Working Paper 80 - Making Public Sector Management Work for Africa: Back to the Drawing - Board

This paper critically examines key concepts that have been dominant in the internationaldevelopment community in the past twenty years. Starting with an analysis of the state in Africa,it shows how the international donors have ignored many of the underlying conditions that makeit weak and soft. It continues to argue that while the New Institutional Economics (NIE) is a stepforward in the economics discipline by transcending the limiting conditions inherent in the neoclassicalmodel of the “perfect” market, it encourages a definition of “market failures” that canonly be perceived by economists who have the necessary overview and comprehensiveinformation at their disposal. The paper continues with an examination of the operationalexperience associated with NIE and New Public Management (NPM), looking specifically at theissues of revenue collection and administration, decentralization, and civil service reform. Thefinal part of the paper traces the evolution of donor assistance since the 1970s and argues that byworking “up-streams” in the policy process rather than “down-stream” with project and programimplementation, donors have become more generalists, but also further removed from the socialrealities of Africa. The paper makes the point that donors and governments in Africa must jointlymake significant reforms that are based on their own terms rather than on those set by externalagencies.

Voluntarism and civil society: Ethiopia in comparative perspective

'Dieser Artikel untersucht die Herausforderungen zur Bildung einer Zivilgesellschaft basierend auf starken, freiwilligen gemeinnützigen Vereinigungen in Äthiopien, einem Land wie viele andere im subsaharischen Afrika, wo weder die sozialen Strukturen noch die institutionellen Gegebenheiten das Wachstum und den Fortbestand einer zivilen Tradition begünstigen. Aufbauend auf der praktischen Erfahrung der Arbeit von Oxfam-Kanada mit Freiwilligen-Organisationen in Äthiopien wird argumentiert, dass internationale NGOs, die bereit sind, das Wachstum ziviler Initiativen zu unterstützen, Veränderungen bewirken können, sogar dann, wenn das politische System nur begrenzt geöffnet ist. Das Programm von Oxfam-Kanada, welches keine finanzielle Unterstützung lokaler Partner-Organisationen einschließt, zeigt, dass es zwar möglich ist, in Bereichen sozialer und wirtschaftlicher Entwicklung aktiv zu sein, die Ausweitung des Engagements auf die Propagierung ziviler und politischer Freiheiten aber auch ein Risiko beinhaltet, welches weder die Kanadier noch die Äthiopier zu diesem Zeitpunkt einzugehen bereit sind. Abschließend wird diskutiert, welche Auswirkungen diese Studie auf die Erforschung von ehrenamtlichem Engagement und Zivilgesellschaft in Afrika hat, und dargelegt, dass diese Fragen im Zusammenhang mit den vorherrschenden sozialen Strukturen und der Beschaffenheit des Staates auf dem Kontinent gesehen werden müssen.' (Autorenreferat)'This article examines the challenges to building a civil society based an strong voluntary associations in Ethiopia, a country like most others in sub-Saharan Africa where neither the social structures nor the institutional setting is congenial to the growth and sustenance of a civic tradition. Drawing on the practical experience of Oxfam-Canada's work with voluntary associations in Ethiopia, this article argues that international NGOs ready to facilitate the growth of local civic initiatives can make a difference even in circumstances where the political opportunity structure is only marginally open. Oxfam-Canada's program, which does not involve financial support to local partner organizations, shows that it is possible to be actively involved in social and economic development activities, but stretching the rote to involvement in promoting civil and political liberties implies risks that neither the Canadians nor the Ethiopians consider worth taking at this point. The article ends by discussing the implications of this research for the study of voluntarism and civil society in Africa, arguing that these issues must be understood in the context of prevailing social structures and the nature of the state an the continent.' (author's abstract)

Challenges and Opportunities to Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Development Among Tanzanian Rural Communities

In more recent years climate change impacts have been obvious around the globe. This non-contentious reality has resulted in various global initiatives to reduce climate change impacts. However, differences exist in opportunities and capacity to adaptation. This paper, descriptive in nature, draws heavily from literature and also uses 2002 Tanzanian population and housing census to identify and discuss major challenges and opportunities to climate change adaptation and sustainable development in rural areas of Tanzania. Two groups are of focus; pastoralist herders and smallholder farmers. Analysis indicates that opportunities to climate change adaptation among rural community include their knowledge and experience. Challenges are centered on the pervasive poverty, rapid population increase and high illiteracy rates. Forces beyond their control including funds and governance also present definite limits to climate change adaptation. The paper suggests among others, the effective implementation of two top policies: education and social security funding

Assets and domestic units: methodological challenges for longitudinal studies of poverty dynamics

Tracking change in assets access and ownership in longitudinal research is difficult. Assets are rarely assigned to individuals. Their benefit and management are spread across domestic units which morph over time. We review the challenges of using assets to understand poverty dynamics, and tracking the domestic units that own and manage assets. Using case studies from longitudinal research we demonstrate that assets can afford useful insights into important change

The contribution of citizen views to understanding women’s empowerment as a process of change : the case of Niger

This article investigates citizen’s views on women’s empowerment as a process of change in Niger, the lowest country on the Human Development Index where women suffer widespread gender inequality. It draws on semi-structured interviews with radio and civil society organisation (CSO) representatives and on focus group discussions with radio listeners. By discussing how empowerment is perceived by the three groups, it examines which aspects of life disempower women and what could contribute to an empowering environment. It goes on to analyse how these responses can be used to shape radio broadcasts, to promote further female empowerment. Contributing to journalism, development, and women’s studies, the article provides valuable and transferable insights into the understanding of female dis/empowerment, which can be used in other similar developing countries

The legacies of coercion and the challenges of contingency: Mozambican unions in difficult times

Although insecure work may be found everywhere, the general lack of secure work in emerging economies is a particularly striking feature of the contemporary condition, undermining the continued viability of the labour movement in such countries. Yet, this topic is rarely tackled directly in African studies or business history journals. The two key questions addressed in this paper are, first, to what extent does the labour movement’s past define their present and future, and second, what are the challenges and opportunities affecting their ability to mobilise workers, influence government and effectively tackle employment security? This article details how in Mozambique, unions’ ability to mobilise has been affected by: the post-colonial, post-conflict and post-socialist historical context; the resulting legacies of regional and racial discrimination; international imperatives for liberalisation and privatisation; challenging relationships with the country’s African neighbours; and high levels of informal sector work. In order to remain viable, key imperatives include: effectively influencing national government, engaging internationally and working with organisations representing informal sector workers