Background to Ghana Civil Service
The civil service, an integral part of the executive branch of government, is a major component of the public services of Ghana, which come under supervision of the Public Services Commission. Ghana's civil service is organized along British lines and constitutes one of the most enduring legacies of British colonial rule. The 1992 constitution provides that the president, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Services Commission, appoint a public officer to head the civil service.
The civil service is Ghana's single largest employer, and its union is large and strong. It recruits graduates of Ghana's three universities and other educational institutions through a system of competitive examinations. Staffing of the civil and the public services with competent personnel is the principal function of the Public Services Commission, which serves as the government's central personnel agency.
The Office of the Head of Civil Service includes a large team of administrators, executive and management analysts, and other technical experts. These officials supervise a hierarchy of graded personnel working in such areas as health, agriculture, transportation and communications, and local government. Working in cooperation with them are other state bodies such as the Chieftaincy Secretariat, Audit Service, Public Services Commission, and the Ghana Cocoa Board. Since the launching in 1983 of the ERP, an austere economic program that the NDC government of the Fourth Republic continues to implement, the civil service has been cut drastically. Despite the retrenchment, civil servants have not engaged in organized protests or strikes, despite threats to do so.
Nigeria Civil Service model
The Nigerian Civil Service consists of employees in Nigerian government agencies other than the military and police. Most employees are career civil servants in the Nigerian ministries, progressing based on qualifications and seniority. Recently the head of the service has been introducing measures to make the ministries more efficient and responsive to the public.
The civil service is mainly organized around the federal ministries, headed by a minister appointed by the President of Nigeria, who must include at least one member of each of the 36 states in his cabinet. The President's appointments are confirmed by the Senate of Nigeria. There are less than 36 ministries. In some cases a Federal minister is responsible for more than one ministry(e.g. Environment and Housing may be combined)and a minister may be assisted by one or more ministers of State. Each ministry also has a Permanent Secretary, who is a senior civil servant. The ministries are responsible for various[parastatals(government-owned corporations) such as universities (Education), National Broadcasting Commission, Information and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Other parastatals are the responsibility of the Office of the Presidency, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Federal Civil Service Commission. The service has six additional units which provide services to all departments on the Civil Service:
Establishments & Record Office (E&RO)
Career Management Office (CMO)
Manpower Development Office (MDO)
Management Services Office (MSO)
Common Services Office (CSO)
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR)
Role of civil Services in a Democracy
Nigeria and Ghana are democratic state and in this system, power confers with the people. The power is exercised through its designated representatives who have the command to manage them for particular period. The civil services by quality of its knowledge, experience and understanding of public affairs support the chosen representatives to device effectual policy and have great responsibility to implement these policies for the welfare of society and enhancement of nation. Parliamentary democracies are generally pigeonholed by a permanent civil service which helps the political policymakers and political executives. India is a constitutional fairness and its operations are usually depends upon four supports that include Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, and Free Press. Each one of these has been assigned its role in democratic establishment. First pillar is associated with the governance of the State. Effective and efficient institutions form the strength of an efficacious development and governance process. One of the basic components of Indian governance planning is the concept of an unbiased, honest, efficient and valiant civil service which is the core of the Executive whether it is All India Services or the other Civil Services. They form the stable structure and support of Indian Administration System.
Comparative Of The Civil Service In Nigeria And Ghana Using Bureaucratic Model Of Analysis
The German sociologist Max Weber argued that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and rational way in which one can organize the human activity and that systematic processes and organized hierarchies are necessary to maintain order, maximize efficiency, and eliminate favoritism. On the other hand, Weber also saw unfettered bureaucracy as a threat to individual freedom, with the potential of trapping individuals in an impersonal "iron cage" of rule-based, rational control.
The German sociologist Max Weber was the first to formally study bureaucracy and his works led to the popularization of this term.[47]. In his 1922 essay Bureaucracy,[1], published in his magnum opus Economy and Society, Weber described many ideal-typical forms of public administration, government, and business. His ideal-typical bureaucracy, whether public or private, is characterized by:
hierarchical organization
formal lines of authority (chain of command)
a fixed area of activity
rigid division of labor
regular and continuous execution of assigned tasks
all decisions and powers specified and restricted by regulations
officials with expert training in their fields
career advancement dependent on technical qualifications
qualifications evaluated by organizational rules, not individuals
Weber listed several preconditions for the emergence of bureaucracy, including an increase in the amount of space and population being administered, an increase in the complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out, and the existence of a monetary economy requiring a more efficient administrative system. Development of communication and transportation technologies make more efficient administration possible, and democratization and rationalization of culture results in demands for equal treatment.
Although he was not necessarily an admirer of bureaucracy, Weber saw bureaucratization as the most efficient and rational way of organizing human activity and therefore as the key to rational-legal authority, indispensable to the modern world. Furthermore, he saw it as the key process in the ongoing rationalization of Western society. Weber also saw bureaucracy, however, as a threat to individual freedoms, and the ongoing bureaucratization as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in a soulless "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control. Weber's critical study of the bureaucratization of society became one of the most enduring parts of his work. Weber Many aspects of modern public administration are based on his work, and a classic, hierarchically organized civil service of the Continental type is called "Weberian civil service".
CONVENTIONALLY, political leaders usually determine the policies in any nation. Such leaders outline the political, economic and social directions for the country. It is important for these policies have to be properly articulated and implemented for meaningful results. The civil service is the main instrument through which government implements and administers public policies and programmes. This function usually derives from the constitution and the laws of the land (Olagboye, 2005: 4). However, the way and manner civil service in a particular state is managed determines its performance. Thus, civil service has prominent roles to play in service delivery. The development achieved in many countries of the world has been due to the ability of their civil service to effectively translate the policies of their political leaders into concrete services.
In the light of this, the objective of the paper is to examine the nexus between civil service administration and effective service delivery. There are three basic presumptions in the paper. One is that the existence of a Civil Service administration is desirable. Second is that the existence of the civil service should serve the purpose of service delivery and thirdly that effective service delivery is a precursor of development. The paper is discussed under the following sub-sections.
The classical theory of bureaucracy has witnessed three metamorphoses. The Marxists theory situated bureaucracy within the overall context of Karl Marx’s theory of class conflict and the inevitable crisis within capitalism and the eventual evolution of communism. Marx described bureaucracy as an instrument by which the state (being the dominant class) perpetuates its domination over other classes.
Marx Weber’s theory of bureaucracy was partly a reaction to the Marxian theory of dominion which he subjected to a wider context of authority as a form of control. He differentiated between power and authority. He described power as any relationship where one member imposes his will on others despite resistance while authority is a relationship in which obedience to commands is secured on a consideration of legitimacy. Weber posited that legitimacy as a basis for authority naturally provided different forms of authority structures and corresponding forms of organization (Thompson, 1986:8)
Based on this, Weber identified three types of authority or dominion including the traditional which was identified with primitive societies. Here legitimization of power is located in belief in eternal past and in the rationalization of the traditional way of accomplishing things. The second is charismatic authority where the consideration of the authority of the leader is based on the people’s love and belief in his outstanding qualities.
The third is the legal-rational authority which Weber identified with the foundation of modern civilization. Here, “obedience goes to the legally established impersonal set of rules rather than to a personal ruler. Power is vested in the office as against its occupier” (Stillman, op cit).
Bureaucracy is seen as the administrative apparatus that corresponds to this type of authority. In bureaucracy, the relationships between the bureaucrat and the ruler, the ruled as well as with his colleagues are governed by impersonality.
Other features include hierarchy of office, schedule of duties, mode of recruitment, specified rights and entitlements, methods of recruitment and promotion.
The third theoretical stage is the Bureaucratic – oligarchy school led by Robert Michels which provided a critical examination of the problem of internal democracy with reference to internal politics of large scale organizations.
Bureaucracy is conceived as an administrative or social system that relies on a set of rules and procedures, separation of functions and a hierarchical structure in implementing controls over an organization, government or social system (www.investopedia.com visited 2013/4/27). It is based on the rational – legal authority theory, that is, an authority which employees recognize as legitimate.
As opposed to adhocracy, it is represented by standardized procedures (rule-following) that guides the execution of most or all processes within the body; formal division of power, hierarchy, and relationships, intended to anticipate needs and improve efficiency.
Bureaucracy as a term is often used pejoratively against the backdrops of the lethargy, laziness and slowness for which the modern bureaucracy in developing countries thrive. Hence, the ascription of the term red-tapism.
However, the usage in this work is in its traditional sense of goal attainment that incorporates and weaves together a conglomeration of experts and other individuals in a network of public service delivery.
Bureaucracy is the collective organizational structure, procedures, protocols and set of regulations in place to manage activity, usually in large organizations particularly government.
Law policy and regulation normally originate from a leadership, which creates the bureaucracy to put them into practice. A bureaucracy is thus responsible to the leadership that creates it.
It has the following characteristics:
• high division of labour and specialization, – well defined hierarchy of authority
• follows the principle of rationality, objectivity and consistency,
• formal and impersonal relations among the members of the organization.
• interpersonal relations are based on positions and not on personalities
• there are well defined rules and regulations which must be strictly adhered to.
• there are well defined methods for all types of work.
• Selection and promotion are based on technical qualifications.
Conceptual Clarification
This section with provide conceptual clarification on three core concepts necessary for proper understanding of this paper. These are the civil service, and effective public service delivery.
The Civil Service: The Civil Service according to Olaopa (200:31) is one of the great political inventions of the nineteenth century England. The first generation of civil servants was called ‘Court Servants’ or ‘Court Clerks’. The civil service as a term has no precise definition and thus it is mis-used and also misunderstood.
In terms of origin, it was borrowed in the mid-eighteenth century (1785) from the British Administration in India to describe a system that emphasizes selection on the basis of merit (Wey, 1971:2). The term Service connotes a profession; a group of civil servants having common recruitment conditions and prospects, as well as a ‘career’ in a span of time under the government.
The absence of a standard definition of the Civil Service as a term is underscored by the observation of Peter Keller and Lord Norman Crowder – Hunt (1980:9) that :
There is a special sense in which the Civil Service reflects the British Constitution.
Neither is clearly defined in writing; both evolve and change with mood and circumstances.
However, E.C.S. Wade and G.G. Philips (1968:221) observed with regard to the British Civil Service that “a rough definition of the Civil Service would include all non-political offices and employment held under the crown with the exception of the Armed Forces”
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Interpretation Act 1964 (which is the interpreter of the Nigerian Constitution and other Statute books) remain silent on the general meaning and scope of the term civil service. The civil service Handbook produced by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation however describes the civil service as:
A body or organ which enjoys continuity of existence.
Its members unlike the members of the National Assembly … are not limited to short term of office…
Elected members come and go but Civil Servants remain in office…
This also, at best, is descriptive. However, the Civil Service has become a world-wide acclaimed institution for policy implementation and service delivery. It has become crucial player in the quest for development and growth. It is also known as Government bureaucracy.
The Civil Service had been used interchangeably with the public service as if both are the same.
Section 169 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) has the subtitle “The Public Service of the Federation” and states thereunder that “There shall be a Civil Service for the Federation”
Bade Gboyega (2004:3) stated that the Public Service means service in any Government capacity as a member of staff within National and State Assemblies, the Judicial Service, the Teaching Service,
The Public Enterprises and State-owned Companies, Statutory Corporations, Boards and Commissions and members and officers of the Armed Forces, the Police and (others at the Federal level)
The Civil Service Manual Handbook states that:- The Royal Commission on the Civil Service (1953-1955) has described the Civil Service as Servants of the crown, other than holders of political or judicial offices, who are empowered in a civil capacity and whose remuneration is paid wholly or directly out of moneys voted by parliament. In the Nigerian context, a civil servant is simply someone employed by the Civil Service Commission and paid by the Government out of moneys voted for the purpose by the National or State House of Assembly.
From the above, it is clear that the difference between the Public Service and the Civil Service, at least within the Nigerian context, is not in substance. The latter is a subset of the former being smaller in composition. Both had been used interchangeably. Though distinctions could be drawn between the Public Service and the Civil Service, such is not the objective of this contribution, I therefore beg to keep in view.
The Problems Of The Civil Service In Nigeria And Ghana
Definition
The Civil Service can be defined as an administrative body constituted under the executive arm of the government. Its main functions include, but not limited to, formulating and implementing the policies of the government.
Tribalism
One of the major problems of the Civil Service is tribalism. The ethnic and tribal affiliations in the Nigerian society makes it imperative that one helps his or her brother to get his or her way around the provision of services within the Civil Service structure which should have been freely provided in the first place. It also makes it possible for people to be employed into the service not on merit but on tribal affinity.
Over-staffing
Another major problem of the Nigerian Civil Service is the problem of over-staffing. There are too many people employed into the service who have nothing to do because there is simply not enough work to go round all the workers there. This may be due to each person helping a tribesman to get a job and feed his or her family. The over-staffing seem to be especially so at the lower levels of the ladder.
Poor conditions of service
The condition of service in the Nigerian Civil Service is not attractive. The salaries are nothing to write home about, especially, where the economic conditions of the country is so fragile. Civil Servants have to drag themselves to work every day because the zeal to be at work is not there. This may also be conditioned on the premise that the number of workers are huge and improving the service conditions and actually implementing them would require a colossal amount of money.
Lack of qualified personnel
Another problem of the Nigerian Civil Service is that the caliber of workers there are not the most qualified. One, because during recruitment, critical criteria are ignored to get friends fixed and two, the condition of service does not attract the qualified people to want to apply to work there, let alone take appointments.
Lack of adequate training
The Nigerian Civil Servant does not undergo the necessary training and retraining that is needed for him or her to perform at his or her optimum. This may be due to a number of factors, chief of which may be the lack of resources to carry out the training.
Political instability
The political environment within which the Nigerian Civil Servant operates is not stable enough to ensure continuity as is required under the features of the Civil Service. In the days of military rule, anytime there was a forceful change of government, all the top men at the Civil Service had to be changed. In this era of democratic dispensation, it is no different when one political party loses power to the other
Attempts By Each State To Personalize the Civil Service Through Reforms
The thrusts of the Public Service reforms were as follows:
• professionalizing the service with skilled and knowledgeable technocrats with appropriate motivation to assist in up-grading the operations of Government;
• reducing waste and inefficiency by monetizing fringe benefits within an incentive structure that supports private sector development by out-sourcing services which are considered to be unnecessary and only tangential to effective government and operation of the service;
• improving morale by instituting a more transparently managed contributory pension system that guarantees pension payment as and when due and under direct control of the retiree;
• rightsising the workforce of the service by weeding outsourced cadres and those that do not have the qualifications, the required discipline or the proper state of physical and mental health to serve effectively,
• instituting fiscal and budgetary reforms within the context of a Medium-Term Public Expenditure framework in order to sanitize budgeting and funding of government programmes;
• harmonizing organizational structures and objectives to reduce duplication and promote systematic reporting and evaluation of performance and programme implementation;
• re-focusing Government Agencies on their Core functions and withdrawing from commercial activities and making them more effective through restructuring and re-skilling;
• re-engineering administrative rules, procedures and work processes by making them faster, and adapting them to existing operational and technological realities (ICT);
• Changing the mind-set of officers so that they are disciplined, courteous and are guided by a professional code of ethical conduct etc. (Yayale, 2007).
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