- Title
- Political influence, appointments and public sector management reform in Kenya, 1963-2014
- Creator
- Obong'o, Sylvester Odhiambo
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This study is an analysis of the extent and the impact of political influence on public sector management and reforms in Kenya from 1963 to 2014. It examines the successive waves of public administration reform launched by the Government since 1963 to address political and managerial concerns of the day and why certain challenges have kept on recurring, challenges relating to relationships between politicians and public servants, public service neutrality, personnel recruitment and management, training and growth of the service, organisational structure and overall performance improvement of the service. The study finds that political influence over public sector appointments has been more important than any other factor in non-implementation of reform initiatives in spite of relevant policies in support of the reforms being developed. Three methods were used to collect data for the study. These were a survey of 100 senior public servants, interviews with representatives of thirteen ‘watchdog’ organisations and examination of public documents. In regard to public documents, the thesis paid particular attention to reports on civil service reform in the period from independence to the mid-1980s. It is argued in this thesis that the fundamental problem impeding execution of reform initiatives is more one of political influence exercised mainly through patronage appointments to the public service and less one of technical issues such as lack of capacity and resources. It is also argued that resentment of external donor policies, commonly advanced as a major cause of the low uptake of reforms in developing countries, is not a major factor impeding public service administrative reform in Kenya. By impeding implementation of reforms, political influence has therefore impacted negatively on the development of a robust and professional public sector upon which the country depends to spear-head its development goals. The study concludes that for public sector reforms to succeed, undue and inappropriate influence of politicians over public servants needs to be kept at a minimum or avoided completely. The thesis argues that, prime ingredients defining a professional public service include meritocratic recruitment, internal promotion and career stability, without interference by political elites.
- Subject
- political appointment; political influence; public sector management
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1305756
- Identifier
- uon:21094
- Rights
- Copyright 2015 Sylvester Odhiambo Obong'o
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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