canada. In turn Canada lamentsthe large numbers of its talented citizenswho choose to take themselves off toneighbour south of the 49th parallel.

The problem is even more in the informa-tion technology and science sectors. HereIndian or North African specialists, for in-stance, offset the defections of French, Brit-ish or German citizens to the United States.

Brain Drain: The Zimbabwe Case

Zimbabwe, once one of the most educatedand skilled nations in Africa, runs the riskof being turned into a society of expatri-ates because of an unprecedented exodusof professionals fleeing a plethora of wors-ening ills. Zimbabwe, facing its worst eco-


nomic and political crisis in more than twodecades, has lost more than 100 000 ofsome of its best young brains in the pasttwo years. It is estimated that 15% of allprofessionals who left Zimbabwe since2000 to seek economic refugee in theUnited Kingdom, the United States, Aus-tralia, New Zealand and South Africa wereskilled workers such as doctors, nurses,accountants and engineers. The brain drainhas even assumed political connotations,with President Robert Mugabe accusingZimbabwe’s former colonial ruler Britainof “stealing” medical doctors, nurses, andpharmacists from Zimbabwe.

But human resource experts and businessanalysts say the lure of better living stan-dards has cost Zimbabwe its intellectualcapital to almost every corner of the globeat a time Zimbabwe is unable to extricateitself from worsening shortages of foreigncurrency, food and fuel and of rampantunemployment, inflation and poverty.

The Zimbabwe chapter of the Associationof Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA) estimates that at least 200 of itsmembers had left the country since the be-ginning of the year 2002 in search ofgreener pastures. Other professional bod-ies such as the Zimbabwe Medical Asso-ciation (ZIMA) and the Zimbabwe Institu-tion of Engineers (ZIE) has lost a sizeablechunk of their members in the past twoyears. Dave McElvaine, a human resourcesconsultant with Deloitte and Touche,warned that Zimbabwe risked becoming anexpatriate society unless the brain drain isstopped. He said the available labour poolhad shrunk by more than 50 percent since

2000 because of the exodus of profession-als. He said the migration of skilled work-ers was particularly telling on the sectorsof information technology and finance.

Findings of the study directed by Prof. C.J.Chetesnaga of the Scientific and IndustrialResearch and Development Centre,Harare(SIRDC)(2003) on “An Analysis ofthe Causes and Effects of Brain Drain inZimbabwe”, revealed the following: Thestudy was able to establish that there were479 384 Zimbabweans in the Diaspora al-though the study team was aware that therewere a large number of Diasporans that itcould not contact for various reasons. TheDiaspora destination of the majority ofZimbabweans are the United Kingdom,Botswana and South Africa. The studyshowed that most of the respondents heldbachelors degrees, followed by those whowere polytechnic graduates. About 20%held masters degrees, while 5% held Ph.Ddegrees; The health and teaching profes-sions are the most affected while accoun-tants constitute a significant propotion (16.9%)of the total number of Zimbabweans in theDiaspora. The most common work-relatedreasons for emigrating given by 34% of therespondents, were the low salaries in Zim-babwe, followed by the exchange rate men-tioned 32.55%, while 29% gave better ca-reer advancement opportunities as reasonfor emigrating; All those in the clergy ex-pressed the desire to come back to Zimba-bwe after 5 years. Half of the farmerswanted to return after 5 years, while 37.5%of engineers wanted to return within 2years.


Environmental Problems

There is no consensus among researcherson whether immigration from Africa todeveloped countries such as the U.K andU.S.A. is more positive than negative. Amajor concern is that because the migrantstend to be young, skilled, and educated, alarge-scale “brain-drain” is occurring thatwill hinder African development efforts. Itis, further argued that labour migrationfrom poor to rich economies does not helppoor economies transform themselves nordoes it address the underlying weakness insocio-economic structure of rich econo-mies. It is mainly profitable for privatecapital and international economy by re-moving national boundaries for labour.Poor economies’ loss of their meager sup-ply of skilled and productive people is notcompensated for by the often marginalgains acquired from the skills and remit-tances of the émigre.

Furthermore, developing countries expressconcern that emigration deprives these na-tions of their best human resources, repre-sents a transfer of educational investmentfrom poor to rich countries and leads toabuses or exploitation of tier workers. Outmigration can also pose the risk of ratherserious and sometimes dramatic economicproblems and the need to make sudden ad-aptations when migrants return unexpect-edly and in large numbers, as occurred inthe aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwaitin 1990.

Others argue that international migrationencourages economic development andbenefits both sending and receiving coun-tries. Obviously, developed economiesbenefit by improving their global competi-tiveness through importing both the skilledand unskilled labour they need. Anotherview is that in Africa’s stagnating and de-teriorating economies, emigration contrib-utes to development by relieving unem-ployment and providing remittances fromabroad that increase the supply of neededforeign exchange. It is pointed that theflows between African and developedcountries do not go just one way. Africa isalso the recipient of highly skilled labourmigrants from developed countries fromsuch sources as the Peace Corps, USAID,the World Bank, the UN, and staff of mul-tinational corporations.

While there are unresolved debates aboutthe positive and negative effects of remit-tances on countries of emigration, it is clearthat remittances from international migra-tion are sizeable and important sources offoreign exchange. Although the poorestseldom have the means to migrate, remit-tances have been shown to play an impor-tant role in poverty alleviation from migranthouseholds and in sub-national areas of outmigration. The consequences of remit-tances for income inequality depend greatlyon the income composition of a given mi-grant stream. Inequality may increase ifmigrants are concentrated in upper – in-come households, but may have a neutraleffect, where migrants are fairly evenlydistributed across income levels.


CONCLUSION AND FUTUREPROSPECTS AND POLICY

OPTIONS

The primary cause of brain drain is the dif-ference among countries in economic andprofessional opportunities, hence the im-perative to move from one area to anotherto improve their social and economic sta-tus. For most Africans who migrate, braindrain has a direct relationship to levels ofeducation attained, and access to trainingand employment opportunities abroad. Inthe past African countries blamed the prob-lem of brain drain on the lack of patrioticspirit of those who left. Increasingly, how-ever, more African leaders and policy mak-ers are beginning to acknowledge the realcause of brain drain, and their incapacityto benefit from the training of their profes-sionals.

Two variants will determine the scale offuture African immigration to developedcountries: what happens in terms of eco-nomic and political development in Afri-can Countries, and developed countriesimmigration and refugee policies.

The two are interrelated. It can be main-tained that the best antidote to migrationfrom the Third World and from Africa inparticular is helping poor countries achievemore peaceful societies, freer and moredemocratic political systems, and highereconomic growth. This would necessitatein many cases higher levels of aid and in-vestment from the rich, industrial nations

so alarmed by the influx of unwanted im-migrants. As long as the global economycontinues to mainly benefit the already rich,many people in stagnant, politically un-stable Third World countries will continueto have no recourse but to emigrate, ille-gally if not legally.

There is a large and growing pool of Afri-can scientists living and working in the in-dustrialized world. While Asian (e.g. In-dia) countries have developed and adoptedstrategies to mobilize and utilize theirdiaspora, African countries lack such mea-sures. The region can no longer afford toignore this capital. Indeed it should tap theenormous scientific and technological tal-ents of Africans abroad and use them forits own scientific and technological devel-opment.

While it is obviously not possible to pre-vent people from migrating to developedcountries for better prospects in the era ofglobalization, the adverse impact of suchmovements on economic developmentmerit urgent attention. A coercive approachto the brain drain would only intensify thelevel of discontent and would make abso-lutely no difference to the emigration in-tentions. The best way to curb the high ratesof skilled labour migration lies in address-ing the economic fundamentals of the Af-rican countries which will ultimately im-prove living standards. In policy terms,there is need for African governments toaddress the economic ills that are drivingpeople out of the continent.


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Ibrahim Elbadawi and Nicholas Sambanis (2000),“Why Are There So Many Civil Wars in Africa?Understanding and Preventing ViolentConflict,” Journal of African Economies, Vol.9. No 3.

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Tevera,D (2005), “Emigration Potential of TheSkills Base of Zimbabwe”, A Draft Report forthe Southern African Migration Project,February 2004, Harare.

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Raymond J. Smyke(2001), “Brain Drain andAfrican Universities”, Transnational


REFORMING HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA –ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS

Faisal H.H. Issa1

The paper explores the human Resource Development function under the PublicSector Reform Program in Tanzania. It is observed that the human resourcedevelopment function is one of the important subjects of attention in the PublicSector Reform Program and this encompasses the development of the capacity toaccept, adopt and implement specific elements of the program. It also involvesefforts to enhance and develop requisite abilities and aptitudes in terms of skills,knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. In addition, it has entailed the enhance-ment of individual abilities of staff as well as introduction and improvement ofsystems and process. The paper demonstrates the synergy between the differenthuman resource tools as tools and processes. It also shows how CompetencyFrameworks as practical tools to guide HR development have been given a piv-otal position in order to provide a mechanism through which other HR develop-ment processes can be appropriately implemented. Furthermore, it is arguedthat the best way to develop staff in the Public Service is to adopt career sensitivesystem for HR development supported by a merit based recruitment and support-ing planning for succession. Nonetheless, the importance of on-job training isunderscored and attention is drawn to the need to give it the recognition it rightlydeserves.

while we know human beings are complexand are the only thinking resource. Thewords power and resource also have dif-ferent meanings and manpower can be atcertain times and for convenience beequated to People’s Power and militancy.

The word Development is an encompass-ing word and reflects some dynamism:movement from a particular state of affairsto a desired different higher state of affairs.Since development in Human ResourceManagement is taken to comprise increases

1Director, Human Resource DevelopmentPublic Service Management, President’s Office, Tanzania

HUMAN RESOURCEDEVELOPMENT: THEORETICALMEANING VERSUS PRACTICAL

REALITY

The word Human Resource is now a com-mon term and a better alternative to theword manpower. Manpower is a word withsexist connotation not acceptable in thecontemporary gender sensitive world. Italso places human beings in the same classas other means of production for examplelabour as one of the inputs in production


in present level of skills, knowledge andabilities including the concept of continu-ous learning/education, training as a con-cept and a term has tended to be subsumedunder the word development1.

However, in actual practice, activities con-sidered as training are more amenable tomeasurement in financial terms and time,which are the other importantorganisational resources, than those closelyidentifiable to the term development asutilised in Human Resource Management.For example, two weeks short-term, off thejob training as an activity can be easily re-flected in a department’s MTEF (MediumTerm Expenditure Framework), but it isdifficult to show planned organisationalexperience as a training activity in anorganisational plan and with a determinedcost structure (where an officer is made toacquire within his organisation differentexperiences on different functional areasor jobs as preparation for future higher levelposition). Therefore, activities with defi-nite beginnings and ends, whose directcosts are known are reflected inorganisational plans and budgeted for. Inpractice, the term training is often used todescribe such activities which range fromprograms for the acquisition of basic skillsto management development programs.

This observation can be verified by exam-ining Training Plans from different govern-ment ministries and departments. What istypically reflected in the training plans areonly short-term, off the job courses for

skills, knowledge, and attitude andbehaviour improvement. Long-term train-ing courses for mostly career advancementreasons are also commonly reflected. Onthe job training rarely features as absenceof direct cost implications or the ability tomeasure the associated costs accounts forthe absence often of on the job training inorganisational planning.

THE PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMPROGRAM AND HRD

First, a reform program connotes plannedchange, change goals, and initiated changeprocesses. Change to occur might requirea change catalyst but implementation hasto depend upon those who are part of thesystem and processes to be improved. It islogical that success in any change effort isa consequence of a certain facilitated de-gree of readiness to embrace change andability to manage and adapt to changes inbusiness processes. Implementing changeregardless how novel and beneficial the de-sired outcomes are requires some prepara-tions on the part of staff concerned, espe-cially staff of middle and higher leadershipand managerial levels. The objective is twofold: to inculcate the necessary attitude toacceptance of the onset of a change pro-cess and creating or developing the requiredskills and knowledge for implementing theplanned change processes. The changepackage cannot be necessarily completeand often during implementation innova-tions and adaptations have to occur. Theseimportant emergent issues fall on the shoul-

1 For similar observations see also Mckenna, E.and Beech, N. (1995); Armstrong, M. (1992:152-161).


ders of those who are part of the systemsand processes to be changed and not thechange catalyst2.

Therefore, the following measures in re-spect of training and development are partof the Public Sector Reform Program3:

Leadership Management and StaffDevelopment Component

It is possible to comprehend what was onthe minds of those formulating the reformprogram: interventions planned are to besupportive of each other synergistically. Inrespect of weaknesses observed and as partof the necessary initial preparatory efforts,management and leadership skills enhance-ment programs were planned. The Com-ponent has been implementing these pro-grams through yearly developed actionplans. To improve processes and relevantsystems some HR tools have been intro-duced and are mainstreamed in the PublicService.

Capacity enhancement initiativesThe different elements of capacity enhance-ment programs serve these main objectives:creation of the capacity to accept change,

to continue working in the midst of changeprocesses set in motion, to manage andimplement change, and the creation of thecapacity and dynamism to be change cata-lysts or drivers of change, adaptations andinnovations. The skills and capacity en-hancement programs has over the yearsbeen covering several key areas:

The organisation of higher level leader-ship retreat/forums: These events are toallow organised meetings between leadersof the country both political and adminis-trative outside normal politicalorganisations as the parliamentary meet-ings. The benefits from these forums some-times organised for specific reasons or fol-lowing dramatic events, for examplechange of governments, are many. Onebenefit of paramount importance is the re-articulation of the country’s visions andpractical paths to achieving planned na-tional intentions or national policy objec-tives and in an environment where statusand responsibility differences between po-litical elected leaders and top civil servantsare less expressive.

Study tours for senior officials on lead-ership and management development:The purpose of this activity is to exposekey leaders to best management practicesas implemented in other countries as wellas to give them the opportunity to evaluatethemselves and the system they are incharge of against other standards to whichthey get exposed.

Other training and development initia-tives organised to impart necessary skillsand to inculcate right attitudes and

2The following works are also helpful inunderstanding change and its management:Bacil, D.C and Cook, C.W. (1974); Hussey, D.E(1995):

3 The Public Sector Reform Program launched inJune 2000 is a re-definition rather than only thecontinuity to the Civil Service Reform Programof 1991 to 1999.To read more about the reform programs, seeBana and Ngware ( 2006: 1999-224) and URT(2003) Revised Medium Strategy, Action Planand Budget 2003/04-2005//06


behaviours include: Leadership develop-ment programme, leadership excellence:leadership and ethics, modern managementskills and practices, Results OrientedManagement, good governance, anti-cor-ruption and ethics, policy development andanalysis, managing public service reforms,customer service training, etc. VariousCommonwealth organised programs inleadership and management, which are of-ten partly funded, are also facilitated.

Improved and/or new systems andprocesses

On the whole, the reform program entailsintroduction of new and improved systemsand processes covering almost every aspectof an organisational life. However, underthis component the improved systems tobe introduced and their implementation tobe mainstreamed within all ministries, in-dependent government departments, andexecutive agencies are generally referredto as tools and include: competency frame-works, training needs assessments and thedevelopment of training plans, human re-source planning, succession planning, andthe creation of assessment centres.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENTTHROUGH OTHER PUBLIC

SECTOR REFORM PROGRAMCOMPONENTS

The other Public Sector Reform ProgramComponents all have training and devel-opment as part of their packages of im-provements of systems and processes theyare undertaking. Awareness and sensitiza-tion programs are significant elements in

the implementation of the different initia-tives as well as preparatory path-cleaningexercises to limit resistance to change andto create requisite skills, knowledge andownership. Therefore, for example, in theintroduction of the Open Performance Re-view and Appraisal System (OPRAS) co-ordinated by the Restructuring Component,ministries and other governmental depart-ments in which the new system is to be in-troduced undergo training on OPRAS andthen actual implementation follows whichis as well facilitated, monitored and evalu-ated – this is similar to the approach em-ployed in introducing strategic planning inGovernment. The Integrity and DiversityComponent to meet objectives set employseveral strategies; but other than the cre-ation of both legal and policy frameworksto guide ethical behaviour, most interven-tions are for awareness creation and sensi-tization on the relevance of appropriatebehaviour. This may take the form of pub-lic awareness campaigns using the mediato planned training programs combiningleadership skills and ethical conduct pro-motion as the subject matters for the train-ing interventions (The Leadership Excel-lence Program jointly run by the TanzaniaPublic Service College (TPSC) and theTanzania Global Development LearningCentre (TGDLC) is an innovative ex-ample). Some components, for example,the Records Component have identifiedgaps in professional training for the recordmanagement profession and have in col-laboration with TPSC and the School ofLibrary, Archives, and DocumentationStudies developed Certificate and DiplomaCourses in Records Management and Ar-chives. The Information Management Sys-


tems Component is greatly responsible forthe level of increased computer literacy inthe public service; it supports availabilityof computers and training in computer useto facilitate better management of employ-ment records in different government de-partments.

PSRP AND SYSTEMS ANDPROCESSES FOR HRD

The tools for HR development, mentionedearlier, are interdependent as one might bean input to some other tool and the outputof another tool. For example, competencyframeworks support and complementTraining Needs Assessments; and fromTNAs, training plans are to be developed;Competency frameworks are also helpfulin deciding the type of people to be re-cruited – recruitment represents one of whatis referred to as the trinity of aspects inHuman Resource Planning, i.e. staff acqui-sition: other aspects of the trinity areutilisation and retention. How people arerecruited and the type of people recruiteddetermines whether staff capability presentcan be developed and be appropriate in thefuture for higher positions in the hierarchy,i.e. to facilitate succession planning. As-sessment centres can serve two purposes:as development centres the emphasis be-ing identification of skill gaps, thereforeaiding TNAs and deciding on actions totake to remedy the discrepancy betweendesired capabilities and actual abilities.Assessment centres can also be used tosupplement selection processes of key per-sonnel through interviews so that the limi-tations of normal interviews are mitigated.

HR DEVELOPMENT TOOLS ANDMOVEMENT FROM A

GENERALIST TO A SPECIALIST

When we speak about succession planningwe are thinking of the capacity of lowerlevel staff to succeed into higher level po-sitions when they become vacant. In mostcases, higher level personnel are supposedto be generalist, i.e. able to have ‘Helicop-ter View’ of issues. They must have thecapacity to provide oversight over the ac-tivities of a number of different specialists4.

The technical HR competencies shown onthe table below are what the different spe-cialists must acquire and utilise but to dif-ferent degrees depending on individualspecialisations. To a HR generalist, the casefor mastering at an acceptable level and foreffective performance all the technical HRcompetencies cannot be over justified andis essential.

We are often employed as specialists andthrough working experiences coupled bymanagement development programs/careerdevelopment programs we get prepared tobe generalists. Therefore, the capability todevelop and to acquire relevant differentskills over the long term by new recruitswill determine whether the organisation isplanning for succession needs in the futureor not. In the HR case, any of the special-ists might at one time in the future havethe capability to become generalists.

4In depth analysis of personnel-flow inorganisations and the development of specialistsand general managers for senior posts, see McBeath , G. (1992).


Getting future generalists in different fieldsentails proper management of the entry ofdifferent professionals within theorganisation. That is when the concept andpractice of meritocracy becomes important.We have from a pool of applicants to se-lect the best available candidate, this is donethrough competitive selection processesand might include a combination of inter-views, psychometric tests and simulatedactual work experiences. The successfulcandidate has then to be supported to de-velop; work experience has to be aug-mented by exposure over the long-term to

‘Business Management Competencies’ and‘Professional competencies’, for example,in order to support the availability of po-tential HR generalists within theorganisation5.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERSCOMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

Meritocracy is a new concept in employ-ment management in the Public Service –it was The Public Service Regulations of2003 made under section 34(1) of The Pub-lic Service Act No. 8 of 2002 which gave

Table 1

Business Management Competencies Technical HR Competencies

Business Process Reengineering Appeals, Grievances, and LitigationChange management Attendance and LeaveContract Management BenefitsCost-Benefit Analysis Career DevelopmentCustomer Relations CompensationFinancial Management Discipline and Adverse ActionMarketing Employee AssistanceNegotiation Equal Employment OpportunityOrganizational Awareness Human Resource Management FundamentalsOrganisational Needs Assessments Instructional Systems DevelopmentOutcome Measures and evaluation Instructional TechnologyProject management Job AnalysisStrategic Human Resource Management Practices Labour Management RelationsStrategic Planning Organisational DevelopmentProfessional Competencies Organisation and Position DesignCoaching and Mentoring Pay AdministrationCommunication Performance ManagementConflict Management Personnel AssessmentDecision-making Personnel Systems ManagementEthics Position ClassificationFacilitation Reduction –in -ForceInterpersonal Relations Rewards and RecognitionProblem-solving Staffing and RecruitingSelf-management Succession PlanningTeamworkSource: Sourced from a Pamphlet for GOWM (Government Office for the West Midlands - UK) of 2005 by

J. Findlay

5 More in-depth explanations and analyses on Competency Based HRM can be found in Sharmon, G. (2004)


official blessing to the introduction of thisnew practice. It might be to some degreeappropriate to argue that at present thosewith the right capabilities and attributes,including age, to facilitate succession mightbe few than would have been the case whenemployment is through a more transparentand competitive system6.

The labour market in the country today isdifferent from decades ago where you hadto do with what you only had. To be fair tothe citizenry at present is to give equal op-portunities to those often many with theright qualifications and aptitudes for thespecific vacant posts. In the future this prac-tice will create a pool of right type of staffto facilitate succession within the publicservice, i.e. a larger number of people whocould move from being specialists to gen-eralists and who have also to compete witheach other for future positions.

Meritocracy against Game-keepingand Poaching

Both game-keeping and poaching are staff-ing strategies which when one is practicedshould not completely hinder the use of theother (not mutually exclusive). By game-keeping we mean limiting access to higherlevel positions to own staff through inter-

nal movements; it also entails preparationsto make the movements possible, i.e. de-veloping the capability to move. Poachingmeaning getting the right type of employ-ees with the right attributes from the mar-ket – ready made. There are several prosand cons in respect of both strategies but itis advised that the use of only a particularstrategy is what is not healthy. Both strate-gies should be employed but in a pre-de-termined manner. It is known that game-keeping is good for continuity and poach-ing is good for getting new blood, differ-ent attitudes, behaviour, etc. and thus pos-sibilities for some positive changes.

There are clauses within The Public Ser-vice Regulations of 2003 which also pro-vide for movements without competitiveprocedures. These are appropriately restric-tive requiring higher level approval. None-theless, it is argued that 20% of new staffcould be less disruptive and might provideavenues of bringing in required changes.The importance of competitive entry atearly entry points, i.e. for recent graduatesof particular age cohort, can not beoveremphasised. However, changes atmanagerial level through meritocracy haveto be contained to an acceptable level, i.e.of 20% in normal circumstances. How isthis to be done?

To allow for internal movements, theclauses which provide for it should be used.However, these provisions cannot maintaina policy of tacit or implicit game-keepingsince justification may not be easy everytime. The main challenge is to create a poolof suitable candidates who can successfullycompete for middle and senior level postswhen they become vacant. Allowing entry

6 In some specific specialisations or disciplinesthe available personnel are limited in numbersand therefore, competitive recruitment processescannot be implemented to bear the desiredresults. Although there are no exclusion clausesin the regulation for medical personnel andteachers, but realities has forced the governmentto discriminate in favour of these disciplinesand to allow their entry into service withoutundergoing competitive selection processes.


into the organisation to those who can besupported to develop career-wise and pro-viding the right opportunities to staff istherefore significant7.

SUPPORTING CAREERDEVELOPMENT OF STAFF

There are different types of employees: forlower level staff, training and other capac-ity building initiatives are for increasingability to perform specific tasks. A smallnumber will progress into supervisory po-sitions, and a few may show the potentialto progress career-wise. To professionalsand managerial staff, career paths are rel-evant. Career paths are designed to encour-age systematic development of similar in-dividuals to ensure that each has the op-portunity to participate in the full range oftraining and to gain experience in a plannedrange of relevant activities, and then toprogress logically along the most suitablecareer development route. Most staff willend up concentrating on a specialised ac-tivity, though organisations will like to havea core of high ability personnel to gainmultifunctional experiences as the founda-tion to general management or to top higherlevel posts. Broad experiences from man-agement development programs includingworking on diverse assignments are prepa-rations to senior level positions for futuregeneralists.

Does the current practice within thePublic Service measure up to theabove requirements necessary todeveloping our people?

The answer is yes and no. The answer isthe affirmative in the sense that even with-out any systematic processes, anyorganisation is likely to attract the threedifferent type of employees: those who willbe lower level staff performing some spe-cific tasks within a functionary unit; thosewho will be highly competent specialistsin performing specific functionary activi-ties, i.e. a procurement expert, a labour re-lations officer, etc; those who will be gen-eralists, regardless how good they reallyare, to be at senior organisational levels.

Nonetheless, without planning of somekind the destiny of our staff and ultimatelyof the organisation, its survival and perfor-mance, is left to chance. As it is for humanbeings to productively exploit their natu-ral environment they have to have somecontrol over it, as organisational membersfor our own development to be desirableand beneficial to us and to our organisationsthen we need to make some preparationsand deliberately to develop a guiding sys-tem. This is a challenge to both HR practi-tioners and professional associations. Someof these preparations are now there;meritocracy as the guide to employmentwill bring to the organisation those who canboth develop into competent specialists andothers into generalists to manage respon-sibilities at senior positions. It will as wellcatalyse potential generalists to exploit bet-ter available opportunities to develop them-selves and gain the appropriate experiences

7 In the same perspective, the relationshipbetween organisational planning, desiredcompetencies, performance appraisal, trainingand development, and succession planning assequenced interdependent activities isunderscored by Jorm, et al (1996).


so that they can successfully be candidatesfor senior positions.

However, adopting a career sensitive train-ing and development system will supportthe meritocracy employment objectives. Itis important that opportunities for personaldevelopment are provided fairly in anorganised manner. For every level of man-agement, a series of pre-determined train-ing and development programs have to beimplemented and efforts are to be made toensure that all employees at a particularlevel undergo similar experiences. For ex-ample, For HR specialists to be competentin their jobs and competent enough to fa-cilitate their movement upward, the ‘Tech-nical and Professional Competencies’, asshown in the table above, must be all, butin differing degrees, be part of the packageof skills, knowledge and abilities pos-sessed. The HR specialists as potential can-didates to be generalists, in a planned sys-

tem and over a period of time have to beexposed to ‘Business Management Com-petencies’. It is without doubt that thosecompetencies shown in the table are rel-evant to generalists from all specialisationsbut in differing degrees. Competent gener-alists must have been exposed to the dif-ferent competencies and efforts should beundertaken to strengthen generalists’ capa-bilities to manage their increased respon-sibilities (before reaching the ‘level of in-competence’)8.

Aligning Training and Development toCareer Development Needs

It is good sense, therefore, to develop ca-reer sensitive training and developmentprograms and to make it compulsory toemployers to support the planned programsfor different levels and type of employeesand to ensure equal access to them by allemployees.

Figure 1: Career-sensitive training for public servants (Borrowed from the Public Ser-vice Training Policy being developed)

8 It has been argued that employees may develop within organisations to being specialists and then tocompetent generalists and ultimately at a certain point in time performance might be reversed andincompetence might be observed.


There is also a challenge to those institu-tions in the country providing professionaltraining in HR. Three-year post secondaryschool undergraduate HR professionalqualification provided has to constitutemost of all or related ‘HR Technical Com-petencies’ as shown in the table. Post-graduate studies must have the ‘BusinessManagement Competencies’ and the ‘Pro-fessional Competencies’ taught. This modeof training of HR personnel will be creat-ing both HR specialists and generalists. Itmight also make it easier for employers tofacilitate employees’ desires to move up-ward through the hierarchy.

Training service providers have to closelylink up with their clients and develop ser-vice packages which correspond closelywith clients’ needs. Here is an example ofwhat training providers can offer to thePublic Service so that acquisition of someessential skills and knowledge can beachieved.

Comparing what is on offer relative to theHR Competency Framework, some of theessential knowledge and skill types of the“Business Management’ and ‘ProfessionalCompetencies’ are available in the aboveprogram. It is often difficult to package allimportant competencies in one single 5 to10 days short-term training programs; evento cover a few of them quite adequatelycould be difficult. A series of programsscheduled appropriately might lead to tan-gible desirable outcomes.

How do we capture on the job trainingin our organisational plans?

There are several challenges ahead. Thefirst one is to either adapt present traininginterventions so that they continue to beuseful in the proposed approach to system-atic HR development, i.e. career sensitiveTraining and Development, or to developnew packages suitable at every level. Thishas to be preceded by clear definitions of

Table 2: Proposed Leadership Development Program

Objectives of the five days program Topics to be covered

Understanding of the role and responsibilities of leadership Understanding Leadership concepts

Awareness of your preferred behaviour and an appreciationof your impact on others Creating the conditions for success in teams

Emotional intelligence and flexibility in using appropriateleadership styles Strategic planning

Coaching and conflict resolution techniques Coaching

Clear thinking and an effective approach to problemsolving, planning and briefing Conflict resolution

Understanding of teams and team-work and the role ofleadership in team development. Assertive communication


what each level entails and the require-ments of particular skills, knowledge, etc.relevant at each level. The second one is tocreate an enforceable system for implemen-tation that will systematise adequately anduniformly Human Resource Developmentfunction in the public Service. The Thirdand of its own significance is sensitizationon the importance of on-job experiencesto employee development, and capturingon-job experiences in the proposed schemeof career-sensitive training and the devel-opment of organisational training plans.

CONCLUSION

Although terms to describe efforts to en-hance or develop requisite abilities andaptitudes in terms of skills, knowledge, at-titudes, and behaviours might change fromtime to time, it is argued that training mightbe the more familiar word to practitioners.It has been observed that the Human Re-source Development function is one of the

important subjects of attention to the Pub-lic Sector Reform Program and it encom-passes the development of the capacity toaccept, adopt and implement specific ele-ments of the Reform Program. Individualabilities of staff are enhanced and systemsand process are improved or introduced.Synergy between different initiatives hasbeen observed both between the differentHR tools as tools and the processes theyare to improve. Competency Frameworksas practical tools to guide HR developmentis given a pivotal position and is said toprovide a framework through which otherHR development processes can be appro-priately implemented. It is argued that thebest way to develop staff in the Public Ser-vice is to adopt career sensitive system forHR development supported by merit basedrecruitment and thereby supporting plan-ning for succession. Nonetheless, the im-portance of on-job training is underscoredand a challenge as to how to give it the rec-ognition it deserves is put forward.

REFERENCES

Armstrong, M (1992) Human ResourceManagement: Strategy and Action. KoganPage, London.

Bacil, D.C and Cook, C.W. (1974) The Managementof Change. McGraw Hill, London.

Bana, Benson and Ngware, S. A. (2005) Reformingthe Public Service: The Tanzanian Experience.In Public Service Reform Eastern and SouthernAfrica – Issues and Challenges, eds, G.Mutahaba, and K. Kiragu. Mkuki na NyotaPublishers, Dar es Salaam.

Hussey, D. E (1995) How to Manage OrganisationalChange. Kogan, Page: London.

J. Findlay (2005) Pamphlet on Competency andCompetency Frameworks for the GovernmentOffice of the West Midlands – UK.

Jorm, N. et al (1996) Working Towards Results:Managing Individual Performance in the PublicService.

Managing the Public Service Strategies forImprovement Series: No. 3. CommonwealthSecretariat, London.

Mc Beath, G. (1992) The Practice of HumanResource Planning: Practical ManpowerAnalysis Techniques for HR Professionals.Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.

McKenna, E. and Beech, N. (1995) The Essence ofHuman Resource Management. Prentice Hall,Hemel Hempstead.

President’s Office Public Service Management (22nd

March, 2006) Final Revised Draft of A Trainingand Development Policy for the Public Serviceof Tanzania.


Shermon, G. (2004) Competency Based HRM: aStrategic Resource for Competency Mapping,Assessment and Development Centres. TataMcGraw-Hill, New Delhi.

The United Republic of Tanzania (2002) PublicService Act No. 8 of 2002. Dar es Salaam.

The United Republic of Tanzania (2003) The PublicService Regulations of 2003. Dar es Salaam.


IMPLEMENTATION FOR SERVICE DELIVERY IN SOUTH AFRICA –ISSUES AND LESSONS OF EXPERIENCE

Petrus A. Brynard1

This paper focuses on key issues regarding the implementation of policy and ser-vice delivery in the South African public sector. The challenge is to analyticallyappreciate the resulting complexity of implementation. Implementation could beconsidered to be intrinsically complex. Although one expects all aspects of imple-mentation to be dynamic and complex, not every area is likely to be equally com-plex. Depending on particular situations some variables are likely to be moremanifestly complex in some situations than in others. Also, the set of variablesproposed in this paper is, in fact, more parsimonious than many alternative sets.The complexity is not as much in the breadth of the variables as in their depth.Unraveling that complexity is imperative to implementation effectiveness andtherefore successful service delivery. The paper discusses the strategic use of thefive Cs and their complex interlinkages to the synergize implementation process.

INTRODUCTION

South Africa in a policy context wentthrough a major review of policies espe-cially during 1995 to 1996. This is the so-called ‘White Paper Era’. This period wasfollowed by a phase of particular empha-sis on service delivery (1997 to 2003) witha renewed focus on implementation byPresident Thabo Mbeki. In recent timesmuch attention has also been paid to ser-vice delivery, especially in the sphere oflocal government. There are currentlyample examples in the media on servicedelivery or the lack of it. Service deliveryis also linked to policy and policy imple-mentation. The question is how one en-hances policy implementation strategies to

ensure successful service delivery. Policydevelopment, implementation and servicedelivery therefore need to be consolidatedso that a more coherent policy and strategysystem with ongoing review and perfor-mance management mechanisms are devel-oped.

Policy implementation and service deliv-ery are critical for both the public and pri-vate sectors. Currently there are also ampleexamples in both these sectors in the me-dia. However, the media focus is predomi-nantly on service delivery and not so muchon policy implementation. The specificusage of concepts like, policy, strategy andservice delivery might also have differentmeanings in the public and private sector.

1Professor, School of Public Management and AdministrationUniversity of Pretoria, South Africa


In this paper the emphasis will mainly beon the public sector perspective and inter-pretation.

This paper will briefly review some com-monly known approaches to policy imple-mentation followed by a section on criticalvariables for implementation. These vari-ables, partly or wholly , prove to be vitalfor the policy implementation challengesin South Africa.

The meaning of policy implementation

Pressman and Wildavsky (1973) uncoveredmany surprises and unmasked many myths.One of these concerned the literature on thesubject:

“ There is (or there must be) a large lit-erature about implementation in the so-cial sciences- or so we have been toldby numerous people... It must be there;it should be there; but in fact it is not.There is a kind of semantic illusion atwork here because everything everdone in public policy or public admin-istration must, in the nature of things,have some bearing on implementa-tion.... Nevertheless, excect for the fewpieces mentioned in the body of thisbook, we have been unable to find anysignificant analytic work dealing withimplementation” (Pressman andWildavsky,1973: 166).

Although the United States of America andWestern Europe have passed through dif-ferent phases of policy implementation re-search, South Africa is currently in themidst of the implementation era. Schol-

ars, like Wildavsky (1973) already startedin the sixties and the seventies with imple-mentation research; however, a commontheory is still lacking. There is still someconfusion regarding the beginning ofimplementation, when it ends, and howmany types of implementation there are.

Implementation, according to Pressmanand Wildavsky (1973: xiii-xv), “means justwhat Webster [dictionary] and Roget [the-saurus] say it does: to carry out, accom-plish, fulfill, produce, complete.” Accord-ing to their seminal book on the subject:“Policies imply theories... Policies becomeprograms when, by authoritative action, theinitial conditions are created... Implemen-tation, then, is the ability to forge subse-quent links in the causal chain so as to ob-tain the desired result.”

A more specific definition is provided byVan Meter and Van Horn (1974: 447-8):“Policy implementation encompasses thoseactions by public or private individuals (orgroups) that are directed at the achievementof objectives set forth in prior policy deci-sions.” They make a clear distinction be-tween the interrelated concepts of imple-mentation, performance, impact and stress.The observation is that impact studies typi-cally ask “What happened?” whereasimplementation studies ask “Why did ithappen?”

A widely accepted model of the causal pro-cesses of implementation still remains,what Hargrove (1975) had called the “miss-ing link” in social policy studies. It couldbe pointed out that:


Implementation research has been toorestricted in time (i.e., an emphasis oncross-sectional versus longitudinalanalysis), too restricted in number (i.e.,an emphasis on case study versus com-parative analyses), too restricted inpolicy type (i.e., an emphasis on singlepolicy type versus multiple policytypes), too restricted in defining theconcept of implementation (i.e., limitedto a single output measure versus mul-tiple measures), and too restricted inapproach (i.e., the utilization of either“top-down” or “bottom-up” approachversus both).

Having said that, the literature has, in fact,come a long way in highlighting the inevi-table complexity of the implementationprocess and the saliency of trying to un-derstand this complexity.

Three generations of research intoimplementation

Research into implementation has evolvedover the last twenty years. The literatureon implementation is arbitrary not neces-sarily in any sequence, but there are cer-tain highlights that can be identified. Threegenerations of research into policy imple-mentation exist. The very first or classicalgeneration of thinking on the subject be-gan with the assumption that implementa-tion would happen ‘automatically’ once theappropriate policies had been authorita-tively proclaimed. The second generationset out to challenge this assumption, to ex-plain implementation ‘failure’ in specificcases, and to demonstrate that implemen-tation was a political process no less com-

plex (and often more so) than policy for-mulation. The third or analytical genera-tion, by contrast, has been less concernedwith specific implementation failure andmore with understanding how implemen-tation works in general and how its pros-pects might be improved.

Generation 1: A Cog in the AdministrativeMachineIt could be stated that the policy sciencesmay be characterized as having a long his-tory (if they are defined in terms of adviceto rulers) and a short past (if they are de-fined as a systematic, institutionalized ap-proach to improved governance). This gen-eral observation is all the more true forpolicy implementation. Hjern and Hull(1982: 107; see also Hjern 1982) trace theantecedents of the “classical” view of ad-ministration and implementation to early‘constitutionalist’ theorists. Quoting Hume,they suggest that his and his successors’political methodology could be labelled the‘single-authority, top-down’ approach topolitical organization [and, thereby, topolicy implementation]:

“So great is the force of laws and ofparticular forms of government, and solittle dependence have they on the hu-mors and tempers of men, that conse-quences almost as general and certainmay sometimes be deduced from themas any which the mathematical sciencesafford us.’’

Administration was, therefore, conceivedas being ‘scientific’, ‘rational’, ‘predict-able’—and, ultimately, ‘machine-like’.This suggests that this ‘classical’ model ofpolicy administration was based on three


basic concepts which helped make the ‘ma-chine’ the metaphor and model for the studyof administration — and helped foster theview that implementation was but an auto-matic cog within the rationalized adminis-trative machine (Hjern and Hull,1982)

Generation 2: Implementation iscomplex and ‘nothing works’The limitations of the ‘classical’ model,however, began to be highlighted in the postWorld War-II period as it became apparentthat public policy worked less as an effi-cient and orderly machine and more as aprocess of “muddling through” (Lindblom,1979). Such limitations were brought intosharp relief as the scope and span of gov-ernment dramatically enlarged in both theUnited States (largely because of PresidentJohnson’s “Great Society” program) and inWestern Europe (largely because of post-War reconstruction and social welfareprogrammes).

A number of case studies in the UnitedStates showed that the grand policies of the1960s were not working the way they were‘supposed’ to under the classical model. Atthe same time, scholarship in Public Ad-ministration and organizational behavior(e.g., Simon, 1947; Kaufman, 1960;Etozioni, 1964) was revealing that admin-istration — and implementation — was farmore complex, and political, than the clas-sical assumptions had suggested them tobe.

The first generation of scholars was faultedfor underestimating the complexity ofimplementation processes; the second gen-eration set out to record the magnitude of

this complexity through detailed empiricalstudies. Scholars of the generation meticu-lously documented specific case studiesand showed how complex implementationreally was and why it was folly to assumethat just because a policy had been pro-claimed, it would be implemented.

While Pressman and Wildavsky (1973) arethe most prominent exemplar of this genreof research, the general mood of this gen-eration is caught by Bardach in The Imple-mentation Game (1977: 3):

“It is hard enough to design public poli-cies and programmes that look good onpaper. It is harder still to formulate themin words and slogans that resonatepleasingly in the ears of political lead-ers and the constituencies to which theyare responsive. And it is excruciatinglyhard to implement them in a way thatpleases anyone at all, including the sup-posed beneficiaries or clients”.

Generation 3: The Search for a fully-fledged implementation theoryThe battle for recognition of implementa-tion as a critical element of policy-makinghas been won. But the analysis of imple-mentation is just moving beyond the stagesof isolated case studies and applied wis-dom. It is time to design research so thatknowledge from individual studies in dif-ferent policy sectors can be cumulated andcompared.

Others had already begun coming to, andwere increasingly arriving at, similar con-clusions. It was the realization of the ab-sence of (and the need for) causal under-


standing, organizing frameworks, concep-tual models, analytic approaches, and ulti-mately explanatory and predictive theoriesthat ushered in the third generation of think-ing on implementation.

Researchers do not agree on the outlinesof a theory of implementation nor even onthe variables crucial to implementation suc-cess. Researchers, for most part implicitly,also disagree on what should constituteimplementation success, especially in themulti-actor setting. But even among thosewho seem to share assumptions on this is-sue, for instance those who utilize an un-ambiguously top-down perspective andseek to execute the wishes of a central sov-ereign, there seems to be considerable di-versity.

Having said all of the above, the contribu-tion of this generation of implementationresearch must not go underappreciated.Despite the fact that there remains a lackof accumulation or convergence in the fieldand that predictive implementation theoryremains elusive, this generation of schol-arship has substantially enhanced our un-derstanding of the important clusters ofvariables that can impact implementation.

Approaches to implementation

Varied opinions exist as to the most appro-priate approaches to policy implementationin the South African context. Although vari-ous prominent paradigms are debated andpractised internationally, South Africansseemed to have adopted their own ap-proaches in executing the vast range ofpolicies in Government. Naturally, the con-

sequence is also varying degrees of suc-cess of policy implementation. It is notedthat early scholars of policy science sawimplementation merely as an administra-tive choice which, once policy had beenlegislated and the institutions mandatedwith administrative authority, would hap-pen of and by itself. This view has, how-ever, been debunked. While the complex-ity inherent in implementation processeshas been amply demonstrated, we are stillnowhere near a widely accepted causaltheory with predictive or prescriptive pow-ers. Although the United States and West-ern Europe moved through different phasesof policy implementation research, SouthAfrica is currently in the midst of the imple-mentation era. Scholars such as Wildavskybegan implementation research in the1960s and 1970s; however, a commontheory is still lacking. There is still someconfusion about when implementation be-gins, when it ends, and how many types ofimplementation there are. In the literatureon policy implementation several obstacleswere identified in the way of successfulpolicy implementation. However, there isalso a surprising number of common find-ings as well as suggestions between schol-ars of implementation literature. As imple-mentation research evolved, two schools ofthought developed as to the most effectivemethod for studying and describing imple-mentation: top-down and bottom-up. Top-down supporters see policy designers as thecentral actors and concentrate their atten-tion on factors that can be manipulated atthe national level. Bottom-up supportersemphasize target groups and service deliv-erers. Presently most theorists agree thatsome convergence of the two perspectives


exists. This is exactly why there is a closerelationship between policy implementa-tion and service delivery. This means thatthe macro-level variables of the top-downmodel are tied with the micro-level bottom-uppers (Matland 1995).

The most common meaning of implemen-tation is to carry out, to accomplish, to ful-fill, produce or to complete. This meaningcould easily be equated with service deliv-ery. For the purposes of a working defini-tion for this paper, policy implementationis regarded as the accomplishment of policyobjectives through the planning and pro-gramming of operations and projects so thatagreed upon outcomes and desired impactsare achieved.

The policy gap

Khosa (2003:49) notes on a project entitled“Closing the gap between policy and imple-mentation in South Africa”, that: “ ...thediscrepancies between policy and imple-mentation are largely caused by unrealis-tic policies, and a lack of managerial ex-pertise. Another key finding is that policyimplementation has suffered from the ab-sence of a people driven process. Insuffi-cient co-ordination of policy implementa-tion is cited in virtually all sectors, and hassignificantly hampered the implementationof policies. In addition, insufficient staff-ing and capacity of all three spheres of gov-ernment, as well as the linkages betweenthem, have largely worked against the suc-cessful implementation of policies”. Thesefindings would have an adverse effect onsuccessful service delivery.

Policy coherence and integratedservice deliver

In an effort to address the challenges thatthe need for increased co-ordination andco-operation has posed worldwide, SouthAfricans have adopted the cluster approachin an effort to improve policy co-ordina-tion and the integration of service deliv-ery. Significant challenges exist in estab-lishing policy coherence in the South Afri-can context. Several sectors such as hous-ing, transport and public works have alsowitnessed a major review of policy frame-works and much still needs to be done toattain alignment in a multi-sectoral sense.The South African Government has usedthe cluster system whereby a number ofdepartments (at respectively the nationaland provincial levels) with related func-tions have been planning their activitiestogether. Such arrangements included forexample social or economic and financeclusters, clusters for good governance andsecurity clusters. These arrangements havebeen mirrored in the executive of Govern-ment where technical committees havebeen developed to ensure joint planning andintegrated service delivery. Whereas somesuccesses have been experienced, espe-cially in high profile projects such as Presi-dential lead projects, technical committeeshave, by and large, not been able to achieveinterdepartmental co-operation at a broadlevel.

Although some evaluations of cluster sys-tems have been carried out, these resultshave never been released with the conse-quence that lessons of experience for ap-plication across provinces are not gener-


ally available. Although some disadvan-tages to the cluster system also exist suchas that a sectoral approach has been usedas a point of departure for the cluster sys-tem that obviously down-plays other crite-ria for cluster formation such as urban/ ru-ral divisions or other transversal issues(such as youth, gender, transformation andothers).

The view from developing countries

Although there still seems to be a gap be-tween West European research and researchin the United States on implementation,attempts are under way to fill these gapsby collaborative research. This is perhapsalso an opportune moment for South Af-rica to engage in similar collaborative re-search.

However, even the possibility that thisimplementation research may have some-thing to learn from, contribute to, bearupon, or be relevant to implementation re-search and practice in developing countriesis scarcely ever raised, let alone be debated.This is not because such research has notbeen done nor because it is not accessibleto scholars in industrialized countries. Itemanates, instead, from the always implied,often unstated, never actually tested, andpractically unchallenged assumption thatnot only the local conditions but the veryprocess by which implementation occursis fundamentally different in developingand industrialized societies. This assump-tion is shared by scholars — partly becausethere is little interaction and even less over-lap between scholars who study implemen-tation in industrialized societies and those

who do so in developing countries, andpartly because local conditions in the twoare, in fact, substantively different. Indeed,in a field as complex — and as dependenton local and issue realities — as implemen-tation, any generalizations may be consid-ered dubious; implying generalizations ofa ‘global’ proportion, all the more so.

While accepting the validity of the abovearguments, it could be stated that — eventhough there is likely to be important vari-ance in how specific factors manifest them-selves in differing local (including social,cultural and political) and issue conditions,both within and between developing andindustrialized societies — the broad clus-ters of factors that impact on implementa-tion of social policy are likely to be similarand that there is much to be gained frommutual interaction and learning amongstthe two streams of research and scholar-ship.

Three cautionary points, however, need tobe highlighted. First, the broadly definedliterature on implementation in developingcountries is based even more on case stud-ies than that in the industrialized countries.For understandable reasons — given thegreater diversity of local conditions andstate — society politics — it is character-ized by an even greater absence of gener-ally accepted analytical frameworks. Sec-ond, it borrows much more from the litera-ture on implementation in industrializedcountries than the latter does from it, but isalso characterized by a greater focus onfield-level variables and, in that respect, ismore firmly in the bottom-up tradition ofimplementation scholarship. Finally, and


most importantly, even where the broadfactors identified as being important aresimilar, implementation problems encoun-tered in developing countries are hypoth-esized to be greater by virtue of the politi-cal and social context in which implemen-tation occurs.

Another extremely robust model of policyimplementation that is equally applicableto developing and industrialized societiescomes from Warwick (1982). This work isespecially interesting in that it documentsthe experience of eight developing coun-tries in implementing population policieswhich were influenced by international ini-tiatives and carried out with the assistanceof international institutions. In his analyticconclusions, Warwick first defines threemain approaches to implementation: themachine model which “assume that aclearly formulated plan backed by legiti-mate decision-making authority containsthe essential ingredients for its own imple-mentation”; the games model which“swings from total rationality to virtual ir-rationality in implementation” and “playsdown plans and policies and plays up thepower of bargaining, and exchange”; andthe evolutionary model which implies that“policy is significant not because it sets theexact course of implementation but becauseit shapes the potential for action.”

He then goes on to suggest what he callsthe transaction model of understandingimplementation. To Warwick (1982: 181),“the concept of transaction implies delib-erate action to achieve a result, consciousdealings between implementers and pro-gram environments, and, as a particularly

critical kind of dealing, negotiation amongparties with conflicting or otherwise diverg-ing interests in implementation.” Themodel begins with seven assumptions : a)policy is important in establishing the pa-rameters and directions of action, but itnever determines the exact course of imple-mentation; b) formal organization struc-tures are significant but not deterministic;c) the program’s environment is a criticallocus for transactions affecting implemen-tation; d) the process of policy formulationand program design can be as important asthe product; e) implementer discretion isuniversal and inevitable; f) clients greatlyinfluence the outcomes of implementation;and g) implementation is inherently dy-namic. Building on these, he concludes:

“Implementation means transaction. Tocarry out a program, implementersmust continually deal with tasks, envi-ronments, clients, and each other. Theformalities of organization and themechanics of administration are impor-tant as background, but the key to suc-cess is continual coping with contexts,personalities, alliances, and events. Andcrucial to such adaptation is the will-ingness to acknowledge and correctmistakes, to shift directions, and tolearn from doing. Nothing is more vi-tal to implementation than self-correc-tion; nothing more lethal than blindperseveration”. (Warwick,1982: 190)

In spite of the differences between devel-oping and developed countries, research onpolicy implementation brought some mean-ingful variables for implementation. Al-though these variables are not applicable


to a particular case, it can easily be appliedto a whole range of cases. Important to note,is that every case of policy implementationis rather unique, but the following variableswill at least facilitate a diagnostic processand also serve as a frame of reference forsuccessful implementation.

The 5 C Protocol: Critical variablesfor studying policy implementation

The major findings of representative ana-lytical research on implementation demon-strate that the scholarship on the subject hasbeen diverse, complex and broad. In thissection additional findings will be addedto enhance the learning process. The goalof this section is not to build a theory. It isbelieved at this moment that a universallyacceptable predictive theory cannot be de-veloped. The purpose of this section ismerely to identify the key clusters of ex-planatory variables that might allow a bet-ter understanding of implementation.

Before we go on to identify the set of criti-cal variables that are generally accepted bya multitude of implementation scholars itis important to spell out how aspects aboutimplementation and what assumptions aremade about it. This section will attempt todescribe implementation in all its manifestcomplexity before we proceed to siftthrough the complexity to develop a frame-work of critical variables that affect imple-mentation.

As Pressman and Wildavsky (1973: xiii-xvii) realized, implementation is not aneasy concept to define. As a noun, imple-mentation is the state of having achieved

the goals of the policy. As a verb it is aprocess -everything that happens in tryingto achieve that policy objective. Thus, justbecause implementation (noun) is notachieved does not mean that implementa-tion (verb) does not happen. Consider asan example a general policy to check re-construction and development in SouthAfrica. After x number of years one mayfind that the Reconstruction and Develop-ment Program is still rampant and there-fore conclude that the implementation hasnot been achieved. This may be becausethe specific steps prescribed in the policyto achieve the said goal were never fol-lowed; were followed but did not producethe predicted result; were transformed; or,most likely, a combination of the above.However, the ‘process’ of implementationdid happen in that the prescribed steps weretaken, ignored, or transformed. The sub-ject of this paper, then, is implementationthe verb: what happens after a policy isenacted. Whether this leads to the achieve-ment of the desired objective is the subjectof evaluation (or effectiveness) research.The two, however, are inextricably linked:to achieve implementation (noun), or toevaluate its effectiveness, we must firstunderstand the process of implementation(verb) so that we might influence it.

Foremost to this paper’s understanding ofimplementation is the belief that implemen-tation is not simply a managerial or admin-istrative problem, it is a political process,it is concerned with who gets what, when,how, where, and from whom. By defini-tion, then, there are multiple actors. Con-ceivably, there may be implementationproblems which are not multi-actor; these,


however, are likely to be exceptions. AsScharpf (1978: 347) points out, “it is un-likely, if not impossible, that public policyof any significance could result from thechoice process of any single unified actor.Policy formation and policy implementa-tion are inevitably the result of interactionsamong a plurality of separate actors withseparate interests, goals, and strategies”.

Not only is implementation influenced bymultiple actors, it operates at multiple lev-els. For example, a national educationpolicy may operate at the national, provin-cial, and local levels; an internationally trig-gered population or environmental policymight, in addition, also be operating at theinternational level. In most cases the num-ber of relevant ‘levels’ would be evengreater once we include intra-organiza-tional levels (e.g., within the field agency).The important point is not as much to cata-log all the various levels at which imple-mentation happens but to acknowledge thatit may happen at multiple levels simulta-neously and that the transmittal of policyfrom one level to the other is neither neatnor unidirectional. Consider, for example,a national policy to limit the emissions ofa certain pollutant. A partial list of theimplementation activities associated withthis policy would include: passage of na-tional government enabling legislation, andnational, provincial and local standard set-ting, capacity creation within relevant na-tional and local agencies, formalization ofagency operating procedures, allocation ofresources within relevant agencies, the ac-tual issuance of violations to offenders, etc.Note that a) implementation includes all themany activities that happen after the state-

ment of a policy, and b) these activities of-ten happen at very different levels.

Policies are continuously transformed byimplementing actions that simultaneouslyalter resources and objectives... It is notpolicy design but redesign that goes onmost of the time. Who is to say, then,whether implementation consists of alter-ing objectives to correspond with availableresources or of mobilizing new resourcesto accomplish old objectives?... Implemen-tation is evolution... When we act to imple-ment a policy, we change it.

The argument merely is that where com-plexity is an inherent characteristic of theprocess, ignoring it can create more prob-lems than it solves. The case is best articu-lated by Wittrock and deLeon (1986: 55)who view policy as a ‘moving target’ andsimply state that “the dynamics inherent inthe implementation processes can no longerbe neglected, however inconvenient thatmust be.” They realize that earlier “ana-lysts were simply unable to treat a worldin which multiple variables were permit-ted to change, sometimes independently,occasionally in unison.”

Making sense of complexity: The 5 CProtocol

In understanding implementation as a com-plex political process, rather than a me-chanical administrative one, the study ofimplementation becomes an attempt to un-ravel the complexity of following policyas it travels through the complex, dynamicmaze of implementation; to understandhow it changes its surroundings and how it


is changed itself in the process; and, mostimportantly, to see how it can be influencedto better accomplish the goals it set out toachieve. While the maze through whichpolicy travels in the course of its imple-mentation is unique to each situation, oursynthesis of the accumulated scholarshipon the subject suggests that critical vari-ables which shape the directions that imple-mentation might take are identifiable. Con-sequently five such variables emerge whichare important causal factors for a multitudeof scholars adhering to otherwise divergentperspectives (top-down or bottom-up),working on differing issues (environment,education, etc.), in different political sys-tems (federal, unitary, etc.), and in coun-tries at various levels of economic devel-opment (industrialized or developing).

Each of the five variables is linked to, andinfluenced by, the others—though, to vary-ing extents depending on the specificimplementation situation. For example,implementation capacity is likely to be afunction of all the remaining four variables:policy content may, or may not, provide forresources for capacity building; the insti-tutional context of the relevant agenciesmay hinder or help such capacity enhance-ment; the commitment of implementers tothe goals, causal theory, and methods of thepolicy may make up for the lack of suchcapacity — or vice versa; or the coalitionof actors opposed to effective implemen-tation may stymie the capacity which mightotherwise have been sufficient — here,again, supportive clients and coalitions mayin fact enhance capacity.

Content

The seminal typology of policy content isprovided by Lowi (1963) who character-izes policy as either distributive, regulatory,or redistributive. In very broad terms, dis-tributive policies create public goods forthe general welfare and are non-zero-sumin character; regulatory policies specifyrules of conduct with sanctions for failureto comply; and redistributive policies at-tempt to change allocations of wealth orpower of some groups at the expense ofothers.

Although this, and such, classificationshave been found useful by a wide varietyof implementation scholars (e.g. Smith,1973; Van Meter and Van Horn 1974;Hargrove, 1975), there is also a widespreadimplicit realization that the content ofpolicy is important not only in the means itemploys to achieve its ends, but also in itsdetermination of the ends themselves andin how it chooses the specific means toreach those ends. This, more elaborate,understanding of the criticality of policycontent is best exemplified in thepathbreaking work of Pressman andWildavsky (1973: xv) who view implemen-tation as “a seamless web... a process ofinteraction between the setting of goals andactions geared to achieving them.” Medi-ating this choice of ends and means is thecontent of the policy.

Context

It is fairly common wisdom within allstreams of implementation scholarship that“a context-free theory of implementation


is unlikely to produce powerful explana-tions or accurate predictions” (Berman,1980: 206). However, as O’Toole (1986:202) has noted, “the field of implementa-tion has yet to address, as part of its re-search strategy, the challenge ofcontextuality, beyond fairly empty injunc-tions for policy makers, implementers, andresearchers to pay attention to social, eco-nomic, political, and legal setting.” In be-coming a catchall that is always importantto consider but never easy to systematicallystudy, there is the danger of a) losing cu-mulation of learning and b) failing to ac-count for contextual impacts on implemen-tation effectiveness.

The focus here is on the institutional con-text which, like the other four variables,will necessarily be shaped by the largercontext of social, economic, political andlegal realities of the system. This is, in noway, an attempt to understate the impor-tance of the larger contextuality, but merelyto emphasize that of principal concern tous is how this impacts the implementationprocess, primarily via the institutional cor-ridor through which implementation mustpass and, as we shall explore later, the sup-port of clients and coalitions.

Effective working relations typically resultfrom bargaining, cajoling, accommodation,threats, gestures of respect, and relatedtransactions. Straight lines that link squareboxes mean little if the underlying realityis a jumble, whereas effective workingrelations can be established by transactionsamong agencies with no formal connec-tions whatever. In short, bureaucratic con-texts favorable to implementation more

often grow out of human interactions thanhierarchical regulation (Warwick 1982:188).

Commitment

Governments may have the most logicalpolicy imaginable, the policy may passcost/benefit analyses with honors, and itmay have a bureaucratic structure thatwould do honor to Max Weber, but if thoseresponsible for carrying it out are unwill-ing or unable to do so, little will happen(Warwick, 1982: 135). This sentiment,most often associated with bottom-upscholars, is, in fact, also central to the top-down perspective—often under the title of‘disposition’ (see Van Meter and Van Horn,1974; Edwards, 1978; Mazmanian andSabatier, 1981). While both consider thevariable to be ‘critical’ to effective imple-mentation, a hard-line top-down perspec-tive would view implementer commitmentbeing fashioned primarily by the contentof the policy and its capacity (resource)provisions—both of which can supposedlybe ‘controlled’ from the top. A fundamen-talist bottom-up view, even while accept-ing the influence of content and capacity,would tend to view commitment as beinginfluenced much more by the institutionalcontext, and clients and coalitions (see es-pecially Lipsky, 1980). Our synthesis sche-mata of key implementation variables re-inforces the criticality of the commitmentfactor and makes two further propositions:

• First, commitment is important not onlyat the ‘street-level’ but at all levelsthrough which policy passes—in casesof international commitments, this


would include the regime-level, thestate-level, the street-level, and all lev-els in between.

• Second, in keeping with our weblikeconception of interlinkages between thefive critical variables, commitment willbe influenced by, and will influence, allthe four remaining variables: content;capacity; context; and clients and coa-litions. Those interested in effectiveimplementation cannot afford to ignoreany of these linkages and are best ad-vised to identify the ones most appro-priate to ‘fix’ particular implementationprocesses.

Capacity

In the context of this paper, the capacity ofthe public sector is conceptualised in gen-eral systems thinking terms as the struc-tural, functional and cultural ability toimplement the policy objectives of the gov-ernment, ie the ability to deliver those pub-lic services aimed at raising the quality oflife of citizens, which the government hasset out to deliver, effectively as plannedover time (in a durable way). It obviouslyrefers to the availability of and access toconcrete or tangible resources (human, fi-nancial, material, technological, logistical,etc). Capacity also includes the intangiblerequirements of leadership, motivation,commitment, willingness, guts, endurance,and other intangible attributes needed totransform rhetoric into action. The politi-cal, administrative, economic, techno-logical, cultural and social environmentswithin which action is taken must also besympathetic or conducive to successfulimplementation (Grindle 1980).

In the context of the new network approachto service delivery, Savitch (1998) regardscapacity-building as a total (structural,functional and cultural) transformation ofgovernment in order to mobilise all avail-able resources to achieve policy objectives.This amounts to a paradigm shift regard-ing the nature of government.

On no other variable does the analytic lit-erature on implementation seem as unani-mous as on the need for effective imple-mentation capacity. It is, after all, intuitivelyobvious that a minimum condition for suc-cessful implementation is to have the req-uisite administrative and other abilities todo the job.. that is, the resources... that is,the capacity to implement. However, thissimple articulation of the ‘capacity prob-lem’ is deceptive. Indeed, administrativecapacity is necessary for effective imple-mentation. However, providing the neces-sary resources is nowhere a simple matter;in fact, merely knowing what the ‘neces-sary resources’ are can be a non-trivialproblem. More importantly, it is a politi-cal, rather than a logistic, problem—likeimplementation itself, resource provisiondeals with questions of ‘who gets what,when, how, where, and from whom.’ Thecritical question, then, in understandinghow capacity may influence implementa-tion effectiveness is not simply one of ‘whatcapacity is required, where?’ but also of‘how this capacity can be created andoperationalized?’

Roughly, half of the over 300 empiricalstudies surveyed by O’Toole (1986: 189)feature resources as a critical variable. Theanalytic literature surveyed for this paper


identifies capacity as a key variable evenmore overwhelmingly. However, note thatthe focus of both streams of the literatureon domestic implementation is on admin-istrative capacity—or, more narrowly, on‘resources’ (e.g. Van Meter and Van Horn,1974; Edwards, 1978; Mazmanian andSabatier, 1981).

The answer to the question what capacityis needed to achieve the policy implemen-tation objectives for sustainable public ser-vice delivery, seems therefore to be boththe commitment and ability to implementin pragmatic ways those elements of ac-cepted strategic management which areappropriate in a given context.

Clients and Coalitions

The above discussion of the importance ofgovernment joining coalitions of interestgroups, opinion leaders, and other outsideactors actively support a particular imple-mentation process. This is illustrated by thefact that power shifts can take place as Reinand Rabinovitz (1978: 314) remind us: “apower shift among the different outsideinterest groups produces a correspondingshift in the implementation process.” Takentogether, the support of clients and outsidecoalitions is the final critical variable. Infact, Elmore (1979: 610) considers the find-ing that implementation is affected, in some“critical sense,” by the formation of localcoalitions of individuals affected by thepolicy as one of the “most robust” findingsof implementation research.

As with the other variables, the first task isone of cataloging of determining the po-

tentially influential clients and coalitionsfrom the larger cast of characters in theimplementation theater. The constellationof actors who are directly or indirectly af-fected by any implementation process islikely to be far larger than the set of keyconstituencies whose interests are impactedenough for them to have the desire, or theability, to influence the implementationprocess in return. The danger of so limit-ing the scope of enquiry as to leave out keyactors is both real and serious. However,being bogged down with so many ‘minor’actors that any exploratory investigationbecomes unmanageable is equally danger-ous. It is important, then, to underscore thesaliency of consciously seeking to identifykey relevant stakeholders, as opposed to allidentifiable actors.

CommunicationAn addition to the 5 C Protocol, communi-cation could easily be regarded as a vari-able for implementation. In other words thiscould be regarded as the sixth C in theimplementation protocol. It could be ar-gued that communication is an integral partof all the above-mentioned variables, butis also worthy to single out because of theimportance of communication. South Af-rica has 11 official languages, with En-glish as an administrative language. Thisfore-going underscores the importance ofcommunication as a variable of policyimplementation.

CONCLUSION

While policy could be defined in severalways, implementation moves from origi-nally set political goals to results on the


ground (service delivery). The 5 C Proto-col detailed above is proposed as a usefulvehicle for making sense of these twists andturns. As has been repeatedly highlightedin the exposition, all five are likely to acttogether -often simultaneously and syner-gistically- any change in one producingchanges in the others. Thisinterconnectedness of the variables createsboth a challenge and an opportunity. It isimportant to stress that policy formulationand implementation are not necessarilyconsecutive processes, but are in manycases parallel processes where policy de-sign or redesign and revision can take placeeven during the formal implementationstages of the policy project. In fact policysuccess is in some cases attributable to suchredesign or customization of the originaldesign during implementation, because theoriginal policy designers did not or couldnot foresee specific complications at re-gional and local grass roots levels.

The challenge is to analytically appreciatethe resulting complexity. Like so much ofthe literature on domestic implementation,implementation could be considered to beintrinsically complex. Although one ex-pects all implementation to be dynamic andcomplex, not every episode of implemen-tation is likely to be equally complex. De-pending on particular situations some vari-ables are likely to be more manifestly com-plex in some situations than in others. Also,the set of variables proposed here is, in fact,more parsimonious than many alternativesets. Most importantly, it consciously setsout to define each variable in detail ratherthan introducing seemingly parsimoniousblack boxes. Even where the labels may

seem all too familiar, the difference is inthe level of detail: these may be seen as‘deep descriptors’. The complexity is notas much in the breadth of the variables asin their depth. Unravelling that complex-ity is imperative to unravelling implemen-tation effectiveness. The opportunity is touse the five Cs strategically in their com-plex interlinkages to synergise implemen-tation.

It is in the space defined by suchinterlinkages between the variables that thenegotiation, both explicit and tactic, be-tween the various actors will take place,where the interplay of contending interests,strategies, and power positions will ulti-mately define the effectiveness, or other-wise, of any specific implementation epi-sode.

Frequently, the goal of the actors will be indirect conflict with each other and the out-come of this conflict and consequently, ofwho gets what, will be determined by thestrategies, resources, and power positionsof each of the actors involved. What isimplemented may thus be the result of apolitical calculus of interests and groupscompeting for scarce resources, the re-sponse of implementing officials, and theactions of political elites, all interactingwithin given institutional contexts.

What the interlinked dynamic 5C protocolimplies is that implementation cannot beseen as an activity to be planned and car-ried out according to a carefully predeter-mined plan; rather, it is a process that canonly, at the very best, be managed and les-sons learnt as one proceeds through the dif-


ferent implementation stages. Managing it,and steering it towards a more effectiveoutcome, entails strategically ‘fixing’ thosevariables over which we have some director indirect influence so as to induce changesin the ones over which we do not have suchinfluence. The defining variables either inthat they define the main stumbling blockto effective implementation or in that theycan be better influenced -will vary in eachcase. The strategic imperative is to iden-tify which, amongst the five, are the defin-ing variables and how we might best influ-ence them to arrive at the desired results.

In essence then, the management of imple-mentation is akin to rewriting the music inthe act of playing it.

In closing, it should be stated that the taskthat was initially, was: a) to review the lit-erature on domestic policy implementationin general, and b) on the basis of the accu-mulated learning from implementationscholarship, to identify critical explanatoryvariables that may help understand imple-mentation processes on a variety of issues,in a variety of localities.

REFERENCES

Bardach, E. 1977. The implementation game: whathappens after a bill becomes law? Cambridge,MA: MIT.

Berman, P. 1980. “Thinking about programmed andadaptive implementation : matching strategiesto situations.” In Ingram, H.M. and Mann, D.E.(Eds) 1980. Why policies succeed or fail.Beverley Hills : Sage.

Edwards, G.C. and Sharkansky, I. 1978. The policypredicament, making and implementatingpublic policy. San Franciso : W.H. Freemanand Company.

Elmore, R.F. 1979. “Backward mapping :Implementation research and policy decisions.”Political Science Quarterly. 94 (4).

Grindle, M.S. 1980. Policy content and context inimplementation. In Grindle, M.S. (Ed.),Politics and policy implementation in the ThirdWorld. Princetown, NJ: Princetown UniversityPress.

Hargrove, E.C. 1975. The missing link : The studyof implementation of social policy. An UrbanInstitute Paper. The Urban Institute,Washington, July.

Hjern, J. & Hull, C. 1982. Implementation researchas empirical constitutionalism. EuropeanJournal of Political Research, 10 (June): 105-115.

Khosa, M.M. 2003. Towards Effective Delivery.Synthesis Report on the project entitled‘Closing the gap between policy andimplementation in South Africa’. ResearchReport No. 98. Johannesburg: Centre for PolicyStudies.

Lindblom, C.E. 1979. “Still mudding not yetthrough.” Public Administration Review. 39,6.

Lipsky, M. 1980. Street-level Bureaucracy :Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services.New York : russel Sage Foundation.

Lowi, T.J. 1963. “American business, public policy,case studies and political theory.” WorldPolitics. 16.

Matland, R.E. 1995. Synthesizing theImplementation Literature: The AmbiguityConflict Model of Policy Implementation.Journal of Public Administration: Research andTheory. Vol. 5, No. 2, April.

Mazmanian, D.A. and Sabatier, P.A. 1981. Effectivepolicy implementation. Lexington : Heath andCo.

O’Toole, L.J. 1986. “Policy recommendations formulti actor implementation : An assessment ofthe field.” Journal of Public Policy. 6 (2).

Pressman, J.L. and Wildavsky, 1973.Implementation. Barkley and Los angeles :University of California Press.


Rein, M. and Rabinowitz, F.F. 1978. “Implementation: A theoretical perspective.” In Burnham, W.D.and Weinberg, M.W. 1978. American politicsand public policy. Cambridge, MA : MIT – Press.

Savitch, H.V. 1998. Global challenge andinstitutional capacity: or, how we can refitlocal administration for the next century.Administration & Society, Vol. 30, no. 3. 248-273.

Scharpf, F.W. 1978. “Interorganizational policystudies : Issues, concepts and perspectives.”In Hauf, K.J. and Schaarpf, F.W. (Eds). 1978.Interorganizational policy making: limits to

coordination and central control. London:Sage.

Van Meter, D.S. and Van Horn, C.E. 1974. “Thepolicy implementation process : A conceptualframework.” Administration and Society.February.

Wittrock, B. & DeLeon, P. 1986. Policy as a movingtarget: a call for conceptual realism. PolicyStudies Review. Vol. 6, No. 1: 44-60.

Warwick, D.P. 1982. Bitter pills: population policiesand their implementation in eight developingcountries. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.


ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENTIN AFRICA – A REASSESSMENT OF CURRENT CHALLENGES AND

FUTURE PROSPECTS

John w. Forje1

The paper addresses conceptual issues concerning sustainable development anddemocratic governance, with a focus on transitional societies in Africa. The pa-per does not seek to make a comprehensive and conclusive definitional and con-ceptual outline but seeks to provide general contours upon which the ongoingdebates can be articulated and aggregated to have any meaning on the people.Drawing largely on the experience of Cameroon, the paper focuses on the role offormal and informal sectors (chambers of commerce, manufacturers’ associa-tions, small-scale business enterprises etc.) in development planning, the alloca-tion of resources to locally determined priorities, in the evaluation of the impactand effectiveness of programmes, and in the efforts at safeguarding and protect-ing the environment The argument is that enhancing sustainable developmentand democratic governance implies improving the quality of livelihood for thevast majority of the current population without compromising the future of gen-erations yet to come. In this process, many questions are addressed. What is therole of the informal and formal sector in the process? What role should the pri-vate sector play in ensuring a kind of balanced society? What is the role of thestate in ensuring a just and governable society? How can things be merged, state,civil society, private sector in the process of enhancing the partnership of thepublic and non-state sectors for sustainable development and good governancein the country?

Development – The Governance Dimen-sion (1991) and in another, Governance andDevelopment (1992): and as a “normativeterm” which treats “governance” as a nor-matively-laden term (World Bank 1994).According to Kale 1999) the normativelyladen concept makes it possible to draw adistinction between “Good Governance” or“Good Government” and “Bad Gover-

Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Yaounde II- SoaRepublic of Cameroon

E-Mail address; [email protected]

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

A World Bank publication defines gover-nance as “the manner in which power isexercised in the management of a country’seconomic and social resources for devel-opment”. Governance could be seen as a“value-neutral term” most favoured by theWorld Bank in its publication, Managing


nance” or “Bad Government.” He goes fur-ther to point out that “good governance’ isto be preferred to ‘bad governance’ becauseit fosters strong, but sharply delimited statescapable of sustained economic and socialdevelopment and institutional growth. Incontrast, ‘bad governance’ is pathology tobe avoided because it undermines all ef-forts to improve policy making and to cre-ate durable institutions. Democracy pro-vides legitimacy to governments by root-ing their actions in the will of the governed,builds greater success for nationalprogrammes by engaging the energies ofthe governed, increases the potentials forlong-term sustainable economic develop-ment, and fosters human security by pro-viding avenues for dissent to be expressedin legitimate, non-violent forms.

Enhancing sustainable development anddemocratic governance could be seen asgovernment attempt to give the economy adifferent capacity dimension, namely (i)modestly, be reforming the institutions andcircumstances conditioning the behaviourof key actors: and (ii) ambitiously and per-haps dangerously, by attempting to influ-ence the actual outcomes of the develop-ment process. The position here is for theState to adopt a more humane approach ofpartnership in the development process, aswell as to admit that the centralist and in-efficient ways of doings by the state nolonger persist. A democratic approachpaves the way for such collaborative effortsto avoid an expanding public sector beinga threat to democracy and development

In our Common Future, (Bruntland 1987)describes sustainable development as de-

velopment that meets the needs of thepresent without compromising the abilityof future generations to meet their ownneeds. Two key concepts being that of‘needs’, and in particular the essential needsof the world’s poor, to which overridingpriority should be given; and the idea oflimitations imposed by the state of tech-nology and social organization in theenvironment’s ability to meet present andfuture needs. This definition puts a burdenon the key actors state, civil society andthe private sector – to articulate and aggre-gate acceptable pathways for fulfilling thetwo key concepts if the goals of sustain-able development are to be achieved. Sus-tainable development requires meeting thebasic needs of all and extending to all theopportunity to satisfy their aspirations fora better life. Meeting essential needs de-pends upon the kind of leveling play groundplaced at the disposal of the different ac-tors – thereby creating equal opportunitiesfor and this is best done by expanding thepolitical space for participation and enjoy-ing the fruits of the rule of law and justice.

Other institutions like the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) and the United Kingdom’s Over-seas Development Agency buying the ideaof governance as ‘the action or manner ofgoverning’, go further to link governancewith participatory development, humanrights and democratization. With this gov-ernance is conceptualized and focuses onsuch issues as ‘legitimacy of government[degree of ‘democratisation’], accountabil-ity of political and official elements of gov-ernment [media, freedom, transparency ofdecision-making, accountability mecha-


nisms] competence of governments to for-mulate policies and deliver services, respectfor human rights and rule of law [individualand group rights and security, frameworkfor economic and social activity, partici-pation]. This paper identifies three distinc-tive aspects of governance:

• Political regime structure;• Process of exercising authority in the

management of the resources of thenation, economic and social resources:and

• The capacity of the government to de-sign, formulate and implement policiesas well as discharge or execute func-tions [World Bank, 1994: 1991: 1989]

Apparently, a major draw back in account-ability in the government and administra-tive system in Cameroon is the excessiveconcentration of powers in the office of thePresidency and subsequently in the Minis-try, Governors, and District Officers. Madi-son argues that “the accumulation of allpowers, legislative, executive and judicialin the hands, whether of one, a few, or manyand whether hereditary, self-appointed orelected may justly be pronounced the verydefinition of tyranny.” The justification forthe separation of power doctrine can bestbe seen from the views of Montesquieuwho believes in promoting rational govern-ment that “when the legislative power islimited to the executive, there is no liberty,nor is there liberty if judicial power is notseparated from the legislative”. Thus en-hancing sustaining development and demo-cratic governance depends to a large ex-tent on the nature of the political regime inplace, the structure and functioning of the

regime, kind of leadership and the capac-ity and capability of the regime to ensurethe articulation and aggregation of its poli-cies. The response (positively or nega-tively) of civil society towards governmentpolicies is also crucial. Unfortunately mostAfrica regimes seem to be stuck on the rununable to face the challenges and changein the continent’s democracy and gover-nance, hence their inability to ensure sus-tainable development and quality patternof living for the vast majority of the popu-lation.

In a way, Forje (2000) asserts: when thepolitical party machinery is married to thebureaucracy, there is no quality and effi-cient management but tyranny, ethnocracyand patronage in the public service, nor isproductivity, efficiency and responsivenessattained when ethnocracy, favouritism andmarginalisation constitute the anvil of thepublic service. Presently, the CameroonGovernance State Bureaucracy is central-ized and entrenched within the philosophi-cal orientation of the politics of ‘assimila-tion’.

INTRODUCING STATE-CIVILSOCIETY-PRIVATE SECTOR

COLLABORATION

Given the current state of underdevelop-ment, poverty and growing inequalitywithin the different sectors of society, therehave been many calls for anew forms ofco-operation that will enhance develop-ment security and sustainability over thelong term. It is imperative that a harmoni-ous conducive and enabling environmentbe established to ensure that the state man-


dates local government and the private sec-tor to provide democratic and accountablegovernment for local communities and theprivate sector: as well as encourageorganisations to be active in matters of pov-erty alleviation, corruption eradication andempowerment of the female gender.

State-civil society – private sector interfaceunder the canopy of partnership, participa-tion and responsibility sharing remain im-portant in all development activities. How-ever, the inter-linkage between the variousactors depends to a large extent on the stateand functioning of democratic governancein piloting the affairs of the society. At thesame time, restructuring measures in theprivate sector are necessary in the povertyreduction and sustainable developmentagenda of the country (Forje 2005). As ear-lier pointed out, capacity building is cru-cial. It links administrative and technicalcapacity needed for policy analysis andeconomic management. For the EconomicCommission for Africa (ECA), the gener-

ally observed failure in the efforts deployedin the past two to three decades to attainaccelerated growth and sustainable devel-opment has been the lack of systematicaction on building and enhancing the criti-cal capacities needed to sustain growth anddevelopment.

FACTORS THREATENINGEFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE

Unless a more balanced national gover-nance regime is achieved, violent conflictand poverty will continue within the fron-tiers of the country. This may underminedthe legitimacy, authority of the state in ful-filling its obligations to the people. Somefactors threatening effective governance inAfrica include issues depicted in Box 1

The third (box 2) concerns issues threaten-ing effective governance system in a soci-ety. It is important for the state to promotea just and responsible society and not totolerate poverty, corruption and other so-

Box 1: The Contents of Democratic Governance

• Transparency * Popular participation• Accountability * Human Rights• Pluralism * Free Press and Freedom of expression• Participation * Rule of law• Inclusion & not exclusion * Free and Fair elections• Sovereignty of the People * An Independent Civil Service• Majority rule * Minority Rights• Responsibility & benefit sharing * Independent judiciary• Government based upon the

consent of the ruled.• Separation of powers * An involved Civil, society

Source: Forje (1999)


cial ills that lead to the establishing a dis-integrating society. It is imperative to pro-mote sustainable development and eco-nomic growth from which all members ofthe society will benefit. Above all to en-sure that globalisation does not have a nega-tive but positive effect on the poor, rural,or unskilled members of society.

Recognising further that new or restoreddemocracies also face the challenge of con-solidating their sovereignty, their demo-cratic achievements, of making democracyitself an irreversible process, and of ensur-ing that all members of society benefit fromthe democratization process and are ableto participate fully in the new systems ofgovernance, it becomes imperative forstates to create the necessary enabling en-vironment that should breed the foundationfor quality living conditions for all. Hencedemocratic societies have qualities, whichwe consider superior to others, particularly

those concerned with their participatory,representative and equitable nature. There-fore, democracy, development and respectfor human rights and of fundamental free-doms are the interdependent and synergic,and democracy is an ongoing process.

The fourth is that of building a passion fordemocratic governance. Good governancerests on democracy and democracy restson a number of interrelated tenets. Amongthese is the centrality of the structure ofpublic power, of a constitution to help pro-tect and safeguard rights and liberties andof diversity of power centers and outsidethe state. Some of the major issues are pre-sented in box 3. A democratic society is anopen and transparent society and encour-ages the free creation, pursuit and flow ofinformation and thus elicits the effectiveparticipation of civil society in local, na-tional and international institutions and pro-cesses.

Box 2. Factors Threatening Effective Governance and SustainableDevelopment in Africa

• Abuse of executive power:• Poor economic growth:• Political instability or fragility of the political institutions, structures and judi-

cial system:• Serious security problems, food security, functional welfare, life, property• Non-accountability of the bureaucracy and political party interferences:• Non-separation of powers between Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary

(Checks and balances absent):• Foreign support to the state of bad governance.• Absence of ethics and moral virtues in the system:• Exclusion of key stakeholder in the development processExcl



For Cameroon, the central challenge forbuilding sustainable, effective governanceand deepening democracy is that of con-

stituting and reconstructing the key insti-tutions for economic growth and demo-cratic governance as depicted in box 4.

Box 3: Building a Passion for democratic Governance

• Sovereignty of the people• Government based upon consent of the ruled• Majority rule• Minority rights• Guarantee of fundamental human rights and needs• Equality before the lawFoundation of * Due process of lawDemocracy and = Free and fair electionsPolitical Pluralism * Constitutional limits on government• Social, economic cooperation and• Values of tolerance, pragmatism• Inclusion and not exclusion• Freedom of the press and speech• Responsibility of the citizen• Sense of nationhood


Box 4: Underlying Issues for Reconstructing and Reconstituting Key Institutions

• A system of representation, with well-functioning political parties and interestgroups or associations that freely participate in the body politics of the country.

• A vibrant civil society, able to monitor public and private sectors – and providealternative forms of political participation and control methods.

• An electoral system that quarantines free and fair elections as well as universalsuffrage to all.

• Effective civilian control over the military and other security forces:• Establishing an Independent Public Service Commission, Electoral Commis-

sion and a Judicial system:• A system of checks and balances based on the separation of powers with inde-

pendent, judicial and legislative branches as well as an impartial civil service sector:• A free, independent media industry and freedom of speech for the citizens• Responsibility of every individual and contribution to the development of the

country;



Equally important is that of creating a levelplaying ground for all. The current attitudeand politics of exclusion is doing seriousharm to the society, and even scaring awaydomestic resources and foreign investmentsfor development related activities. Build-ing a passion for democracy means a bot-tom-up approach to governance, openingup the political space for development andeconomic activities. It is argued that en-hancing democratic governance and a vi-brant civil society would pave the path foreconomic growth. Without economicgrowth, the quality of living standards can-not be improved.

In short democracy feeds into economicgrowth and economic growth feeds intodemocracy to create sustainable develop-ment. Underscoring this development isthat of human capacity development. It canbe argued that a reduction of governmentwould benefit the economy, notably in ar-eas where market arbitrage exhibits clearadvantage over policy control or regulationin allocating resources, and where policymakers lack the necessary competence tocontribute positively to economic develop-ment and the advancement of the demo-cratic process. The process of the establish-ment of infrastructures, their compositionand the outcome of their influence on theeconomy, therefore, are an important areaof scientific inquiry.

It flows from the above that building demo-cratic institutions while achieving equitablesocial and economic development posestensions. To begin with, granting all peopleformal political equality does not create anequal desire or capacity to participate in

political processes – or an equal capacityto influence outcomes. Imbalances in re-sources and political power often subvertthe principle of one person, one voice, andthe purpose of democratic institutions.Again promoting democratic politicsmeans expanding capabilities such as edu-cation to enable people to play a more ef-fective role in such politics, and fosteringthe development of civil society groups andother informal institutions to help demo-cratic institutions better represent thepeople.

Cameroon is entrenched with problemsbecause representation through the choiceof the people and the voices of the peopleare constantly thwarted. Therefore goodgovernance must ensue to sustain the rapidchanges taking place nationally, and glo-bally as the world moves from the economyof trade to the economy of knowledge. Fora developing economy like that ofCameroon, it is essential and imperativethat all measures be taken to promote andsustain good governance and quality man-agement. Improving human capital devel-opment is vital. The challenges of this mil-lennium are that of ideas. Society is now‘knowledge driven’ and this requiresskilled human resources potential, sense ofdirection, quality leadership, accountabil-ity, transparency, productivity, fair compe-tition, and equity in the distribution of na-tional wealth.

Given the penetrating forces of genetictechnology, the growing impact of infor-mation and communication technologies inour daily lives, it is important that advancesmade in this domain be incorporated into


activities that promote growth, good gov-ernance, good management and qualityservice delivery in order to improve the liv-ing standard of this and future generations.No society can in this millennium affordto by pass the impact of emerging technolo-gies in the development process.

LIMITATION TO STATE-CIVILSOCIETY –PRIVATE SECTOR

INTERFACE

It does not imply that all is smooth withthe form of triple heritage being advocated.No doubt, problems are bound to rise con-cerning private sector involvement. Theprivate sector has its agenda as well. Amajor factor is that private sector fundingcan lead to a distortion in sustainable de-velopment management. Other issues in-clude: the failure of corporate social re-sponsibility [CSR]; conflict over manage-ment objectives; the promotion of emblem-atic issues; and short versus long term per-spectives to development.

Beginning with the last, a major obstacleto sustainable development in Africancountries, is their policy approachedcoached within a short-term agenda. Tomaintain and create credible developmentrequires commitment for the very long-term. For example, it is known that changesin the value of the ecosystem serviceswould force the private sector into a formof survivalist attitude. However, there ex-ist many opportunities for the private sec-tor working in partnership with and thesupport of the public sector agencies, in-cluding local communities, to create effec-tive development resilience.

Turning to conflict over management ob-jectives, we should realise that the firstobjective of the private sector is tomaximise profit. There is bound to be con-flict of interests as the private sector gen-erally regards development as a suite ofservices over which it has proprietorialcontrol and to make profit. Such a viewconflicts with the service provision agendaof the state. It may also create an impasseover appropriate regulatory arrangementson long-term property rights. The third is-sue is that of the failure of corporate socialresponsibility. However, the belief is thatgood corporate social responsibility andpractice can lead and contribute to a publicinterest dimension in profit-maintaining,where partnership with the state can be amechanism for integrating private enter-prise to local interests and public sectorregulations. And finally, the promotion ofthe emblematic attitude. For example, in-terface with the state can guarantee themaintenance of a robust and integrated de-velopment approach.

FUNDAMENTAL WEAKNESSES

Cameroon has much turmoil and obstaclesto overcome. For example, the recurrenceof external shocks and internal crisesdemonstrate that many weaknesses remainand that further stringent reforms areneeded. Government policies which havetriggered the persistence of poverty,ethnicity, income disparity and social in-equity as well as the negative impact onthe country’s economic performance anddemocratisation process presentsCameroon with daunting challenges in theglobalised world. Some outstanding weak-


nesses that confront the country could belisted as indicated in box 5.

The government must recognise the con-tribution of efficient public institutions andregulations to economic growth and wel-fare. Strong institutions contribute and playgreater prominence to ensuring account-ability and transparency to government out-put functions. It is also an important factorto stability and a credible judicial systemthat ensures confidence to investors. So far,Cameroon’s progress in these areas hasbeen relatively slow and inconsistent sinceit made the quasi effort of embracing plu-ral democracy in 1990. Efforts to improvethe quality of public institutions and ser-vices have continued to lag behind espe-cially within the legal, political, judicial and

parliamentary system, which to a large ex-tent remain captive and cumbersome. Theprotection of human rights remains fragileand largely inadequate. Institutions includ-ing the courts are weak, politically influ-enced and even discredited in many re-spects. The quality of public service deliv-ery is poor.

Corruption is widespread, eveninstitutionalised and legalized crime andviolence have increased. Insecurity to bothlife and property remain the order of theday. Drastic measures must be put in placeto curb these acts. The banking sector andother financial institutions remain fragileand very often fail to respect ethical andprofessional norms. Regulatory enforce-ment is weak due to political ethnic inter-

Box 5: Some Outstanding Weaknesses to be Seriously Addressed inCameroon

• External vulnerability;• Unresolved internal issues of inclusion versus exclusion;• Inconsistent political and policy strategies;• Absence of nation unity / cohesion;• A behavioural attitude as if the country is not ours;• Failure in recognizing the role of Opposition parties in governance

process.• Weak and captive institutions;• Passive and captive civil society;• Growing tendencies of returning to the era of monolithic party system:• Facing the debacles of (i) the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, (ii) endemic

diseases, (iii) corruption, and (iv) growing poverty;• Inappropriate utilization of human capacity and natural resources for

the ultimate benefit of the society;• An unpredictable or uncertain international community

Forje (2004)


ferences from various quarters. Corruptionincreases public debts. And generally, thestate lacks the political will in enforcingstrong control mechanisms. A successfuldemocratisation process requires/dependson many interrelated input factors, for ex-ample, pluralism, participation, transpar-ency etc. Pluralism requires an independentjudiciary that impartially administers thelaw. An independent judiciary, in turn, requiresattitudes that support pluralism and a bu-reaucracy that is impartial and prepared toserve whichever government is elected tooffice

FORGING NEW POLICY AGENDA

To seize the opportunities offered by thewave of democratisation and globalisation,Cameroon must develop a consistent long-term policy framework that will reduce itsvulnerability. At least two fundamental is-sues are crucial in this respect, namely (i)fiscal consolidation, and (ii) better gover-nance entrenched with politics of socialjustice and inclusion. The recommenda-tions of the good governance report mustbe rigorously implement through a judi-cious policy of the carrot and stick. Fiscalconsolidation will help reduce Cameroon’sexternal vulnerability, as it will permit moreproactive fiscal management and revampinternal savings. There is need as well asample scope to strengthen public financesby revamping the tax system, introducingstringent budgetary system, reducing inef-ficient public expenditure and eliminatingcorruption. Furthermore, proper use of sci-ence and technology will add more valueto the country’s abundant and untappednatural resources.

A more effective way to resist, and to as-sure a favourable climate for various groupsto compete in, is to maintain pluralismthrough a free press, competitive parties,elected executives and legislatures, and freecourts. If these groups do not exist, or aretoo closely intertwined with the bureau-cracy, it is difficult for ethnic, religious,economic, and cultural groups to competeand cooperate with one another in shiftingpatterns as new issues arise.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Good governance implies a non-corruptstate bureaucracy. To accelerate growth andimprove the social welfare of the people,Cameroon has but one option, to maintaina transparent reform momentum. It is onlythrough this that it can best combine a long-term ideal of sustainable growth with de-mocracy leading to social equity.

Continued social inequity or exclusion pro-motes bad governance. Good governanceequals social equity. Cameroon badly needsdemocratic governance to forge ahead itsprocess of reconstruction and reconstitut-ing the Nation-state for the benefit of thepeople. Governance is crucial as it is com-plex and multifaceted since it permeates allaspects of economic, social, legal and po-litical performance.

The government must strive to remain onthe bandwagon of the pluraldemocratisation process that started in1990. It must strive to ensure accountabil-ity, transparency, reconciliation, consensus,partnership, participation, responsibilityand equitable wealth sharing. To ensure


good governance, it is imperative to eradi-cate current top-down development andadministrative approaches, promote andsustain a bottom-up management systemand development approach. Similarly, agovernment that is credibly elected (freeand fair elections) receives the confidence,legitimacy and support of the people thatenhances its credibility within the interna-tional community.

To ensure good governance and reducecorruption, it is crucial to promote a har-monious state-civil society-private sectorpartnership and participation it is as well,imperative to reduce existing opportunitiesfor discretionary intervention by state au-thorities that use these mechanisms for theirown benefits.

The need to reinforce the effectiveness ofgovernment and encourage the develop-ment of the rule of law, justice, legal re-forms and other measures to move the na-tion forward cannot be overemphasized.

Checks and balances, including an effec-tive and efficient control mechanism, cancome through the introduction of an “om-budsman” system to oversee governmentactivities and to bring in civil society aspart of the custodian of the governance pro-cess.

Therefore, resources should be directed intoeconomic incentives and thedemocratisation process, creating a levelplaying field for all actors as inherent partsof the development agenda: Creating therequisite access to appropriate know-how,as well as creating an ability to make deci-sions independently, include a stable policyenvironment. In anticipation of genuinechanges or reforms to be effective and ben-eficial to all, the international communityshould respond positively to the aspirationsof the people, and to ensure that appropri-ate measures are put in place to ensure thereign of democratic governance as the wayforward for improving the quality of live-lihood for this and future generations.

REFERENCES

Amin. Samir (1970) L’accumulation a l’echellemondiale, Antropos, Paris, France.

Biya, Paul (1987) Communal Liberalism,Macmillan, Publishers London.

Bruntland, Gro Harlem (ed.) Our Common Future:World Commission on Environment andDevelopment. Oxford University Pres, Oxford,United Kingdom.

Eliasson, Gunnar & Karlson Nils (eds.) 1998. TheLimits of Government: On Policy Competenceand Economic Growth. City University Press,Stockholm, Sweden.

Forje, John Wilson (2002) “The Imperatives ofDemocratic Governance and the Institutions ofthe Ombudsman in revamping qualitymanagement in Cameroon,” in Cameroon

Journal of Public Administration and Management,Vol. 1 No.1 September 2002 - pp55-76, DovePublishers, Yaounde.

Forje, John Wilson (2000) “ImprovingAccountability, Efficiency and Responsiveness

in Government. The Dilemma of “Indirect Rule”and “Assimilation” Politics in Cameroon,CARAD, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Forje, John W. (2005) Inter-sectoral Approaches toPoverty Reduction: Private-sector partnership:Lessons from Cameroon.

Kofele-Kale, Ndiva (1999) “Good Governance asPolitical Conditionality”, paper presented at theConference on Democracy, Decentralisation,Media and Good Governance.” Hilton Hotel,


Yaounde 29 November – 1 December.1999.Organised by ICASSRIT and UNESCO.

Gunnarsson, Christer (2001) Capacity Building,Institutional Crisis and the Issue of RecurrentCost. (EGDI 2001:1) Almkvist & WiksellInternational, Stockholm, Sweden.

World Bank (1992) Report – ManagingDevelopment – The Governance Dimension.Washington DC, USA.

World Bank (1989) Report – Sub-Saharan Africa:From Crisis to Sustainable Growth.Washington, DC.


THE ROLE AND PERFORMANCE OF THE LEGISLATURE INPUBLIC POLICY MAKING IN ZAMBIA

W. N. Mafuleka1

The process of public policy making occurs in a broad policy environment com-prising non- official and official players. Non-Official players have their mem-bership in organized civil society groups such as labour unions, women’s lobbies,church organizations or business associations. Official players occupy formalstate positions prescribed by the political community and derive guidance aboutthe exercise of that authority from the country’s constitution. They include mem-bers of the executive, the Judiciary and the legislature. This paper focuses on therole of Zambia’s legislature in influencing policy formulation and its ability toperform that task satisfactorily. The paper provides a condensed history of theevolution of the country’s legislature, conceptually explains the meaning of ca-pacity for policy making, discusses factors affecting policy making capacity andsuggests recommendations for improved performance.

attained self- rule on 24th October 1964, theLegislative Council was renamed the Na-tional Assembly of Zambia with full legis-lative powers.

Between 1964 and 2005, the Zambian leg-islature went through stages of transforma-tion as regards membership size. The cur-rent Legislature comprises one hundred andfifty (150) elected and not more than eightnominated members and the Speaker asprovided for under Articles 62- 71 of theConstitution of Zambia. The National As-sembly, known as Parliament when pre-sided over by the President, is reconstitutedevery five years after Presidential and Gen-eral Elections. It is a unicameral legisla-ture, comprising only one chamber.

THE LEGISLATURE IN ZAMBIA:ITS HISTORICAL ORIGIN

The historical development of the Legis-lature in Zambia dates back to the adventof colonial rule spearheaded by the BritishSouth African Company (BSAC) between1890 and 1924, and from 1924 to thepresent situation. During company ruledemands for the Advisory Council to gov-ern Northern Rhodesia led to its establish-ment in 1918.When Northern Rhodesiawas handed over to the British Governmentin 1924, the European settlers agitated formore political control over the territory.The British Government conceded and re-placed the Advisory Council with the Leg-islative Council. After Northern Rhodesia

1University of Zambia


LEGISLATURE’S CAPACITY INPOLICY- MAKING - A

CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW

Capacity in policymaking in this paperrefers to the institutional sustainable abil-ity to perform satisfactorily the decision-making process. The decision making pro-cess involves the activity of policy playersto detect faulty reasoning and identify theworthiness of policy inputs presented byother stakeholders. Screening policy inputsand the ability to foresee their prospectivedesirable and undesirable outcomes areimportant aspects of capacity in policymaking. Along these lines, capacity inpolicy making is reflected by the ability oflocal institutions to have “effective direc-tion and control over their polices”.1 Itmeans to have the requisite human re-sources, the physical infrastructure, the fi-nancial muscle and the national politicaldetermination to motivate and inspire thewhole process from the stage ofconceptualisation, adoption, implementa-tion, monitoring, as well as evaluation ofpolicies. Where it involves one institutionin interaction with others, capacity will bejudged not only by the ability of the singleinstitution to identify errors in other insti-tutions’ policy inputs, but also by the abil-ity to suggest plausible policy alternatives.The existence of such capacity depends onseveral factors to which the paper now turnsits attention in specific reference to Zambia.

COMPOSITION OF THELEGISLATURE AND CAPACITY IN

POLICY MAKING.

The composition of the legislature can de-termine the courage and frankness of its

members to debate freely and detect irra-tional ideas in the policies that fall underits scrutiny. During the period of the singleparty system (1973- 1991) the Zambianlegislature was composed “of one hundredand twenty five elected members”.2 Andthe President was empowered to nominateup to ten persons- bringing the total to onehundred and thirty five representatives. Allof them were members of the single politi-cal party- the United National Indepen-dence Party (UNIP). During the early partof the 2nd Republic, checking the correct-ness of government policy ideas before theycould be issued in the form of Parliamen-tary Acts was done by a mechanism pro-vided by the Commonwealth procedures ofpassing Bills through various stages, forinstance the decentralized Parliamentarycommittees. Also during Question Time therole of Back Benchers in screening policyideas from the Front Bench was cruciallyimportant. Initially backed and protectedby the National Assembly Powers andPrivileges Act Cap 17 of the Laws of Zam-bia, Back Benchers were free to criticisethe Government or vote the way theywanted. On many occasions, GovernmentBills, which were seen to be inimical to theinterests of the majority of Zambians, wererejected. For this reason, Parliament wasseen by the UNIP Central Committee as aforum for an opposition group within thesingle party system. The Government con-sequently worked out a plan, which even-tually eroded policy scrutiny in the legis-lature. President Kaunda appointed threequarters of legislators as District Gover-nors, Ministers of State, Cabinet Ministersand Members of Central Committee (Seestatistics below)


The above figures show that there was pro-gressively a steady reduction of BackBench representatives between 1974 and1991. Thus by July 1991, 77 Front Benchrepresentatives outnumbered almost by halfthe 46 who remained in the Back Bench.These could not defeat the Government onany motion. Even those representativesappointed to state positions outside thecabinet felt bound by the doctrine of col-lective responsibility to support the Gov-ernment on any issue brought up in the leg-islature for discussion and approval. Thusin several instances the Executive ignoredthe views of the fewer Back Bench repre-sentatives and went ahead to make its owndecisions. For instance in 1980 the LocalGovernment Bill was vehemently objectedby Back Bench representations. Similarly,in the Private member’s motion, whichurged the State to reduce the price of fertil-izers, the government over- ruled the mi-nority Back Benchers.

The Legislature’s Composition in theThird Republic- 1991- 2001

The 1991 Republican Constitution whichabolished the singleparty system and re-introduced political pluralism raised thenumber of seats in the Zambian legislature

from 135 to 150. The president was allowedto nominate up to (8) members. After thepolls of 1991, individual party representa-tion in the legislature was as follows:

Party Number of seats

UNIP 26MMD 124Other Parties 0Independents 0

Summation 150

Source: Electoral Commission: 1991 Parliamentary

and Presidential Elections

Five years later in 1996 the picture becameeven stronger for MMD in the legislature.Largely because of UNIP’s boycott of elec-tions, MMD increased its legislature’s rep-resentation as shown in the following table.


MMD 131NP 5AZ 2ZDC 2Independents 20

Summation 150

Source: Electoral Commission: 1996 Elections.

Following the birth of the United Party forNational Development (NPND) and sev-eral by- elections held in the country, by

Front Bench and Back Bench MPs – 1974- 1991

Selected years Front Bench MPs Back Bench MPs

1974 42 871977 45 861979 41 751985 39 641991 77 46Source: National Assembly Parliamentary Debates 1974- 1991.


January 2001, the political parties’ repre-sentation in the legislature was as shownbelow:

Party Representation in theLegislature - 2001


MMD 128NP 5AZ 1UNIP 2UNDP 6Independents 8

Summation 150

Source: Electoral Commission of Zambia Jan: 2001

The preceding figures indicate the over-whelming MMD majority in the nationallegislature between 1991 and 2001. TheMMD could therefore legislate on anythingwithin their interest. Scrutiny of their ac-tions became seriously stifled by a smallpresence of opposition parties in the legis-lature. For instance the opposition partieswere against the Government policy aboutthe pace and whole-sale privatisation of theparastatals. They also raised questions re-lating to the eligibility for contesting theRepublican Presidency, and the policy onthe Electoral Process which involved a for-eign Israel company NIKUV.

In addition “Parliament enacted the muchcriticised Constitution of Zambia (Amend-ment) Act, 1996”,3 that preventedKaunda’s Deputy, Chief Inyambo Yetafrom contesting any state position unlesshe first resigned his position as chief. Thelegislature also passed the Electoral(Amendment) Act 1996, which broughtforth the Electoral Commission whose

members were perceived to be MMD mem-bers.” In the same year the Public OrderAct was also enacted. It was considered tohave been discriminatory against non- gov-ernmental organisations (NGOs) and otherinterest groups, including opposition par-ties.

Other pieces of legislation enacted by theoverwhelmingly MMD representation inthe legislature were the Land Act of 1995which evoked an outcry from traditionalrulers, NGOs and opposition parties. TheAct was perceived as one that had giventhe Head of State too much power overland. Added to these unpopular pieces oflegislation were the press- censorship lawssuch as the State Security Act, Defamationand Licensing of Public Assembling andSpeech, and the Parliamentary PrivilegeAct which gives the Speaker judicial pow-ers to imprison journalists.

FUSION OF INSTITUTIONS ANDEFFECT ON POLICY-MAKING

CAPACITY.

Strict separation of power or functions be-tween major institutions has never been inpractice in Zambia since the advent of self-rule in 1964. This largely has been the re-sult of inheriting the British Parliamentarysystem, which was modified into the presi-dential system after the attainment of in-dependence. During the second Republic,state and party organs were fused. TheCabinet, a state organ, held joint meetingswith the Central Committee members.Cabinet members were also members of thelegislature. The fusion was extended toprovinces in 1976 when president Kaunda


appointed Provincial members of CentralCommittee. Prior to that in 1969 he hadappointed Provincial Cabinet Ministers andin 1974 he appointed Provincial PoliticalSecretaries.

The preceding fusion in some casesstrengthened the capacity of the legislatureto conduct rational scrutiny of policies be-fore they could be implemented. Membersof the legislature in the cabinet learnedsomething from members of the CentralCommittee. The Cabinet- Central Commit-tee Interface portrayed the image akin tothe bicameral legislature where the mis-takes made by one chamber were identi-fied and corrected by the second chamber.The government policy of support andcommitment to the political liberation ofthe rest of Africa and Southern Africa inparticular is regarded to have been care-fully conceived and judiciously imple-mented as a result of inputs that came fromthe fused structure. Also the policy to es-tablish the National Service Scheme thattaught all school leavers military skills andskills for production after high school wentthrough the scrutiny of the fused structure.Although compulsory military training wasremoved from the National Service curricu-lum, both the Chiluba and Mwanawasagovernments upheld the component ofskills training particularly in the field ofagriculture. This testifies even today thatthe policy was rationally conceived.

The fusion of the Executive and the Legis-lature during the Chiluba government alsogave rise to a number of policies that didnot reflect rational capacity. The executivemembers of the legislature, under oath to

observe collective responsibility of the de-cisions or actions they took, did not criticisethe policy about the sale of GovernmentHouses. The president was ardently inter-ested in the policy and any member of hisparty in power- whether in Front Bench orBack Bench, could offend the President bycriticising his policy opinions. The policyon Privatisation of Parastatals was alsocriticised as having not been carefully con-ceived by the fused state institutions. Simi-larly, the hiring of an Israel company,NIKUV, to register voters for the 1996 elec-tions was a policy decision which somemembers of the legislature and the execu-tive (Cabinet) could not criticise for fearof negative sanctions which would havebeen imposed by the Chief Executive, thePresident. The same observation goes fordeclaring Zambia a Christian Nation.

The fusion of state and part organs policyin the second Republic, as already observe,titled towards the interests of the UnitedNational Independence Party (UNIP) be-cause of the application of the concept ofthe Supremacy of the Party in the singleparty political system. In the Third Repub-lic practising the plural political culture,particularly under the Mwanawasa Presi-dency when MMD has had a week repre-sentation in the legislature, the powerpolicy equation has skewed towards theExecutive. The Executive appears to havebecome so strong that policy inputs fromthe legislature seem to have little effect tochange the position of the Executive. Il-lustrative in this case was the decision toestablish the Constitutional Review Com-mission. This was the initiative of the Ex-ecutive. Opposition members in the legis-


lature had rejected the idea, pointing at thehuge financial cost that the programmewould attract. But the Executive still wentahead and appointed the Mung’omba Com-mission. This time, the mode of adoptionof the recommendations in the Report andthe time for implementing the new consti-tution are policy issues where it looks theExecutive is likely to prove to be strongerthan the Legislature.

THE IMPACT OF PHYSICALINFRASTRUCTURE

The need for relevant information to en-able the legislators make reasoned contri-butions to parliamentary debates requireslogistical support. This relates to the exist-ence of office accommodation for legisla-tors, data banks for collation, storage andperusal of researched facts. The currentsituation in Zambia is that legislators haveno official office accommodation in Lusakaor in their respective constituencies. Plan-ning and other aspects of preparation forparliamentary debates have to be done fromtheir homes or hotel rooms during the pe-riod of parliamentary sessions.

The preceding problem is compounded by“inadequate information and data genera-tion centres”4, particularly in rural constitu-encies. For instance of the six museumsestablished in the country, five are alongthe line of rail and only one is located inthe rural environment as shown below:

Although the National Assembly has a li-brary, it can be used optimally by all legis-lators when the National Assembly Ses-sions are on. When off session, the Lusakabased legislators do have easier access tothe facility, not those representatives fromrural constituencies where libraries are vir-tually non-existent.

National Assembly debates requiring sci-entific evidence do have the services of theNational Institute for Scientific Research(NISIR). The University of Zambia andCopper belt University can provide simi-lar research support services. But the twoinstitutions are located in urban areas, al-though the NISIR is decentralised to MountMakulu and International Airport, both sub-urbs of Lusaka and Kitwe respectively.Even if the preceding data banks were

Museum Location

Livingstone Museum Livingstone- Mosi-O-Tunya RoadLusaka National Museum Lusaka- 74 Independence AvenueMilitary and Police Museum Lusaka- 74 Independence AvenueCopper belt Museum NdolaEastern Cataract Field Museum LivingstoneMotor- motor Museum Mbala

A similar picture accounts for the national archives shown below:

Archive LocationPrincipal Centre Lusaka, near Ridgeway campusBranch Centre KabweBranch Centre MufuliraBranch Centre Livingstone


available for the rural based legislators,there would still be need for easier mobil-ity. But the current national road net-workis largely undeveloped.

It covers up to 30, 285 km, part of whichcomprises trunk roads such as the GreatEast Road and Great North Road. A biggerpart of the main road network was con-structed between 1965 and 1975 when theeconomy was performing very well. From1984 till today, the condition of the roadinfrastructure in rural areas has worsened,making mobility for consultation and datacollection for parliamentary debates by ru-ral- based legislators very difficult. Thissituation has been the same for both thesecond and Third Republics.

LEGAL CONSTRAINTS AGAINSTTHE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN

RESOURCES IN THELEGISLATURE

The legal barrier to capacity building inZambia’s legislature is enshrined in theRepublican Constitution. Article 64 of theconstitution which spells out qualificationsfor any one intending to contest electionsto the National Assembly is silent on levelof formal education. All it says is that acandidate should be literate and conversantwith the official language used in the leg-islature. Education and training cannot beignored as pre- requisites for developingcapacity in rational debate and decisionmaking. “Formal education and trainingincrease an individual’s store of knowledge,extends his repertoire of competence andskills and deepen his insights on values.”5

These skills reduce error making and makelegislators more productive in their legis-lative performance. Thus failure by theconstitution to incorporate specific levelsof formal education is seen as failure toencourage the development of broadly readand hence adequately informed legislatorswho should be able to screen public policyissues affecting their electorate and otherstakeholders in the policy environment.

It is further observed that the constitutiondemands that workers in state and quasistate institutions have to resign their posi-tions if they decide to join active politicsand become legislators. That constitutionalprovision prevents educated citizens to seekmembership of the legislature. As a resultthe legislature in Zambia has, for a verylong time, been attracting candidates fromthe business sector, some of them not wellgrounded educationally. Many submissionsto the current and previous constitutionalreview commission have suggested re-moval of that provision and have it replacedby one which recognises legislative func-tions as part-time activities which a civilservant or university lecturer can performalong with his normal duties. After all Na-tional Assembly meetings do not take placeevery day or every week.

ENHANCING LEGISLATIVECAPACITY THROUGH THE

COMMITTEE SYSTEM

Those who favour the existing provisionin the constitution argue that ParliamentaryCommittees are miniature parliaments.They constitute components of the decen-tralized structure of the National Assem-


bly. Specialised committees consider policyissues of specific nature. Where a commit-tee feels inadequate to thoroughly consideran issue, chapters 12 14 (3) of the constitu-tion empowers such committees to inviteany member of the citizenry consideredknowledgeable on a specific topic to ad-dress them. The facts brought out in thataddress are used for informed debate in theNational Assembly. The author of this pa-per on 2nd August 2005 addressed one suchcommittee dealing with Nationaldecentralisation and Chiefs’ Affairs.

In the Second Republic the expected per-formance of the Parliamentary Committeeswas reduced by the concept of collectiveresponsibility. The legislature comprisedmembers from only one political party,UNIP. Though building consensus waseasier among committee members from thesame party, rigorous scrutiny of ideasthrough spirited debate was minimal.

The picture in the Third Republic, particu-larly after the 1996 elections was almostsimilar to the situation in the Second Re-public.

DELEGATED LEGISLATION ANDCAPACITY IN POLICY

FORMULATION

Delegated legislation involves the use ofcertain statutory instruments where the leg-islature authorises “Ministers and their topbureaucrats, Permanent Secretaries for ex-ample, to make laws without necessarilygoing back to parliament”.6 In countrieswhere many legislators are generalists andtheir levels of formal education are low,

improved performance in legislative func-tions is enhanced through the mechanismof delegated legislation. This is particularlyimportant when, as observed in the preced-ing part of the paper on the legal constraintsto learning, the Zambian constitution doesnot expressly encourage high formal edu-cational levels among its legislators. ButKatotobwe, one of the legislators at thattime, in his report to the National Assem-bly Speaker in October 1998, complainedthat in the Second Republic legislators hadlost their legislative function to the bureau-crats through delegated legislation . He feltthat “civil servants were both legislatorsand executors. They developed an arrogantattitude toward politicians who were theelected legislators, but with no real legis-lative power’8. In the Third Republic, heobserved, the situation had not changed.

Bureaucrats have two principal advantagesover political players. Their recruitmentinto the civil service is based on educationaland professional attainments. Their tenurein office is often longer than that of thepolitical bosses. This allows them to ac-quire more relevant knowledge and expe-rience about their ministries. They musttherefore have for a long time been assist-ing the less knowledgeable and less skilfullegislative representatives in the process ofpolicy formulation.

THE ZAMBIAN LEGISLATUREIN THE INTERNATIONAL

ENVIRONMENT

The perceptions of the legislature in themodern world are shaped not only by theideas of its elected players but also by the


influence coming from the external envi-ronment. For instance issues such as disar-mament, environmental pollution and drugtrafficking have an international magni-tude. To achieve desirable results in thefight against drugtrafficking or cross-border trade, whether legal or illegal, re-quires that certain countries should haveconsensus to enact appropriate laws in theirrespective legislatures. But prior to the pas-sage of such laws representatives of theconcerned countries can meet to debatetopical issues. For this reason “the Zam-bian Parliament belongs to a number ofinternational parliamentary organisationssuch as the Commonwealth ParliamentaryAssociation (CPA), the Inter- Parliamen-tary Union (IPU), the Joint CommunityParliamentary Forum (JCPF).

For purposes of improving its legislativeskills the Zambian parliament has enor-mously benefited from its membership inthese organisations. For instance the IPUin the past assisted Zambia in “training of-fered to its parliamentary officers.(7) Zam-bia has participated in debating issues suchas the Front Line States against apartheid,the hunger situation in Southern Africa andeconomic aid for Southern Africa. Thesediscussions have taken place at interna-tional conferences involving delegatesfrom some of the preceding associations.The exchange of ideas on the internationalscene and the continuing international in-teraction makes Zambia’s legislators im-prove their thinking ability as they debate

issues which culminate into policies for thecountry and those that affect the region andthe rest of the world.

CONCLUSION

The issues raised in this paper have shownthat Zambia’s legislature has gone througha process of transformation from the timeof its birth in the colonial period up to thepresent day. As an effective institution tohelp shape the country’s policies, its capac-ity has been plagued by several obstacles.These range from inappropriate power re-lations between and among state and partyorgans, inadequate physical infrastructureto support policy administration, inad-equate data centres to generate and providepolicy relevant information, absence ofclear legislation to encourage learningamong current and prospective legislators,inappropriate party representation in thedecentralised parliamentary committee sys-tem to foster multiple decision making cen-tres, and resentment by some representa-tives to use delegated legislation as an al-ternative to lack of expertise among manygeneralist legislators. As outlined in Ap-pendix I, a number of urgent actions arerequired in order to address some of theobserved barriers to the development andstrengthening of capacity for the legisla-ture in Zambia. We hope that the relevantauthorities in Zambia as well as interna-tional partners will find these recommen-dation useful for the future.


REFERENCES

Louis A Pichard, Policy Reform for SustainableDevelopment in Africa (1994) Lynne RiennerPublishers, Inc 1800th Street, BoulderColorado, USA,

Zambian Constitution (1973) Article 63.CCC, “Presidential and Parliamentary Elections”.

Report (1996), p. 33Saasa, O Political will and Commitment to Capacity

Building for Economic Development in Zambia(1997) IESR

Lungu, G Problems of Administrative Discretion inPost- Colonial States: Lessons from Zambia(1982) CDU

Ng’ona Chibesakunda, The Zambian Parliament(2000) Lusaka, p. 108.

Katotobwe A.B.C, Report on the Needs Assessmentof the Zambian Parliament, October, 1998


APPENDIX I

CONSTRAINTS TO CAPACITY PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

Unclear constitutional provision to encourage • Article 64 of the Republican Constitution,appropriate level of literacy among National which spells out qualifications for election toAssembly representatives. the legislature, should include specific levelof formal education for intending candidates. This provision should be extended to Article

34(3) for the qualification of presidentialcandidates

Absence of orientation and continuing training • Introduce intensive orientation programmeof new and veteran legislators. for all new members to the legislature.

Carefully develop the curriculum for theorientation programme.

• Mount continuing educational programmes toinculcate into legislators information searchskills such as computer operation skills.

• Training in fields such as policy analysis,budget analysis should not be confined onlyto professional officials. This should beextended to legislators as well.

Lack of expertise among many legislators. • Presidential appointments from the legislatureto the cabinet should take account of previoustraining and educational background in orderto foster knowledge specialization.

Inadequate data banks for generation, storage • Existing national libraries, archives, museumsand perusal of relevant policy information for and research centres should be strengthenedlegislators. through staff training, improved selection and

expansion of reading materials and laboratoryequipment, as well as incentives for staffmotivation.

• Extend data banks to rural areas.• Introduce transparent and wider radio,

television and print media national debates toattract inputs from a much larger policyenvironment.

Inadequate physical administrative andcommunication infrastructure. • Provide office accommodation for legislators

both in Lusaka and in their variousconstituencies.

• Communication network can be improved bythe provision of mobile phones and landphones connected to offices.

• Establish a business centre at the NationalAssembly Motel.


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