Successive governments in Nigeria
have introduced reforms aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of
the civil service. Still, the service remains inefficient and incapable of
reforming itself, let alone the rest of the economy. Corruption has become and
endemic feature of public sector activities, with the oil booms and bust
distorting the incentive structures of civil servants and other agents in the
economy. To turn the tide will demand the creation of and efficiency-based
incentive scheme that links reward to performance. Political interference in
the daily operations of the civil service needs to be minimized if the
confidence of the public service is to be restored. Wage incentives are also
important in restoring morale. An underpaid civil service will not be able to
perform its patriotic duty.
TITLE
PAGE 2
CERTIFICATION 2
DEDICATION 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4
ABSTRACT 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS 5
1.1 Background of Study 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 9
1.3 Objective of Study 10
1.4 Research Questions 10
1.5 Hypothesis
10
1.6 Significance of the Study 11
1.7 Scope and Limitation of Study 12
1.8 Limitation of Study 12
References 13
CHAPTER TWO
Review of Related Literature
2.1 Theoretical Framework 15
2.2 Structure
and Functions of the Nigeria Civil Service 16
2.3 Organisation of Civil Service 18
2.4 Civil Service Reforms 21
2.5 Civil Service Reforms in Nigeria 1934-1994 22
2.6 The Tudor Davis and Harragin Commission
(1945
and 1946) 22
2.7 The Miller Commission of 1947 22
2.8 The Gorsuch Commission (1954) 23
2.9 Mbanefo Commission (1954) 23
2.10 The
Adebo Commission of (1971) 24
2.11 The Public Service Review
Commission (Udoji
Commission
Report 1972/74) 25
2.12
Williams and William Commission (1975) 27
2.12.2 Highlights of the 1988 Reforms 27
2.13 Achievements and Overall Gains
of the Public Service
Reform
40
References 51
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Research Methodology 54
3.1 Research Design 54
3.2 Instrument
54
3.3 Population of Study 55
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques 55
3.5 Statistical Tools for Data Analysis 57
References 59
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Introduction
60
4.1 Analysis of Questionnaire 60
4.2 Testing the Hypothesis 65
CHAPTER FIVE
Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Summary of Findings 69
5.2 Conclusion
70
5.3 Recommendation 70
Bibliography
72
Appendix
76
Questionnaire 77
LIST OF
TABLES
Civil Services Reforms in Nigeria
1934-1994 22
Existing
Government Owned Power Stations-Gas-Fired
47
Table 4.1.1
Proper Implementation of civil services
reforms as it
contributes to the growth of
Nigeria economy 60
Table 4.1.2
Assessment of manpower needs leading to economic
system
compensation 61
Table 4.1.3 Challenges
in the implementation of civil service Reform polices 61
Table 4.1.4 Effective
strategy for repositioning the public Service 62
Table 4.1.5 Power
sector reforms encouraging the private Investment 62
Table 4.1.6 Increasing purge of employment into the federal Civil
Service
Commission 63
Table 4.1.7 Proper implementation of civil service
reforms 63
Table 4.1.8 Political
interference as it undermines the confidence
Of civil service in policy design and
implementation 64
Table 4.1.9 Constant Power supply as a hallmark of development
In
economy 64
Table 4.1.10 Performance
improvement through incentive Structure 64
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The civil service has always been
the tool available to Nigerian government for the implementation of
developmental goals and objectives. It is seen as a pivot for growth of
Nigerian economy. It is responsible for the creation of an appropriate and
conducive environment in which the economy can perform optimally and it is this
catalytic role of the public service that propelled government all over the
world to search continuously for better ways to deliver their services (Amoako,
2003).
Civil Service is the instrument
which government uses to regulate and manage all aspects of the society. Thus,
the condition of a society is largely determined by the public service.
Besides, it is from this government bureaucracy that all the other institutions
obtain various types of approval, license and permits which are critical to
their existence and operation. Also, government allocations of resources pass
through the bureaucracy to all other areas of the society directly and
indirectly. Therefore, all other institutions perforce have to deal with the
civil service at one point or the other in their existence and operations
(Philips, 1990).
In many developing countries like Nigeria, the
civil service is frequently too expensive and insufficiently productive; and
civil servants, especially those in management positions get few incentives and
poorly motivated (Nunberg., 1994). Many low income countries have taken
important steps in first generation reforms-that is, based on restructuring and
downsizing civil service. Yet, beyond a certain point, cutting cost by
squeezing real wages becomes counterproductive as skilled staff members leave
the civil service; those who remain becomes demoralized and absenteeism,
moonlighting and corruption increase (Lienert, 1998). Overemphasis on
cost-containment as an end in itself has by the way given civil service a bad
name, maximizing resistant to reforms and ultimately nullifying the very
savings from costcontainment itself (Schiavo-campo, 1998). To address these problems,
countries have been attempting to lead second generation reforms aimed at
revamping pay and promotion policies.
Yet, the multiple objectives of first generation reforms can give rise
to conflicts, and little progress has been reached in second generation reforms
(Lienert, 1998).
As a major instrument for
implementing government policies, the civil service in Nigeria is expected to
be professionally competent, loyal and efficient. Nonetheless, it is now
denounced for being corrupt, poorly trained and poorly attuned to the needs of
the poor. Ironically, the civil service is expected to play the key role in
managing and implementing reform programs in the country. This has led to a
number of complex agency problems yet to be resolved. However, it is broadly
acknowledged and Nigerian experience attest to this, that when the incentive
structure in the civil service remain
poor, its efficiency as well as ability to effect policy such as that directed
towards reducing poverty will remain very low (Salisu, 2001).
The federal government initiated
reforms aimed at repositioning the civil service for better efficiency and
effectiveness. However, the factors affecting the efficiency of the Nigeria
civil service, (Ajayi, 1998) has noted the following: over staffing and the
closely related poor remuneration of employees in public service as the key
factors.
Secondly, there are the issues of
poor assessment of manpower needs and the use of wrong criteria to appraise
staff performance. These two have led to poor recruitment procedures,
inadequate training and ineffective supervision. There tends to be a lack of
qualified technical support staff as opposed to the abundance of general staff.
The failure to carry out periodic assessment of manpower needs of the various
departments leads not only to uneconomic system of compensation but also to
inadequate job description and poor physical working conditions. There has also
been considerable political interference in the process of personnel
administration, leading to improper delegation of power, ineffective
supervision and corruption. The resulting apathy has in turn led to
unauthorized and unreasonable absenteeism, lateness, idleness and notably, poor
workmanship (Salisu, 2001).
Furthermore, the public service
reflects the state of the nation and no nation has been able to advance beyond
its public service. In 1994, the Ayida Panel, which was instituted to review
past public service reforms in Nigeria with a view to proffering measures of
further re-invigorating the service, identified the major ills of the service,
which needed to be corrected to improve the dynamism and effectiveness of the
civil service as follows:
v
Politicization of the top hierarchy of the civil
service
v
Lack of financial accountability and probity
v
Perpetual breakdown of discipline
v
Virtual institutionalization of corruption at
all levels and segments of the service.
v
Disregard for rules and regulations
v
Loss of direction
v
General decline of effectiveness and efficiency
(Adegoroye, 2005).
In other to address these ills, the former
president, Olusegun Obasanjo, after his inauguration as president of a
democratic republic of Nigeria on May 29, 1999, unfolded his vision of an ideal
civil service for Nigeria and by inference, an ideal public service with the
following elements:
•
A competent, professional, development-oriented,
public spirited and customer-friendly civil service capable of responding
effectively and speedily to the needs of the society;
•
A civil service with the core values of
political neutrality, impartiality, integrity, loyalty, transparency,
professionalism and accountability;
•
A civil service that is guided by equity where
things are done in the right way based on extant rules and regulations but with
room for distractions, which should be exercised in the public interest;
•
Creation of suitable environment where civil
servants are assured of protection and job security in the faithful discharge
of their duties and responsibilities; A
competitively, well remunerated and innovative civil service (Adegoroye,
2005).
Interestingly, the need for reform,
then, was driven by circumstance Which have immediate resonance; the
significant changes in the civil service composition with a staggering (35%)
thirty-five percent reduction in the permanent staff; a significant change in
the approach to people management taken place with a new- staff -appraisal
system linked to performance evaluation against predetermined objectives and
targets
(Ogwu, 2010).
The reform of the public service
therefore became the ultimate strategy for repositioning the service for the
realization of their vision as part of a multi-sectorial approach to promoting
good governance, ensuring sustainable democracy and accelerated transformation.
Various policy initiative and legal instruments have been put in place for the
effectuation of the multi-sectorial reforms of the present administration, as
encapsulated in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, the
medium term development strategy document of the administration. Two of the
core components of the strategy relate to public service reforms and
anti-corruption reforms through the inculcation of a culture of transparency
and accountability (Adegoroye, 2005).
In spite of the gradual and
systematic reforms and restructuring since May 29, 1999, after decades of
military rule, the civil service is still considered stagnant and inefficient,
and the attempts made in the past by panels had little effects. One is bond to
wonder therefore, why so? Much the same question has been raised by Oxford
professor Christopher Hood, commenting on what he calls the civil service
reform syndrome:
We have seen this movie
before-albeit with a slightly different plot line with a rash of our attempt to
fix up the bureaucracy with the same pattern of hype from the center, selective
filtering at the extremities and political attention deficit syndrome that
works against any follow-through and continuity. It is the pattern we have seen
with ideas
like:
•
Total quality management
•
Red tape bonfires
•
Citizen charter
•
Better consultation
•
Risk management
•
Competencies
•
Evidence-based policy
•
Joined-up policy making
•
Service delivery
Such initiatives come and go overlap
and ignore each other, leaving behind tombstones of varying sizes and style.
Many organization are using the above foundations
to establish a
Policy based on quality. The
Nigerian public sector enterprises cannot be an exception and that is what this
study tends to investigate with regards to Power Holdings Company of Nigeria,
Onitsha district.
Constant power supply is the
hallmark of a development economy. Any nation whose energy is epileptic in
supply prolongs her development and risk losing potential investors. Nigeria, a
country of over (120) hundred and twenty million people has for the past (33)
thirty-three years of establishment of the National Electric Power Authority
(NEPA) - agency empowered with the electricity generation, transmission and
distribution, witnessed frequent and persistent outages (Okoro et al, 2011).
Presently, the federal government
has embarked on a power sector reforms with the intention of improving the
above unpalatable scenario, and in turn reduces the scope of monopoly control
of the nations’ power industry.
Okoro.O.I ,P.Govender ,E.Chikuni,
2011) stated that, the call for power sector reforms in Nigeria is primarily as
a result of inadequate electricity supply, incessant power outages, and low
generating plant available and high technical and non-technical losses that
characterized the Nigerian electricity industry. The federal government in 2000
adopted a holistic approach of restructuring the power sector and privatizing
of business units unbounded into seven generation companies (Gen cos), one
transmission company (Transys co)and eleven
distribution companies (Dis cos). This arrangement is expected to
encourage private sector investment particularly in generation and distribution.
This will definitely break NEPA monopoly and pave way for the entry of
independent power producers (IPPs). The structure has since come into effect in
January 2004 into what is called the Power Holdings Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
This structure is to be test-run for two years with down pruned management team
at the head quarter, while the industrial managers of the unbundled segment are
expected to enjoy some level of autonomy.
In the new arrangement, Transco will
be government-owned and managed by System Operators (SO) and Transmission
Operators (TO). The reform bill approved by the federal executive council (FEC)
is intended to achieve five objectives:
§
Unbundled NEPA
§
Privatize the unbundle entities
§
Establish a regulatory agency
§
Establish a rural electrification agency and
fund
§
Establish power consumer assistance and fund
In November 2005, the Nigeria
electricity regulatory commission (NERC) was Inaugurated, and charged with the
responsibility of tariffs regulations and monitoring of the quality of service
of the PHCN (Okoro.O.I, P.Govender, E.Chikuni, 2011).
Power sector reforms in a developing
economy such as Nigeria poses great challenges not only to the government that
initiated the program but also the populace who are the consumer of energy and
to the new born PHCN which parades itself as better alternatives to the
moribund NEPA
The historical poor performance of
the power sector in Nigeria has been a significant barrier to private
investment of the country. In 2005, the government of Nigeria enacted
legislation intended to restructure fundamentally the Nigeria electrical power
sector. The electrical power sector reform Act,2005 was designed to move the
electricity sector in Nigeria from
government controlled, heavily sub-seized system to privatized largely market
based Endeavour. Implementing the 2005 reform Act has been challenging for the
Nigeria government and largely seems to have stalled in recent years.
However, the process of implementing
the 2005 reform Act was revitalized when President Goodluck Jonathan
established the presidential taskforce on power and published a roadmap for
power sector reforms in August 2010, potentially opening the door to significant
private investment in the Nigerian power sector (Firm publication,
2011).
1.2
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The Nigerian civil service has been
oversized and poorly remunerated resulting in poor service delivery. Rapid
public sector recruitment under military administrations had resulted in an
oversized and under skilled workforce in which employees often did not have the
appropriate technical skills needed for their assignments. For example, about
70 percent of workers in the ministry of finance were low-level staff clerks,
cleaners and administrative staffs with a secondary school education or
equivalent, 13 percent were university graduates and only 8 percent had degrees
related to economics or accounting. More broadly, the government estimated that
about 70 percent of federal civil servants had a high school diploma or lower
with less than 5 percent possessing modern computer skill.
Civil servants generally received
low pay and several fringe benefits such as free housing, free vehicles and
various other allowances that often led to waste and misuse of government
resource. Weak management and oversight also meant that there were problems
with ghost workers on the government pay roll; while personnel and pension
registers often were unreliable. Moreover, a weak incentive structure in a
civil service, which did not foster good performance, resulted in a weak work
ethic and poor service delivery by many government ministries, often
characterized by hidden or outright corrupt behavior on the part of many civil
servants.
Reforms were therefore needed to
re-professionalized the civil service and increase its focus on service
delivery. And the impact which the implementation of these reforms had created
in the Nigerians economy is called for.
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
This study tends to suggest ways by
which civil service reforms will be properly implemented to achieve growth in
the nations’ economy
The challenges, of civil service reform to policy
Implementation
The strategy towards achieving more
sustainable reform outcomes for the public service as an institution and for
the government and people of Nigeria for whom the effect of the public service
would be beneficial
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions guided this study:
To what extent can proper
implementation of civil service reforms achieve the desired growth in the
nation economy?
What are the challenges, of proper
implementation of civil service reform policy? What strategy can be proffered
towards achieving more sustainable reform outcomes for public services?
1.5
HYPOTHESIS
The study was guided by the following null
hypothesis:
Proper implementation of civil
service reforms does not contribute to the
growth of our economy
There are no challenges in the proper implementation
of civil service reform policy.
The strategy proffered cannot achieve sustainable
reform outcomes for public service
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
As Nigeria wends its way towards
democracy, it confronts daunting challenges, persistent ethnic and religious
tensions, growing religious conflicts, shallow political institutions, an
assertive military, a deeply depressed economy and a cynical and increasingly
despairing populace. No problem, however, is more intractable and more
threatening to the future of our nascent democracy than political corruption.
According to Chinua Achebe,
political corruption has grown more “bold and ravenous” with each succeeding
regime (Musa, 2001).
The public and private sector
business organization particularly the Power Holdings Company Abuja Nigeria,
which is the focus of this study, will find the results of this research very
useful to their originations
Another group that will find this
study useful is researchers, teachers and students of management sciences.
While the topic: “ Assessment of civil service reforms in the Nigerian public
sector” may not be strange to them, its application to the public sector business
organizations will definitely arouse their interest, which can be in the area
of knowledge or adoption of this research for further study.
The civil servants who are the
central to policy formulation and thereby fully responsible and accountable for
the success of government program and projects will find this research work
useful so also are the politicians in the Nigeria society.
1.7
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
The scope of this study will be on civil service
reforms with a focus on Power
Holdings Company Abuja, Nigeria.
1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY
The study is limited by time and resources
available to the researcher.
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