Public Sector Performance Management in Africa: Reforms, Policies and Strategies

Abstract

Although public sectors in African countries differ due (largely) to diverse cultural settings, they nevertheless share a common challenge of weak performance in the area of service delivery. Often, such poor performance can be traced to political, social, economic, and environmental factors. Effective management of service delivery not only requires public sectors to have well-trained or skilled human resources in place, but also that they imbibe appropriate workplace values such as a competitive edge and strong customer focus, underpinned by a commitment to accountability and responsiveness to the needs of the citizenry. In the quest to provide and maintain the needs of citizens, countries have increasingly embarked on various public service reforms. This paper centers on the relationship between performance management and recruitment policies in the public sector within Africa citing examples from South Africa and Nigeria. It examines the link between recruitment policies and the outcome of implemented and the ongoing government reforms in Africa towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The research design is based on secondary data. The findings suggest institutional capacity as a pre-requisite towards achieving MDG’s and various national goals. The recommendations are made incorporating lessons learnt and way forward towards post MDG’s target year.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n26p85