Public Administration and Community Development
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to ascertain the efficacy of public administration and community development in Anambra state. But to aid the completion of the study, the researcher intend to achieve the following specific objective;
- To ascertain the effect of public administration to the economic growth of Anambra state
- To examine the role of public administration in community development in Anambra state
- To examine the relationship between public administration and community development in Anambra state
- To examine the impact of efficient public administration on the general well-being of the state
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
The increasing complexities and responsibilities of government within most polities of the world over the years have created, among others, intellectual excitement and attention about the study of governmental processes and structures. Thus, the study of public administration as a field of inquiry has homologically gained increasing attention in order to keep pace with the ever expanding administrative and policy functions of government and their accompanying demands on practical administration and the practitioners. This, in itself, has necessitated the need to understand in both theoretical and practical sense the concept of public administration. This being the case, this paper examines in a revisitational manner, the nature and scope of public administration and its relevance to the Nigerian political and administrative landscape giving due recognition to ecological factors. Public administration is a strategic factor in economic and social development. It influences and determines the success of any development plan, and is at the same time susceptible to deliberate social control and change. The inadequacy of administration in many developing countries is now recognized as a major obstacle to development, perhaps more serious an obstacle than the lack of capital or foreign aid. Herbert Emmerich, a noted scholar and administrator, estimates that 80 per cent of the plans of the world are incapable of being fulfilled because of administration. The term ‘development administration’ can be used in a broad sense, to em – brace the variety of approaches and points of view that mark the study of public administration in developing countries. Some writers have sought to assign a more restricted and precise meaning to the term, but their attempts have been arbitrary and conflicting. Some speak of ‘development administration’ in order to emphasize the inadequacy of the established discipline of ‘public administration’, others treat the field as merely an application of the traditional study; still others use the term with neither connotation. Some use the term in the sense of ‘the administration of development’; others are thinking of the development of administration; still others see these concepts as two sides of the same coin. Another important school of thought which studies the role and problems of administration in developing countries calls its field ‘comparative public administration’. The battle over meanings and labels is symptomatic of substantive differences in approach and outlook – which, we shall see, have important implications for planning. To some degree, all of the different approaches share a comparative point of view. Almost every writer who discusses a developing bureaucracy is at least implicitly holding up against it the Weberian image of the efficient, rational, functionally specialized, impersonal, non-political bureaucratic hierarchy, an image associated chiefly with the western industrialized nations.
THE CONCEPT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The performance of local governments has been receiving increasing attention in Nigeria over the past decades, from both academic and civil society sectors. All over the world and especially in Africa, local government is seen as a means of enhancing development and service delivery, improve governance and deepen democracy (Buccus,Hemson, Hicks and Piper, 2007). The National Guidelines for Reforms of Local Government (1976:1)in Nigeria defines Local Government as: Government at local levels exercised through representative councils established by law to exercise specific powers within defined areas. These powers should give the council substantial control over local affairs as well as staff and institutional and financial powers to initiate and direct the provision of services and so determine and implement projects so as to complement the activities of the state and federal Governments in their areas and to ensure through devolution of functions in these councils and through the active participation of the people and then traditional institutions that local initiative and response to local needs and conditions are maximized (cited in Bello, 1986:12).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to evaluate the efficacy of public administration and community development
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information for the study public administration and community development. 200 staff of ministry of environment was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
Sample and sampling procedure
Sample is the set people or items which constitute part of a given population sampling. Due to large size of the target population, the researcher used the Taro Yamani formula to arrive at the sample population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of public administration and community development.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of public administration and community development.
Summary
The central argument of this paper is that local government as the tier of government nearest to the people should play developmental roles, commencing from the communities. The paper interrogated local government administration in Nigeria, especially the fourth republic through the efficiency services theory which sees local government as an efficient agent for providing services that are local in character. Based essentially on secondary data, the analysis revealed that the performance of LGCs leaves more to be desired and that Nigerians are experiencing a raw deal with the governing elite at the third tier with possible generalisation to other tiers of governance as reflected in infrastructural deficits, sundry acts of mismanagement befuddled by avarice, corruption and kleptomania. The position of this paper is that a “theory to practice” policy approach underscored by the tenets of the Efficiency Services theory in which LGCs as an institution sees itself as an efficient agent of providing services to the local populace is pivotal to Nigeria’s aspiration for development. Partly through this, can community development become precursor and pedestal for national growth and development. To corroborate, local government can become proactive engines of wealth creation; poverty reduction; improved standard of living; social services delivery; socio-economic and political mobilisation and human capital accumulation through effective education functions.
Conclusion
The analysis and review in this paper up to this point have attempted to put into perspective the concept of public administration, its origin and the various challenges posed by its theoretical provisions to practical application in a country like Nigeria. In the process, we have equally argued that the features of the civil service (political neutrality, anonymity and permanence) have been difficult if not impossible to practically attained in Nigeria. This has been largely due to various ecological factors occasioned in part by the country’s slippery administrative terrains and cultural pluralism, which have militated against the spirit of National Loyalty in most cases. Moreover, it was argued that the choice of representative bureaucracy through quota system and the principle of federal character, and the prevalence of conflict of interest and political patronage in most cases, have adversely reduced the quality of Nigerian public administration. Thus, in our opinion, there is a need to re-orientate the entire citizenry and the public bureaucrats in particular to change and imbibe the principle of merit and non-partisanship when it comes to addressing the issues of socio-economic and political benefits in Nigeria to Nigerians and other Residents.
Recommendations
Haven completed the study, the following recommendations were proffered by the researcher;
There is a realistic need for synergy and collaborative approach to community development. A bottom-top strategy that harnesses local needs, wishes and aspirations will galvanise efforts for maximum impact.
Appropriate political and constitutional reforms that can enhance the autonomy of local governments is seriously canvassed. All portions of the constitution suggesting superintending roles of state governments on local governments, and specifically parts of section 162 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that ties LGCs allocation to state governments should be expunged.
LGCs should invigorate their extractive functions in order to boost internally generated revenues to enable them support community development initiatives and activities effectively.
The educative functions of local governments can be strengthened through improved information dissemination, management and enlightenment for participation in community development by the LGCs.
The appropriate agencies responsible for mobilisation, civic reorientation and election (National Orientation Agency and INEC) should continually improve citizen awareness; ensure credible and transparent process that can produce accountable and good leaders
The institutions and mechanisms saddled with ensuring rectitude and accountability in public governance should be re-invigorated. This has the tendency to reduce resource mismanagement, plunder and outright conversion of public funds to private advantage.
Reference
- Abubakar, H. (2010). Transparency and Accountability in Local Government Administration in Nigeria.National Workshop on the Local Government Structure and Potentials for Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria: Ibadan, 28th-30th ).
- Adamolekun, L. (2009). “Nigeria Notes: Governance and Development: An Overview”. Vanguard (February 25), Page 19.
- Adeyemi, O. (2012). “Corruption and Local Government Administration in Nigeria: A Discourse of Core Issues.” European Journal of Sustainable Development.Vol. 2, Pp.183-198.
- Afrobarometer, (2013).Public Opinion and Local Government in Nigeria. Briefing Paper No. 53, (December) Retrieved from :www.afrobarometer.org on September 25th, 2013.p.2.
- Agbo, A. (2010). Institutionalizing Integrity.Special Publication of Independent Corrupt Practices and Others Related offences commission.TELL(Nigeria’s Independent Weekly).(December.)p.
