Understanding Policy Domains their Salient Forces and Organisational Challenges

O. Chirawu

Description

Understanding Policy Domains, their Salient Forces, and Organisational Challenges examines the complexity of policy making processes within the context of human action arising from culture, life necessities, and politics. It provides an understanding of human, environmental and institutional behaviour, and identifies the policy factors that underline the success or failure of governments and institutions.

This book provides policy-makers, practitioners and other researchers in the field with a clear understanding of the process of policy-making and who is responsible for what. It sets the tone for academics and policy practitioners to confront the problems and challenges that countries face as they seek to improve governance and service delivery.

The author provokes debate on the cause and effect of past, present and future human actions, bringing into play the issues of honesty, transparency and political will. He promotes policy as a way towards achieving social harmony in the human struggle for survival.

User-friendly for both students and lecturers, as well as for researchers, government and NGO policy 'gurus', Understanding Policy Domains, their Salient Forces, and Organisational Challenges is also valuable for political parties whose members are often unaware of this important aspect of government responsibility.

Sujets

• Economic Policy
• Public Policy
• Political Science

Informations

• Publié par: University of Namibia Press
• Date de parution: 24 avril 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789991687070
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

7

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hŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ WŽůŝĐLJ ŽŵĂŝŶƐ͕ ƚŚĞŝƌ ^ĂůŝĞŶƚ &ŽƌĐĞƐ ĂŶĚ KƌŐĂŶŝƐĂ

Understanding POLICY DOMAINS their SALIENT FORCESand Organisational Ɵ ŽŶĂů ŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ Challenges

™ Tapera O. Chirawu

™

Tapera O. Chirawu

Understanding POLICY DOMAINS theirSALIENT FORCESand Organisational Challenges

Tapera O. Chirawu

ii

First Published: 2012 Uniersity of Namibia Press Priate Bag 13301 Windhoek Namibia

© Tapera O. Chirawu, 2012

All rights resered. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any               photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the author.

Language Editors:C. N. S. Shaimemanya & J. Katjaii Design and Layout:Printech, Windhoek Cover Design:  Printed by:Printech, Windhoek

ISBN:978-99916-870-0-1

Distributed internationally by the African Books Collectie: wwwafricanbookscollectie.com

For my wife, Maureen, our children

Tapera Jnr, Ngambo, and Tendayi,

and for our last born, Tarisayi Amurefu Chiyuka,

who consistently inspired me to write this book

iii

iv

CONTENTS

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................... viii

PREFACE...............................................................................................................................

1

2

3

4

ix

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 Fauna and Flora...................................................................................................... 3 Policy Causes............................................................................................................ 8 Time and Space........................................................................................................ 12 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 13 References................................................................................................................. 14

UNDERSTANDING THE SALIENT FORCES OF PUBLIC POLICY............. 17 The Past Experience................................................................................................. 19 Implications.............................................................................................................. 23 Intracommunity Levels.......................................................................................... 24 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 27 References................................................................................................................. 28

LIFE FACTORS AND POLICY PROCESS........................................................... 30 Societal Factors......................................................................................................... 30 National and Local Politics .................................................................................... 34 Personal Views......................................................................................................... 35 Private Sector............................................................................................................ 37 External Sector.......................................................................................................... 39 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 41 References................................................................................................................. 41

CONSTITUENCIES................................................................................................. 43 Culture....................................................................................................................... 43 Tradition.................................................................................................................... 44 Politics........................................................................................................................ 46 Time........................................................................................................................... 47 Quest for Development........................................................................................... 49 Technology................................................................................................................ 49 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 50 References................................................................................................................. 50

vi

5

6

7

Contents

POLICY PROCESS AND ORGANISATIONAL VIABILITY............................ 52 Perceptions................................................................................................................ 52 Coercion..................................................................................................................... 53 Political Action......................................................................................................... 55 Personal Integrity..................................................................................................... 55 Leadership and Operational Environment ......................................................... 56 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 61 References................................................................................................................. 61

POLICY PROCESS MAJOR CHALLENGES...................................................... 63 Lack of Information................................................................................................. 63 Limited Financial Resources.................................................................................. 65 Political Interventions............................................................................................. 66 Personal Agenda...................................................................................................... 66 Culture and Tradition............................................................................................. 67 Implied Commands................................................................................................. 70 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 71 References................................................................................................................. 71

THE WAY FORWARD............................................................................................. 73 Policy Initiatives........................................................................................................ 73 Political Honesty and Transparency..................................................................... 74 Involvement of Civil Society.................................................................................. 75 Borrowing from Past Experience........................................................................... 75 Social and Economic Development....................................................................... 76 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 76 References................................................................................................................. 77

8CONCLUSION....................................................................................................... 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................... 82 INDEX.................................................................................................................................... 87 ABOUT THE AUTHOR...................................................................................................... 93

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

vii

Many people contributed towards the writing of this book. Important to mention are my wife, Maureen, who initiated the idea and adised on the chapter seuencing; Dr C. N. S. Shaimemanya, who used her ast eperience as editor of theJournal of the Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA)         and Ms Jane Katjaii whose many years’ eperience in publishing was brought to bear. I sincerely thank them all, including Uniersity of  " #        % '        

viii

COMESA ECOWAS GNP HRMD KTDA MEC MRLGH MYNSSC NFSNC NPC OPEC SACU SADC UNO

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Common Monetary Area of Eastern and Southern Africa Economic Community of West African States Gross National Product Human Resources Management Department Kenya Tea Deelopment Authority Ministry of Education and Culture (Namibia) Ministry of Regional Local Goernment and Housing (Namibia) Ministry of Youth, National Serice Sport and Culture (Namibia) National Food Security and Nutrition Council (Namibia) National Planning Commission (Namibia) Organisation of Petroleum Eporting Countries Southern Africa Customs Union Southern Africa Deelopment Commission United Nations Organisation

PREFACE

ix

Policies are about human behaiour. They focus on access to and deliery of goods and serices, and aim to ensure human security. Their major natural domains are fauna and            group, and institutional programmes and objecties, dictated by human life necessities. These determine the contet of policy:

* *

*

      behaiour;  +  +        and tomorrow; and       /  behaiour, aimed     +   +

The past, the present and the future constitute salient forces of policy that largely determine political, social and economic policy actiities. These three elements of time eist in a symbiotic relationship, depicting a necessary incremental accumulation of knowledge and       # 

Societies need systems and instruments to produce and superise distribution of goods      <    %  /  with goernments’ intentions as per their constitutional mandate to achiee serice euity. Gien the multiplicity of policy causes that largely comprise depriations, threats  #   political challenges and promises, policy processes respond to social    #     + =     distinguish between internal and eternal causes, and between national and local causes as     #   

<    #         and challenges. Goernments and organisations need to understand these in order to strategically situate their operations and make them iable. The challenges prooke a      >      #  change, informed by past and present life eperiences and demands. Success reuires community or national consensus and commitment to the suggested policy programme. Personal perceptions of policy, political action, leadership integrity, and situational use of force, drie the process, which faces challenges of consensus, legitimacy, scarcity of resources, and sustainability. Neertheless, families, communities, organisations and     #        mandates.