CORRUPTION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND SERVICE DELIVERY A Paper presentation at the
ROUNDTABLE ON REVIEW OF GOVERNANCE INDEX AND SECURITY IN NIGERIA
Held in
THE NATIONAL DEFENCE COLLEGE, NIGERIA
22ND MAY, 2013
Protocol
Introduction
The Public Sector in Nigeria is charged with the responsibility of providing goods and services, otherwise referred to as “public goods” in economics, to the public vis-à-vis the mandate of the ruling government and its administrative system. It is expected by the public, of the government, and through the public sector to judiciously harness the nation’s economic resources for the benefit of the public and the development of their communities particularly, and the nation
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The public sector being an economic agent, acts on behalf of the public to judiciously harness all economic resources for the benefit of all. Comprising of the Executive, the Judiciary, the Legislative, the Armed Forces, the Para-Military Organisations, the Police, the Ministries, the Public Enterprises (collectively referred to as Ministries, Departments and Agencies), the public sector refers to a system of government employees, elected or appointed that serve members of the public through the provision of goods and service. The term is also a generic name for both the civil service and the parastatals or public enterprises combined. It equally encompasses undertakings that engage in the provision of goods and services which the private sector may not be able to invest in. It is generally recognized that the public sector, as an instrument for carrying out government policies, has a vital role to play in the social and economic development of a country.
OVERVIEW OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN NIGERIA
The evolution of the Public Service was described by Maduabum (2006) thus; * The transfer of the central administration of Lagos, Gambia, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone to Freetown, Sierra Leone (1866-1874) * Lagos Colony was administered from Gold Coast (1874-1886) * Moloney was appointed Governor of Lagos (1886) * The Niger Coast Protectorate was merged with the territories of the Royal Niger Company (1889) * The
In the 1870s, Britain colonized Africa and its coasts for two main interests: gold and slaves. However, gold was limited and therefore, its quantity dried up. Soon enough, palm oil had become the “new gold” and played an immense part in Britain’s growing industrial production. The Gold Coast, in fact, had a long history of merchants and foreigners who seek to extract the many riches the land possessed. Specifically, the British had established its footing on the Gold Coasts through its advancements during the Industrial Revolution and drove out other European competitors. Slowly, Britain had gained control of the Gold Coasts and come to agreements with local rulers to remain independent, but conform to certain rules imposed by the British.
A private sector is usually composed of organisations which are privately owned and not part of a government; whereas a public sector is composed of organisations that are owned by the government and voluntary sectors are composed of individuals of who seek help in charitable activities. Private sectors include corporations such as partnerships and charities, like the voluntary sectors, and the public sectors include corporations such as federal, provincial, state or municipal governments. An example of a private sector is a retail store or credit unions, and example of a public sector is an educational or
A public sector business is a business that usually composed of organisations that are owned and operated by the government (PrivacySense2015).
The Progress movement or as many refer to as the Progressive era, was a time frame where Americans joined in varying groups to advocate reform across the United States. To elaborate, Progressives believed in widespread change for child labor, industrialization, government, racial reform, and women’s rights. Countless stories of corruption in these areas were brought to light in the Progressive era mostly due to the published writings of Muckrakers. Muckrakers, were journalists who wrote for popular magazines that attempted to expose corrupt political activities from their investigative journalism. Furthermore, I will discuss and compare these groups and their attempts for changes in the rights of child labor, women, acknowledgment of corrupt government practices, racial relations, and industrialization reform.
The Kingdom Ghana in western Africa flourished. Ghana gained control of the salt-and-gold trade (Doc. 2). This was important because Gold was used as a currency,
European imperialism in Africa was lead because of Africa’s raw materials and exportations and importations of the raw materials from Great Britain. Various African colonies, such as Angola, Congo-Free State, French West Africa, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Tanganyika contains useful resources, such as “palm oil” and “cotton” that are obtained for the manufacturing of “food products”, hygiene products, and textile. (Document D) Trevor Owen Lloyd demonstrates graph of the importations and exportations of the resources from south of the Sahara in Africa from Great Britain. And the increase in demand of the resources from “1854 to 1900”. (Document E) The raw materials and it’s importations and exportations of Africa has driven to European imperialism by creating connections from Europe to Africa, cause a more strategic way of recognizing Africa’s geography for colonization.
Africa was sold and shipped to the West Indies, and New Orleans. They were ruled
Be able to describe the East African trading centers PRIOR to the arrival of the Portuguese.
“. . . Forts built by the Portuguese and Dutch on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) were captured by the British in 1667” (“Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade”, NA), and later, “. . . New technologies and medicines . . . allowed the Europeans to pursue military and political power further into the interior” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103) The British fought to control the area specifically for the gold, and palm oil – an ingredient used for the production of soap, and as machine lubricant. “Second, the industrial Revolution enabled Britain in particular to enlarge its military and commercial power to the point that it was able to eventually drive the other European powers out of the region, with the Danish (1850) and Dutch (1871-1872) being the last to leave” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103). After Britain gained control of the region, new rules were placed into effect. Most Africans adapted to the sudden changes: becoming English-speaking Africans, accepting jobs from the British, trading with the British and even marrying British citizens. “It was this these men who tried to create European-style but independent states such as the Accra Confederation and who wrote a constitution for the Fante Confederation of 1873” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 106). Yet, despite these positive effects, negative effects also existed. In the 1670s, with sugar becoming high demand, the need for slaves increased. “. . . Europeans
Public sectors are government controlled services that provide for both basic and essential needs of the general community. The content of government sectors varies between countries, however in most countries these include Police, Health care, Fire brigade, Military, Public transport etc. (PrivacySense.net, 2014).
Public sector refers to the part of the economy concerned with providing essential government services. The public sector includes such services as a police, military public roads, primary education and healthcare for the poor.
The first was the weak sense of nationalism caused by all the ethnic groups where religion played a major part of the division. The main three ethnicities in Nigeria are Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo; the former is Muslim while the two latter are Christians. The second cause mentioned was the “divide and rule” which was a British tactic to employ ethnic groups against one another, and thus “helped ensure that ethnicity would be the main line of political cleavage after Nigeria became an independent country.” The third cause is the personal rule system based on “big men” and what this means is that Nigerian’s who worked for the British used their personal relationships to gain power and wealth, and in a certain way it is still used today in the Nigerian government. The fourth devastating cause was the “creation of an increasingly active and interventionist state during WWII and after until its independence in 1960, but that opened the doors to patronage, which would be used to gain political power and wealth. The past reveals the problems Nigeria has had for several decades, some of which have not disappeared but seem to get progressively worse. (CITATION)
agencies act as an administrator in the TPA model, but they act as a manager in the
When we examine public sector versus private sector, plenty of differences come to mind. In defining each, we learn a private sector in an economy consist of all businesses and firms owned by ordinary members of the general public. It also consists of all the private households in which people live. The public sector in an economy is owned and controlled by a government. It consist of government businesses and firms and goods and services provided by the government such as the national health service, state
In Nigeria, economic liberalization through deregulation and privatization, has been implemented for various reasons, such as the demand for efficient and effective Public Enterprises, reduction in external borrowing, stronger capital markets, and improve accountability, but most important of all, for generation of employment and sustainable livelihoods for the betterment of Nigerian welfare (World Bank, 2013).