In the past decade and a half or so, the pace of civil service reforms in Africa has increased with high profile donor support as well as a growing demand locally for improved service delivery, greater accountability and more transparency. The development partners have promoted the enhancement of an agreed set of principles that characterizes these good governance initiatives. The thesis considers good governance characterized by the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse as well as a diligent regard for the rule of law. The major strategic development partners considered here include the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU). The thesis argument is that at present, the nature of social capital amongst the various Kenyan publics is a threat to the entrenchment of good governance principles in the civil service as espoused by major development partners. An attempt is made to interrogate the two concepts of good governance and social capital vis-à-vis the current trends of civil service reforms in Kenya. To develop the thesis, an international survey of the literature on good governance and social capital was carried out concurrently with a situational analysis of the Kenyan public provisioning in order to pinpoint policy implications for future reforms. This was done in order to obtain a theoretical angle to the major concerns of good governance that privilege participation and responsiveness in public provisioning. To answer pertinent questions in this regard, the Kenyan health sector was chosen as a mirror with which to analyze public provisioning in Kenya. The health sector was chosen because of the convenience it offers in terms of access as well as due to the fact that it makes it easy to interview and survey both the community of users as well as the service providers in one place (the hospital). The major finding was that abundant stocks of social capital exist amongst the various Kenyan publics; but it is mainly of the bonding and bridging type. There is need for society-wide civic education to inculcate the third element, that of linking social capital, in order to transcend the limitations of nepotism, tribalism, cronyism and other forms of corruption in public provisioning.

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Abstract One of the key obstacles in the fight against corruption is the fact that, without legal protection, individuals are often too intimidated to speak out or blow the whistle. The Protected Disclosures Act 2000 (Act 26 of 2000) provides protection against occupational detriment to those who disclose information of unlawful or corrupt conduct. This law is therefore an important weapon in the anticorruption struggle to encourage honest employees to report wrongdoing. The presumed benefits of whistleblowing for good governance should be seen against the possible negative consequences of whistleblowing. Whistleblowers are both citizens and managers, and are therefore exposed to dilemmas in both roles. As citizens, they want to see the termination of wrongdoing. As managers, they would prefer whistleblowing incidents to go through internal channels only. However, if whistleblowing is ineffective, it benefits no one. There is an increasing focus on good (and bad) corporate governance and institutions that are transparent and open will benefit from more favourable investor perceptions. Improved relationships with the public show that a substantial effort has been made to endow public administration with a legal framework that encourages the players involved to assume a greater sense of responsibility and develop practices to promote transparency and to protect whistleblowers. Government has to overcome numerous difficulties caused largely by the burden of history, unethical and corruptive constraints and government secrecy. In the face of these difficulties, efficient administration that serves the needs of all citizens is one prerequisite for strengthening the rule of law and the credibility of the state, both internally and externally. Such administration must be transparent, responsible and accountable, and served by honest officials. In the current context of the globalisation of the world economy and the fluidity of cultural boundaries. Administrations in all countries also face a variety of issues, including the ethical problems concerned with the protection of employees who expose malpractice or misconduct in the workplace, transparent administration and good governance.

Empirical and textual analyses of development issues seem to suggest that the fundamental flaw in the early initiatives1 of Africa’s leadership to address the socio-economic problems of the continent was embedded in neo-liberal inspired economic reductionist approach to development. This approach is premised on the ‘econo-mythical invocation that if the economics are right everything else would fall into place’ (Cernea 1994:07). An economic reductionist approach to Africa’s development is inadequate. Cultural, sociological, psychological, political and administrative factors are also important dimensions of development that merit substantial consideration in the quest for the solution of the socio-economic problems besetting the African continent. For development to be sustainable a multi-disciplinary approach is required. In this article the political administrative dimension of development with specific reference to good governance in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is, from a conceptual perspective, examined.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Monitoring and evaluation has in recent years been embraced by the South African government as a key feature of public service delivery. This has been used to promote efficiency in service delivery, good governance, to promote transparency in expenditure and promote financial accountability, so that set objectives can be achieved objectives. However, implementing Monitoring and Evaluation has also been challenging as a result of poor policy design, poor policy implementation, the lack of accountability and the lack of exemplary systems. The issue of service delivery efficiency remains paramount in South Africa, due to the increasing inequality gap, high levels of unemployment, service delivery protests and rising poverty. Assessing policy outcomes and impact is a weak point and major gap in policy evaluation in South Africa. This is reflected in the manner in which duplicate policies are continuously being created instead of making existing ones work, or improving upon them. More efforts should be invested into policy monitoring and evaluation instead of policy development. The study will investigate the above assertion by investigating monitoring and evaluation policy and practice in the National Youth Development Agency. The structure of this framework will be examined against the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation framework established by the South African government. The research will also examine monitoring and evaluation practice as carried out by the United Nations and the World Bank as they have a long history of practice. This investigation will look at activities, inputs, outputs, implementation constraints, outcome and impact assessment; it will also discuss monitoring report and policy/programme evaluation. The study will adopt a descriptive case study investigation by drawing on the viewpoints expressed by various scholars. It will also highlight policies which support and enable the practice of M & E in South Africa. This research is noteworthy in the sense that it bridges the gaps between Monitoring and Evaluation literature and Monitoring and Evaluation practice in an institution. Furthermore, it explores the complexities of Monitoring and Evaluation implementation in a department running various programmes.

This research is an analysis of security and good governance as prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development, a neglected element of research on NEPAD. Studies assume that security and good governance results in the stability and create a conducive environment for development; especially on the African continent. On this basis, it is assumed that the implementation of NEPAD by the African Union needed self-imposed security and governance pre-conditions. This study reflects on this assumption in order to establish its veracity in relation to NEPAD practices. It provides an analysis of the need for conditions as ascribed by Article 71 of the NEPAD’s founding document prior to developmental initiatives to ensure sustainability. This research delves looks into the connections and effects of security and good governance in the implementation of NEPAD in Africa. It does accept the fact that these are the major areas in which difficulties have emerged in some of the African countries since independence, conditions that have continued to worsen in some cases. Guided by the conceptual framework and a perusal of the history of grand developmental blueprints in Africa, this study draws from the analysis of primary and secondary documents available in the public domain including project reports and NEPAD statements to understand the security and good governance as preconditions to sustainable development. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Political Sciences / MA / Unrestricted

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"The study is divided into six chapters. Chapter one introduces the study, by looking at the background factors contributing to the poor governance in Africa. The chapter sets off with the problem, objective, and motivation of the study. The chapter sets out the hypotheses of the study, the methodology used, and the review of the available literature. The chapter concludes with the clarifications of concepts used in the study. Chapter two makes a brief background legislative history by looking at the past constitutional frameworks and the political systems that might have influenced the Legislatures of the two countries. The chapter continues with the current constitutional frameworks of both countries and examines the Legislatures established under them. Chapter three starts with the crux of the study - the roles of both Legislatures and delves into their representation and participation roles. The chapter assesses the medium of representation and extent to which the general public gets involved and participates in the deliberations of the LG and LSA. Chapter four looks at the law-making role. The chapter looks into how through legislaiton both Legislatures flesh out their constituitonal values to create more tangible boundaries within which their citizens conduct their lives. Chapter five looks into the oversight role over the executive. The chapter looks into the mechanisms in place to oversee the executive, and to hold them to account on their performances. Chapter six concludes the study with a summary. It makes a comparative analysis of the LG and LSA. The chapter tests the hypotheses of the study. It looks also at the challenges of both Legislatures. The chapter concludes with recommendations aimed at effective performance of the Legislature in Ghana and South Africa." -- Chapter 1. / Under the supervision of Prof. Frans Viljoen, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2002. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The affairs of public financial management in the local government operates within two legal frameworks, one adopted by national government and one adopted by legislatures at local level (Mikesell, 2007:36). A legislative framework for public financial management includes a vast number of legislation and public policies that have a direction bearing on the way in which financial management is dealt with in the different spheres of government. The financial affairs in the local government are guided by various legislative frameworks which regulate financial management in the three spheres of government. The Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) Act 56 of 2003 in addition provides guidelines for securing sound and sustainable financial management. The need to achieve sound public financial management and assurance of acceptable and transparent levels of financial risk has become paramount. To realize the developmental mandate, the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and budgeting are seen as the most significant tool towards effective public financial management. Government activities require funds to undertake the planned activities and such funds require special care to safeguard the public funds. This study aimed to assess the budgetary control practices in the Ngwathe Local Municipality. The objectives were realized by means of literature review, questionnaires and participant observations. The results of the interviews with the participants (community) revealed that the public is somehow not interested in local government affairs. It was indicated that they are mostly concerned about the social affairs and the job opportunities. The interviews with the municipality revealed that the budgetary control mechanisms are effective. Budget management is a requirement that covers budget preparation, budget implementation, and budget control. The Municipality established the budget office which serves as a mediator between the municipal council and the departmental managers. A good budget is characterized by participation, comprehensiveness, standards, flexibility, feedback and analyses of cost and revenues. However, the municipality should enhance the culture of community participation in local governance. / MA (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This thesis is about the complex relationship between governance, corruption and economic development. It seeks to extend the literature via exploring the complex web of connections between corruption, development and the quality of political institutions in the specific case of Nigeria. In so doing the thesis explores some of the limitations of mainstream approaches to corruption and postulates that, rather than being a simple issue of rent-seeking that requires a prescription of orthodox economic policy reforms, corruption is an issue that requires contextualizing within the evolution of particular political cultures in specific places and a sensitivity to the impacts of culture on the definitions, causes and impacts of corruption. The thesis also reflects upon the impacts of market reforms on the opportunities for corrupt activity and the potential role of civil society in rendering anti-corruption interventions more effective. Accordingly, the thesis places the current high-profile debates over corruption and poor governance in Nigeria within an historical analysis of the patterns of governance in Nigeria over the years since independence in order to understand the intricate issues surrounding the historical, cultural and socio-political context of the problems of governance and corruption and their influence on anti-corruption reforms in the Nigerian context. Data were collected and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods; the methods used in data collection included questionnaires and in particular a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews with key political stakeholders. The analysis culminates in an extensive exploration of the anti-corruption measures and strategies adopted by Nigerian administrations and the efforts of the international organisations which have supported them in tackling corruption.