Challenges of Administration in Public

Service

Soji Gbayesola
08055310501
gbayesola@yahoo.com
 Introduction
• A critical success factor in the realization of the
lofty objectives of Government is a professional,
competent and result-oriented Public Service
with the impetus to effectively discharge its
catalytic role of facilitating successful
conception, planning, execution and monitoring
of the policies, programmes and projects of
Government
 The Public Service

• “Public Service” refers to an agglomeration of all

organizations that exist as part of government
machinery for the delivery of services

• It is a mandatory institution of the State under the

Constitution, see: Chapter VI of 1999 Constitution
under the title: “The Executive, Part I (D) and Part
II (C) provides for a Public Service at Federal and
State Levels.
• Practically, therefore, the entire organizations
which constitute government’s mechanism for
executing policies and programmes, and
delivering services which adequately meet the
needs of the citizenry, are called the Public
Service, whose fundamental roles are to serve
the public, the nation and the community, and
also, to effectively promote the common good.
• Public service management relates to
policy and management practices aimed
at promoting public service efficiency,
transparency and accountability
• And also how the public service is
organised and operate
Core Principles
• Stewardship:
• The Public servants are accountable to the
Nigerian people and the Government of the
day.
• efficient management of resources
• provide timely, accessible, cost-effective, and
quality service to the citizenry
• implement Government’s policies and
programmes with diligence and commitment
• Trust:
• Good governance is anchored on maintaining trust
between the Government and the citizenry.
• guided by the following considerations in discharging
their duties:
• sincerity of purpose;
• respect for diversity and dignity of all persons;
• sensitivity to the needs of the citizenry;
• equity; fair play and social justice;
• observance of the rule of law/due process; and
• recognition of the right of the citizens to access
information without infringing on the law
• Engagement:
• collaborate and partner with other non-
state actors, particularly the private sector,
the civil society, the media, labour, faith-
based organizations, etc are co-partners in
the development process
• Professionalism:
• committed to excellence and should thus display
the highest level of professional standards in
undertaking its tasks
• promote the flow of ideas, knowledge and
enterprise through institutional and individual
capacity development
• maintain objectivity and impartiality in advice
 Structure of the Service

• Mainly organized around the ministries,

headed by a Minister appointed by the
President
• Each ministry has a Permanent Secretary,
who is a senior civil servant.
• Ministries are responsible for various
parastatals (government-owned corporations
/specialised institutions established for specific
objectives)
• General functional departments
– Department of Administration,
– Department of Finance and Accounts or Finance and
Supplies,
– Department of Planning, Research and Statistics,
– Department of Procurement
• Professional departments are suitably structured for carrying
out the principal mandates.
• The numbers of such professional departments vary, depending
on the size of the organisation
• Complementing all these departments are Units. These are
usually too small to be designated as departments but have
unique responsibilities that are important and relevant in the
scheme of things
 Need for Service Reforms
Targeted at
– eroded public service ethics and values,
– ageing workforce,
– inadequate succession planning,
– inappropriate organizational structure,
– poor culture of innovation,
– inconsistent planning methodology,
– non-productive work operations and systems,
– absence of professional management of human resources,
– unconducive working conditions,
– incompetent and discouraging leadership,
– poor service delivery,
– corruption and general inefficiency
 Scope of Public Service Reforms

• Rationalisation and right-sizing,

• Restructuring and Strengthening Institutions
• Privatisation/Commercialisation/Liberalisation
• Use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
• Monetization of Benefits
• Budget and Financial Management
• Health Insurance & Pension System etc.
Administration and Operational
• Human Resources Management
– Personnel records and payroll cleaning
– Staff cadre reviews
– Remodeling of recruitment and promotion procedures
– installation of a new Performance Management Scheme
– Massive Capacity Development and Training
• Operation and Systems
– organizational restructuring and right-sizing
– work process re-design
– information systems/technology applications
• Value Reorientation and Ethics
• emerging key issues:
– service delivery improvement
– performance improvement,
– improving management systems and structures,
– planning, budgeting, and other financial
accountability issues
– ethics and integrity,
– compensation re-configuration: incentives and
pay;
– improving the work environment; and
– capacity building.
Changing Role of Public Sector
New Public Management
• It aims at efficiency, effectiveness and economy in
performance of the public sector by employing modern
managerial and business administration tools such as
performance appraisal, cost cutting, functional
autonomy, financial incentives, output targets,
innovation, market orientations, responsiveness and
accountability.
Principle
•Service Delivery / Effectiveness
•Pro-activeness / Foresight
•Efficiency / Resource Management
•Customer Orientation
Good Governance Principle
 Real Issues
• Nigerian public administration has been plagued by a number of
problems which have had and are still having adverse effects on
public confidence, national growth and the economy. These
problems are:

• CORRUPTION
• Corruption is perhaps the greatest bane of the Nigerian public
service. It is so endemic that it runs through from the recruitment
process down to retirement.

• RIGIDITY, BUREAUCRACY AND RED TAPISM

• The Nigerian public service is characterized by gross inflexibility,
which involves clinging to ”normal” practices. One of the major
impediments to quick action can be traced to excessive red
tapism.
• POOR REMUNERATION
• It is no more news that the wages and salaries of carrier public
servants in Nigeria is alarmingly low and has in fact continued to
decline over the years majorly due to a high rate of inflation and
other causes

• THE ”NATIONAL CAKE” MENTALITY

• The national cake mentality refers to the predominant belief that
Nigeria’s resources is a ‘national cake’ that is meant for sharing
among major ethnic groups.
• FEDERAL CHARACTER
• Federal character was put in place to ensure a fair
representation of every ethnic group and constituent in the
government of the nation. This is due to the vast diversity of the
nation. While many would argue that this is a good practice,
federal character makes it possible for mediocre people to be
picked just to give a region fair representation in government.

• POLITICIANS, NOT LEADERS/MANAGERS

• Most public office holders got their position because they
are/were politicians. They usually have no clue about leadership
or management and thus the country is left in the hands of
unqualified people.
• REPOSITIONING
• Building a virile and strong Institution
• Purposeful Leadership
• System and Process Reengineering
• Enhanced Remuneration Packages
• Investing In Human Capital Development
• Ethics and Value Enrichment
• Patriotism
• CONCLUSION
• Efficient, effective, mobile, accountable
Public Service with robust systems can
not be attained in an environment that
lacks cohesion, fairness and
accountability.