Reforming the Malawian Public Sector: Retrospectives and Prospectives

Authors

Richard I.C. Tambulasi (ed)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.57054/codesria.pub.126

Keywords:

Reforming, Malawian, Public Sector, Retrospectives

Synopsis

Reforming the Malawian Public Sector argues that the new public management model that Malawi, like most African countries, adopted under the influence of donor organizations has not led to the development that it was intended to deliver.
The book examines decentralization, performance contracting, and public–private partnerships as key aspects of the reforms and comes to the conclusion that at best, it can be argued that the failures have been due to poor implementation and this could be attributed to the fact that the process was led by donors who lacked the necessary institutional infrastructure. The book uses the 2005/6 fertilizer subsidy programme, which the government embarked on despite donor resistance that it went against market models, but which turned out to be overwhelmingly successful to demonstrate the state’s developmental ability and potential.

This volume is essential reading for academics, students, and practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of public administration, management, policy, development and governance in Africa and the rest of the developing world.
It is quite fitting that this book, Reforming the Malawian Public Sector, is dedicated to the memory Guy Mhone, a Malawian, who was among Africa’s leading scholars in public administration and governance. His works focused mainly on public sector reforms and development.

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Author Biographies

Richard I.C. Tambulasi

 is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political and
Administrative Studies, Chancellor College, University of Malawi. He is currently
reading for his PhD in Public Policy and Management at the University of
Manchester in England. He holds a Bachelor and a Master of Public
Administration from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, and a Bachelor
of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Malawi. His areas of
interest include public policy, public management, public governance and political
science. He has published over 16 articles in international journals. He has also
contributed chapters to some books in his field. One of his journal articles entitled
“Who is Fooling Who?: New Public Management–Oriented Management
Accounting and Political Control in the Malawi’s Local Governance” which
appeared in the 2007 Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, won the 2008
Highly Recommended Paper Emerald Awards for Excellence.

Asiyati Chiweza

 is a Senior Lecturer and head of the Department of Political
and Administrative Studies, Chancellor College, University of Malawi. She holds
a Doctor of Philosophy in Social Sciences (Public Policy) from Curtin University, Australia; a Master of Public Administration from Dalhousie University,
Canada; and a Bachelor of Social Science from University of Malawi. Her
fields of research and expertise include decentralisation and local governance,
public policy, development administration and public financial management. She
has done extensive research in the field of decentralisation and local government and
has published book chapters and journal articles in local and international journals.

Happy M. Kayuni

 is a Senior Lecturer and deputy head of the Department of
Political and Administrative Studies, University of Malawi. He holds a Bachelor
of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Malawi as well as a
Bachelor and a Master of Public Administration from the University of
Stellenbosch in South Africa. His areas of specialisation include party politics,
management and public governance and development. He has published more
than seven peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in these areas. He
has been teaching, among other courses, Strategic Management, International
Relations and Development Studies.

Blessings Chinsinga

 holds an MPhil and a PhD in Development Studies from
the University of Cambridge, UK and the University of Mainz, Germany. He is
currently based at the Department of Political and Administrative Studies, Chancellor College, University of Malawi as an Associate Professor, specialising in
institutions and development, public policy analysis, development administration, rural livelihood and local level politics. He has published over 20 journal
articles and book chapters, and a book based on his PhD dissertation titled
Decentralization, Democracy and Poverty Reduction in Malawi (2007).

References

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Published

May 7, 2010

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CODESRIA Books
Copyright (c) 2010 CODESRIA Books Publication System

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