First Published in 1965, the Civil Service in New African States describes the problems and principles relating to the growth and development of the civil services in the newly independent states of Africa. With case studies from Ghana, and a few other West and East African countries, it discusses themes like civil service within machinery of government; administration of the civil service; Africanization policy and programme; the public service commission; structure and functions of ministries and departments; policy-making process; and financial control. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of African studies, African politics, and public administration.

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

This paper assesses a decade of experience in civil service reform in a sample of 32 sub-Saharan African countries. Many countries have made an important start towards reducing excessive staffing levels and the nominal wage bill, but less progress has been made in decompressing salary differentials in favor of higher-grade staff. In the CFA franc zone countries, real wages fell sharply after the 1994 devaluation, but the wage bill relative to tax revenue is still high in many countries. There is a need to consolidate quantitative first-generation reforms that contribute to macroeconomic stabilization. Equally important is the need to make progress on qualitative second-generation reforms, especially remuneration and promotion policies that reward performance and measures to improve civil service management. Such policies will require strong political commitment by governments.

The administrative sciences have been dominated by a turn to managerial perspectives in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and in the spirit of this turn, 'New Public Management' (or NPM) promises to produce efficient, responsible and client-oriented public services. The reforms carried out in the pursuit of New Public Management are often accompanied by great optimism and rapid, enthusiastic steps toward implementation. Even in highly developed industrial countries, however, these fundamental reforms often overlook the political and cultural contexts of the implementing country. New Public Management in Africa: Emerging Issues and Lessons provides much-needed theoretical foundations for NPM reforms in the African context and reflects on the success of existing reforms in the development of several African states. The individual contributions in this timely volume provide important analyses of academic discourse, practical policy, achievements, and desiderata. The book as a whole, however, provides a valuable impetus for public administration research in and on African states, sharing findings on the results of reforms to date and adjustments required for these reforms to succeed. For public administration researchers outside of Africa, this book offers a review of New Public Management case studies that are unavailable or difficult to find elsewhere, contributing much to the exchange between African and Western administration science research, and demonstrating that African administrative research is well-prepared to help resolve global challenges.

States at Work explores the mundane practices of state-making in Africa by focussing on the daily functioning of public services and the practices of civil servants.

Reforming the African Public Sector: Retrospect and Prospectsis an in-depth and wide-ranging review of the available literature on African public sector reforms. It illustrates several differing country experiences to buttress the main observations and conclusions. It adopts a structural/institutional approach which underpins most of the reform efforts on the continent. To contextualize reform of the public sector and understand its processes, dynamics and intricacies, the book examines the state and state capacity building in Africa, especially when there can be no state without an efficient public sector. In addition, the book addresses a number of theories such as the new institutional economics, public choice and new public management, which have in one way or another influenced most of the initiatives implemented under public sector reform in Africa. There is also a survey of the three phases of public sector reform which have emerged and the balance sheet of reform strategies, namely, decentralization, privatization, deregulation, agencification, co-production and public-private partnerships. It concludes by identifying possible alternative approaches such as developing a vigorous public sector ethos and sustained capacity building to promote and enhance the renewal and reconstruction of the African public sector within the context of the New Partnerships for Africa's Development (NEPAD), good governance and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).