According To This Book, The Task Of Civil Service Reform Is Not Merely One Of Trimming The Service Or Building Capacity, But Also Of Holding The Civil Service Accountable For Its Actions.

Inefficient civil service administrations are jeopardizing future development in many African countries. The reforms suggested in this paper would make these administrations more accountable, enforce the rule of law, and reward bureaucrats solely on their

Annotation Surveys the World Bank's experience in supporting developing country civil service reforms and begins to assess the progress made. The World Bank recognizes the importance of the civil service to the general welfare of the 4.6 billion people in low and middle income countries. Between 1981 and 1991, civil service reform was a prominent feature of 90 World Bank lending operations. This paper surveys the Bank's experience in supporting this reform and assesses the progress made. The lending operations concentrated on two separate dimensions: (1) Shorter-term, emergency steps to reform public pay and employment policies, which center on measures to contain the cost and the size of the civil service (2) longer-term civil service strengthening efforts directed toward ongoing, sustained management improvements. After examining the record of these reforms, the authors conclude that the results have been mixed at best. They recommend greater emphasis on devising a coherent, far-reaching strategy for reform and on detailing the set of tactics by which these goals will be achieved.

Public sector management components of structural adjustment loans (SALs) progressed unevenly, and the outcomes varied with different political, administrative and economic conditions. Change was often incremental and sometimes unsustainable. Reforms linked to specific, actionable steps were more successfully implemented.

Overstaffed bureaucracies afflicted by eroding salaries, demoralization, corruption, moonlighting, and chronic absenteeism are often unable to carry out the key tasks of economic recovery. What should the Bank do about it?