Poli 364: Public Policy Process in Ghana Dr

POLI 364: PUBLIC POLICY PROCESS IN GHANA DR. EVANS AGGREY-DARKOH COURSE OVERVIEW Welcome to the course: Public Policy Process in Ghana. It is a very important course and I am happy that you have signed up for it. Please note that policy studies often focus on how policies are made rather than on their content or their cause and consequences. The study of how policies are made generally considers a series of activities, or processes, that occur within the political system. The implication of this process model is that policy making occurs in identifiable stages and that each stage can be examined separately. Public policy process in Ghana like any other country is essentially a complex and multi-layered one. You need to know that policy process is essentially a political process. It is a complex political process in which there are many actors: politicians, pressure groups, civil servants, publicly employed professionals, and even people who see themselves as passive recipients of policy. In this course our concentration is on the how public policies are made in Ghana, the contributions of the various actors in the policy process and the factors that undermine the crafting of enduring public policies and programmes in Ghana. Public policies in a modern, complex society are indeed ubiquitous. They confer advantages and disadvantages, causes pleasure, irritation, and pain, and collectively have important consequences for our well-being and happiness. Specifically, the following topics will engage our attention. Unit 1: The Concept of Public Policy Unit 2: The Policy Process Unit 3: Constitutional Basis of Public Policies in Ghana Unit 4: The Civil Service and Public Policy Making in Ghana Unit 5: Actors in the Policy process in Ghana-participant in the process Unit 6: The Budgetary Process in Ghana

Objectives

At the end of the course, you should be able to:  Explain public policy discuss the differences between policy, decision and programme  Outline the public process in Ghana  Examine the constitutional basis of public policies within the machinery of government  Discuss the phenomenal role of the public bureaucracy in the formulation and implementation of public policies  Identify and discuss the contributions of official and non-official actors to the policy making process  Examine the budgetary process in Ghana

Unit 1: The Concept of Public Policy Introduction Welcome to unit 1 of this course: The Concept of Public Policy. In the course of our daily lives, people are affected, directly and indirectly, obviously and subtly, by an array of public policies. Take for instance, when a care is bought, the laws of Ghana requires that it is registered with the Driver and Licensing Authority. The Car is expected to have certain safety equipments, spare tyre, fire extinguisher, etc. State policy expects the car to have a valid insurance sticker, road worthy certificate and the driver is expected to have a valid driver’s license. In this unit, I am going to introduce you to the concept of public policy, its varied definitions, characteristics, the reasons for studying public policy, questions in policy analysis, policy analysis and policy advocacy and the category of public policies in Ghana. Objectives

At the end of this unit you are expected to:  State and explain the various definitions of public policy  Discuss the various characteristics public policies  Outline the reasons for studying public policies  Examine the key questions posed in policy analysis  Outline the difference between policy analysis and policy advocacy  Discuss the various category of public policies in Ghana

Section 1: What is Public Policy? Introduction Welcome to section 1 of unit 1. The subject matter of public policy has been given varied interpretations. There is no universally acclaimed definition of what is meant by the term public policy. The field of public studies is filled different definitions of public policy. In this section, I am going to introduce you to a variety of definitions given to public policy. it is interesting to note that public policy is the course of action or inaction taken by a government in response to problems in a society. Objectives

At the end of this section, you should be able to:  State and explain Thomas Dye’s definition of public policy  Explain James Anderson’s definition of public policy  Discuss Yehezkel Dror’s definition of public policy  Discuss the other definitions of public policy.

The definitions of Public Policy To explain how policy is made provides a good guide to how a political system operates as a whole. In other words, policy brings together different aspects of a political system and the

2 various political issues and concepts. To understand how policy is made in one country as opposed to another is to understand that country’s specific political characteristics, including the interactions of its political system with other systems such as its social and economic environments. Policy also helps us to study the way in which these characteristics come together and are integrated through processes of decision-making and the implementation of policy. (Axford, Browning, Higgins and Rosamond, 2002:443). We talk of policy in general way. We hear people ask, why don’t politicians do something about that problem? why did the government make that decision?, I am going to stop the government doing that. They are all referring to policy, whether it relates to how issues get put on the political agenda, how policy is formulated, who makes the key decisions and how they are implemented, or why some policies seem to fail and others evolve and are modified. Essentially, policy is about three processes:

 The intentions of political and other key actors,  The way decisions or non-decision are made,  The consequences of these decisions. You need know that in academic studies of policy, we offer definitions of public policy to understand the shape of the field we seek to study. For many people, defining public policy helps them define their own roles in policy making, as well as that of the organization they work for. There exist a plethora of definitions of public policy. You must however note that the difference in the definition is mater of semantics rather than substantive. Let us consider some of the definitions of public policy. The concept of policy is central to our understanding of the way we are governed. The impact of government on the welfare of the people is discussed as a “social policy”. Experts in climate or land use or air quality organize their knowledge as an agenda of concern for government as a contribution to the making of “environmental policy”. The term policy therefore implies something broader than simply ‘what the government wants to do’. It is important for you to know some of the key definitions of public policy. Thomas Dye’s Definition of Public Policy Thomas Dye has defined public policy as “whatever government chooses to do or not to do”. It involves both actions and inactions of government. This definition appears very simple as it encapsulate every aspect of governmental behavior from purchasing or failing to purchase paper clips to waging or failing to wage nuclear war, and thus provides no means of separating the trivial from the significant aspects of government activities (Hewlett and Ramesh 1995:4). Governments do many things in the state. They regulate conflict within the society, they organize society to carry on conflict with other societies; they distribute a great variety of symbolic rewards and material services to members of the society, and they extract money from society, most often in the form of taxes. Thus, public policies regulate behavior, organize bureaucracies, and distribute benefits etc (Thomas R. Dye 1987: 2). Public policy involves both action and inaction. Inaction becomes a policy when officials decline to act on a problem. That is, when they decide an issue negatively. This choice differs from non-action on a matter that has not become a public issue, has not been brought to official attention, and has not been considered or debated.

Two basic merits of Dye’s definition have been identified. First, Dye specifies clearly that the agent of policy-making is government. This means that private business decisions, decisions by charitable organizations, interest groups, individuals or other social groups are not public policy. Second, Dye highlights the fact that public policies involve fundamental choice on the part of governments to do something or to do nothing. To Thomas Dye, public policy at it most simple is a choice made by government to undertake some course of action. The difficulty we have to contend with is the non-decision of government which is also characterized as public policy. That is the government decision to do nothing, or not to create a new policy, or simply to maintain the status quo. In each of the above options, there should be a deliberate decision to pursue a specific course of action.

James E. Anderson’s Definition of Public Policy According to James Anderson public policy is “a relatively stable, purposive course of action or inaction followed by an actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern” (Anderson 2011:6). Unlike Thomas Dye’s definition, this definition focuses on what is actually done instead of what is only proposed or intended; differentiates a policy from a decision, which is essentially a specific choice among alternatives; and views policy as something that unfolds over time. To Anderson, public policies are developed by governmental bodies and officials. Note that non-governmental actors and factors may of course influence public policy development. There are several implications of this definition. First, the definition links policy to purposive or goal-oriented action rather than to random behavior or chance occurrences. Public policies in modern political systems do not just happen. They are instead designed to accomplish specified goals or produce definite results, although these are not always achieved. The goal of a policy may be loosely stated and imprecise in content, thus providing a general direction rather than precise targets for its implementation. Secondly, policies consist of courses or patterns of action followed over time by governmental officials rather than their separate, discrete decisions. Thirdly, public policies emerge in response to policy demands, or those claims for action or inaction on some public issue made by other actors-private citizens, group representative, or legislators and other public officials-upon government officials and agencies. Fourthly, policies involve what governments actually do, not merely what they intend to do or what officials say they are going to do. If legislature enacts a law requiring employers to pay no less than a stated minimum wage, but nothing is done to enforce the law, and subsequently little change occurs in economic behavior, it seems reasonable to contend that public policy actually takes the form of non-regulation of wages. Finally, public policy is based on law and is authoritative. Members of the society usually accept as legitimate the facts that taxes must be paid, import controls must be obeyed, and highway speed limits must be complied with, unless one wants to run the risk of fines, jail sentences, or other legally imposed sanctions or disabilities. Thus public policy has authoritative, legally coercive quality that the policies of private organizations do no have (Anderson 2011:9). Yehezkel Dror’s definition of Public Policy Perhaps the well known definition of public policy is the one offered by Yehezkel Dror. He defines public policy as “a very complex and dynamic process whose various components make

4 different contributions to it, it designs major guidelines for action directed at the future mainly by governmental organs. These guidelines and policies formally aim at achieving what is in the public interest by the best possible means”. It is a conscious goal-selecting process undertaken by governmental actors in the decision making systems which includes the identification of the means of achieving such goals. From the above definitions, it is worth emphasizing that public policy is very dynamic-it is a never ending process. Public policy may be considered as a policy developed and pursued under the authority of government. An important aspect of this process is that the decisions made must be in principle within the capabilities of the main actors to achieve. This definition is not restricted to actions only but includes inactions as well, that is, the decision not to do anything. Similarly, it is generally agreed that policy involves more than one decision. What this suggests is that public policy should not be conceived of as an isolated, single act, but as a dynamic social process which may be an aggregation of numerous smaller decisions which run over time and in which what is perceived as the final decision could mark not the end, but the beginning of a much wider processes of alternatives considerations. This fact partially explains the difficulty of finding a single, neat phrase to define policy. The differing definitions only indicate that studying public policy in a particular area is a very difficult task. It cannot be accomplished simply by going through the officials records of government decision-making found in such forms as laws, acts, regulations and promulgations (Anderson 2011:8). Fifthly, a public policy may be either positive or negative. Some form of overt governmental action may deal with a problem on which action is demanded (positive), or governmental officials may decide to do nothing on some matter on which government involvement was sought (negative). In other words, government can follow a policy of laissez-faire, or hands off, either generally or on some aspect of economic activity. Such inaction may have major consequences for a society or some groups. Key assumptions of Public Policy The idea of policy usually rests on three core assumptions about social order. These are instrumentality, hierarchy and coherence (Colebatch 2002: 8). The first assumption of policy is instrumentality- that organization in general and public organizations in particular, is to be understood as a device for the pursuit of particular purposes. We understand an organization be asking ‘what are its objectives’? and a successful organization is one which achieves its objectives. In this perspective, public organizations exist to achieve objectives in particular areas. These objectives may be fairly broadly stated (youth employment), or be more specific (the work relevance of the Senior High School curriculum).They may change over time and place, and the goals may be more or less clearly stated, but policy is to be understood in terms of objectives and the way to achieve them. The second assumption is hierarchy: that the governing flows from people at the top giving instructions. This is an important part of the validation of organizational activity: that it is seen as flowing from the decisions of leaders with authority. What the organization does is explained with reference back to visible choices of these leaders. Policy is seen as an authoritative determination of what will be done in some particular area, so that the various participants do not

5 each go their own way, whether it is the different offices of one organization or different organizations within the broad framework of government. So the policy process is concerned with securing the endorsement of a single course of action. This is seen as being done by the government or the authority of the state, but in each case, there is a sense of a central nervous system of public authority, which decides on a course of action and communicates it down the line. The third assumption of a policy is coherence. This is the assumption that all the bits of the action fit together and form part of an organized whole, a single system, policy in this context, has to do with how this system is or should be steered. This is an assumption which rests on its inherent value more than on the experience of the participants, for whom coherence is not so much one of the attributes of policy as one of the central problems.

Activity 1.1 State and explain Thomas Dye’s definition of public policy ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Explain relevance of Y. Dror’s definition of public policy. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Identify and explain the main assumptions of a policy in a state ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary I am happy that you have successfully completed section one of unit 1. In this section I have introduced you to three important definitions of public policy. You have learnt that public policies are developed by governmental bodies and officials. You have noted that public policy involves both action and inaction of government and that it is goal oriented. The section also dealt with the key assumptions of policy which are instrumentality, hierarchy and coherence. Now let us turn to the characteristic of public policies.

Section 2: characteristics of Public policy Introduction Welcome to section 2 of unit 1: Characteristics of Public Policy. In section 1, you were introduced to the varied definitions of public policy. Effort was also made to unpack the definitions and explain their ramifications. In this section, I want you to fully understand the key peculiarities of public policy so that you can differentiate it from the policy of an individual or a group. The section also explains the differences between a decision, policy and a programme.

Objectives

At the end of this section, you are expected to:  Explain the relevance of delineating the core boundaries of public policy  Identify and explain the main features of public policy  Differentiate between a policy, decision and a programme

Yehezkel Dror in his book, Public Policy Making Re-examined has identified 11 characteristics of public policy as follows: First, public policy is very complex because it involves many components who are interconnected by communication and feedback loops and which interact in different ways. Some parts of the process are explicit and directly observable, but many others proceed by hidden channels that the actors themselves are often only partly aware of and that are very difficult, and often impossible, to observe. Thus, guidelines are formed by a series of single decisions that result in a policy without some of the decision makers being aware of that process. Secondly, public policy is a dynamic process, that is, a continuous activity taking place within a structure. To be sustained, it requires a continuous input of resources and motivation. It is a dynamic process, which changes with time, the sequences of its sub-processes and phases vary internally and with respect to each other. Thirdly, public policy involves the multiplicity of various components, structures and substructures. The identity of the structures and substructures and the degree of their involvement in policy making, vary among different issues, times, and societies. The structures and sub-structures mostly involved in policy making constitute the political institutions or political system of a society. Fourthly, the various structures and substructures make different contributions and sometimes unique contributions to public policy. What sort of contribution substructures make depends in part on their formal and informal characteristics, which vary from society to society. Furthermore public policy involves decision making that is, making a conscious choice between or among two or more alternatives. It is thus an aggregative form of decision making. Again, public policy, in most cases, lays down general directives, rather than detailed instructions on the main lines of action to be followed. After the main lines of action have been

7 decided on, detailed sub policies that translate the general policy into more concrete terms are usually needed to execute it. In addition public policy is action-oriented and results in external action, in changes in the decision-maker himself/herself, or in both. Furthermore, public policy is directed at the future. This is one of its most important characteristics, since it introduces the ever-present elements of uncertainty and doubtful prediction that establish the basic tone of nearly all policy making. In particular, because the future is uncertain, actual policy making tends to formulate policies in vague and elastic terms, to be continuous, so as to adjust policy to whatever the new facts may be. It is also important to note that public policy is mainly conducted by governmental organizations and institutions. One of the differences between making private policy and making public policy is that the latter mainly concerns actions to be taken by governmental organs. Of course, this is a matter of degree, public policy is also directed in part at private persons and non-governmental organizations and structures, as well as it calls for a law prohibiting a certain type of behavior a appeals to citizens to engage in private savings e.g. financial literacy week etc. but public policy, in most cases, is primarily directed at governmental organs, and only intermediately or secondarily at other sectors. Interestingly, public policy formally aims at achieving what is in the public interest. Even regimes whose real aim is, for example, to enrich a small oligarchy or to perpetuate the power of a dictator try to establish legitimacy, and gain the support or at least the acquiescence of the population, by presenting and explaining their policies in terms of the public interest. The term public interest appears nebulous and it generally conveys the idea of a general as opposed to sectional orientation and seems therefore to be important. The image of public interest as held in good faith by major policy makers has a tremendous influence on the public policy making process, and is therefore, at least as conceived by the various public policy making units, a real phenomenon, and an important operational tool for the study of policy making. Finally, public policy making formally aims at not only achieving what is in the public interest but also at doing by the best possible means. Public policy making aims at achieving the maximum net benefit (public interest achieved less cost of achievement). Benefits and cost take in part the form of realized values and impaired values, respectively, and cannot in most cases be expressed in commensurate units.

Differences between Policy and a decision Decision is a conscious choice between two or more alternatives. The assumption is that there are more alternatives. A policy on the other hand is a purposive course of action or inaction which is followed by an actor or a set of actors in dealing with a matter of concern. It is goal- oriented. Policy involves actions and inactions of governments. The objective is to solve social, economic and political problems in the state. From the two definitions the terms decision and policy may be used interchangeably, consequently some scholars have often overlooked the distinction between the two terms. There are however three differences between them. These are:

First, a policy is larger than a decision. Policy usually involves a series of more specific decisions sometimes in a more rational sequence. Does Ghana have energy policy? Does Ghana have a security policy? These policies if they exist will consist of series of decisions about the energy and national security sectors of the country. Secondly, a policy has wider ramifications and a longer time perspective than a decision. This is because a decision tends to be restricted to routine and repetitive matters of concern. If you decide to wear a smock this morning, it is a decision. Finally, the concept of a decision is often associated with a decision maker. The latter may be seen as an individual, a group or a particular organization. However, the study of a policy involves multiple interactions between many individuals, organizations and groups. Consequently, the whole concept of decision making may occasionally be challenged when it seems that events and the larger environment have forced a particular policy direction upon the agencies of government. Differences between Policy and Programme Policy is a broad statement of the goals, objectives and means, while a programme consist of the actions taken to achieve the ends of the objectives. It is apparent then that a variety of programmes may be developed in response to the same objectives or policy goals. The ends and means often go together. The problem with developing countries including Ghana is that in most cases very good policies are developed with laudable ends but no conscious effort is made at the time of the design of the policy to figure out the means with which such objectives are going to be realized. This inevitably leads to implementation nightmares. It is important to note that ends are predetermined by the means. The distinction between policy and a programme is however difficult to maintain in practice. It is obscured by the variety of levels at which the term policy is often used. For instance a policy may go through successive stages at which objectives are defined more precisely. A general statement that the health policy of a government is to improve the health care delivery of the people may be translated into a policy of providing health centers, hospitals, clinics, health posts etc in towns and villages and equipping them with drugs, equipment and personnel. This may be translated into a policy of full cost recovery or a mutual health insurance scheme. It must be noted that the terms policy and programme are sometimes used interchangeably.

Activity 1.2 1. State and explain any four features of a public a public policy ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2. Outline the main differences between a policy, decision and a programme ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary Well done for completing section 2 of unit 1. You have learnt that public policy is a goal- oriented behavior, futuristic and involves several governmental actors. The section also introduced you to the differences between a policy, a programme and a decision. You learnt that a policy is a broad statement of the goals, objectives and means, while a programme consist of the actions taken to achieve the ends of the objectives. You also noted that a decision is a conscious choice between two or more alternatives.

Section 3: Reasons for studying Public Policies Introduction Welcome to section 3 of unit 1: Reasons for Studying Public Policies. As you have noted from the previous discussions, public policies affect the life of every single individual in the state. It is therefore important for you to know why you must study public policy. The understanding of this section will prove invaluable as you delve into other sections of this course so I encourage you to pay attention to the section. Objectives

At the end of this section, you are expected to:  Outline the place of public policy in political science  Explain the main reasons for studying public policy

Political Science and Public Policy Political Science, is the study of government and its institutions. It is the study of politics-the study of who gets what when and how. It is more than the study of governmental institutions that is unitary system of government, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, the powers and duties of Parliament, the president and the courts among others. Traditional Political Science focuses primarily on these institutional arrangements as well as the philosophical justification of government. Political Science is more than the study of political processes, that is, campaigns and elections, voting, lobbying, legislating, and adjudicating. Modern behavioural Political Science focuses primarily on these processes (Dye 1998: 4).

Political Science is also the study of public policy. Here its main focus is the description and explanation of the causes and consequences of government activity. This focus involves a description of the content of public policy; an analysis of the impact of social, economic, and political forces on the content of public policy; an enquiry into the effect of various institutional arrangements and political processes on public policy; and an evaluation of the consequences of public policies on society, both intended and unintended (Dye 1998: 5). Reasons for the Study of Public Policies Public policy can be studied for a variety of reasons. Firstly, public policy can be studied for scientific understanding. Understanding the causes and consequences of public policy decisions improves our knowledge of society. Policy study helps us learn about the linkages between social and economic conditions in society, the responses of the political system to these conditions, and the effects, if any, of government activities on these conditions. Policy studies incorporate the ideas and methods of economic, sociology, psychology, history, law and public administration, as well as political science. It adds to the breadth, significance, reliability, and theoretical development of the social science generally (Dye 1998: 6). Secondly, policy study can be done for professional advice. Policies can be studied for professional reasons. Understanding the causes and consequences of public policy, permits us to apply social science knowledge to the solution of practical problems. Factual knowledge is a prerequisite to prescribing for the ills of society. If certain ends are desired, the question of what policies would best implement them is a factual question requiring scientific study. In other words, policy studies can produce professional advice, in terms of “if then……statements”, about how to achieve desired goals. Government agencies, as well as private policy research organizations (think tanks), are usually more concerned with the practical application of knowledge about policy than with the development of scientific theory (Dye 1998: 6). Finally, public policy can be studied for political purposes. This is done to ensure that the nation adopts the right policies to achieve the right goals. It is frequently argued that political science should not be silent or impotent in the face of great social and political crises and that political scientist have moral obligation to advance specific public policies. An exclusive focus on institutions, processes, or behaviours is frequently looked on as dry, irrelevant and amoral because it does not direct attention to the really important policy questions facing the Ghanaian society. Policy studies can be understood not only for scientific and political reasons purposes but also to inform political discussions, advance the level of political awareness, and improve the quality of public policy. You must remember that these are very subjective purposes-Ghanaians do not always agree on what constitutes the “right” policies or the “right goals”- but we will assume that knowledge is preferable to ignorance, even in politics (Dye 1998: 5). Activity 1.3 Explain the utility of a rigorous study of public polices ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Well done for completing this important segment of this course. You have learnt that the study of public policy is an important component of political science. It is mainly concerned with the description and explanation of the causes and consequences of government activity. You have learnt that we study policy for scientific, professional and political purposes. Let us now turn our attention to some of the key questions in policy analysis.

Section 4: Policy Analysis and Policy Advocacy Introduction You are warmly welcome to section 4 of unit 1: Policy Analysis and Policy Advocacy. In your study of public policy, one key area that you must be interested in is policy analysis. Here I am interested in you finding out what governments do, why they do it, and what difference, if any, it makes to the society as a whole.

Objectives At the end of this section, you should be able to:  Explain policy analysis  Account for the procedures in policy analysis  Explain the differences if any between policy analysis and policy advocacy.

Policy Analysis Defined The term policy analysis is variously defined. According to James Anderson, public policy analysis is “the examination and description of the causes and consequences of public policies” (Anderson 2011:10). Beckerman sees public policy analysis as “the systematic investigation of alternative policy options and of the assembly and integration of the evidence for and against each option”. According to Weimer and Vining (1992), policy analysis is a client-oriented advice to public decisions and informed by social values”. In fine, public policy analysis is the activity of creating knowledge of and in the policy making process. In creating knowledge of the public policy making process, policy analysts investigate the causes, consequences, and performance of public policies and programmes. Such knowledge remains incomplete, however, unless it is made available to policy makers and the public they are obligated to serve. Only when knowledge of is linked to knowledge in can members of the legislature, executive and judicial bodies, along with citizens who have a stake in public decisions use the results of policy analysis to improve the policy-making process and its performance. Because the effectiveness of policy making depends upon access to the stock of available knowledge, the communication and use of

12 policy analysis are central to the practice and theory of public policy making (Weimer and Vining 1992: 1). The product of policy analysis is advice. It may simply be as simple as a statement linking a proposed action to a likely result: passage of bill A will result in consequence X. it may also be more comprehensive and quite complex: passage of bill A, which can be achieved with the greatest certainty through legislative strategy S, will result in aggregate social costs of C and aggregate cost B, but with a disproportionate costs for group one and disproportionate benefits for group two. At whatever extremes of depth and breadth, policy analysis is intended to inform some decisions, either implicitly (A will result in X) or explicitly (support A because it will result in X, which is good for you, your constituency, or your country) (Weimer and Vining 1992: 1)

Procedures of Policy Analysis The methodology of policy analysis incorporates five general procedures that are common to most efforts at human problem solving: definition, prediction, prescription, describing and evaluation. In policy analysis these procedures have been given special names as follows: The first is problem structuring. This yields information about the conditions giving rise to a policy problem. Problem structuring can supply policy-relevant knowledge that challenges the assumptions underlying the definition of problems reaching the policy-making process through agenda setting. Problem structuring can consist in discovering hidden assumptions, diagnosing causes, mapping possible objectives, synthesizing conflicting views, and designing new policy options. The second is forecasting. Forecasting can provide policy-relevant knowledge about future states of affairs which are likely to occur as a consequences of adopting alternatives, including doing nothing, that are under the consideration at the phase of policy formulation. Forecasting can examine the plausible, potential, and normatively valued futures, estimate the consequences of existing a proposed policies, specify probable future constraints on the achievement of objectives, and estimate the political feasibility (support and opposition) of different option. The third step is recommendation. Recommendation yields policy-relevant knowledge about the benefits and costs of alternatives the future consequences of which have been estimated through forecasting, thus aiding policy makers in the policy adoption stage. Recommendation helps estimate levels of risk and uncertainty, identify externalities and spillovers, specify criteria for making choices, and assign administrative responsibility for implementing policies. The fourth step is monitoring. Monitoring provides policy-relevant knowledge about the consequently of previously adopted policies, thus assisting policy makers in the policy implementation phase. Many agencies regularly monitor the outcomes and impacts of policies by means of various policy indicators in areas of health, education, housing, welfare, crime, and science and technology. Monitoring helps to assess degrees of compliance, discover unintended consequences of policies and programmes, identify implementation obstacles and constraints, and locate sources of responsibility for departures from policies. The final step is evaluation. Evaluation yields policy-relevant knowledge about the discrepancies between expected and actual policy performance, thus assisting policy makers in the assessment

13 phase of the policy-making process. Monitoring not only results in conclusion about the extent to which problems have been alleviated, it also may contribute to the clarification and critique of values driving a policy, aid in the adjustment or reformulation of policies, and establish a basis for restructuring problems. A good example of evaluation is the type of analysis that contributes to the clarification, critique, and debate of values by challenging the dominant mode of technical reasoning which underlies environmental policies in parts of the world. Characteristics/Feature of Policy Analysis According to Thomas Dye, public policy analysis involves the following characteristics (Thomas Dye 1998:8). Firstly, a primary concern with explanation rather than prescription. Policy recommendations, if they are made at all, are subordinate to description and explanation. There is an implicit judgment that understanding is a prerequisite to prescription, and that understanding is best achieved through careful analysis rather than rhetoric or polemics. Secondly, there is a rigorous search for the causes and consequences of public policies. This search involves the use of scientific standards of inference. Sophisticated quantitative may be useful in establishing valid inferences about causes and consequences, but they are not really essential. Finally, there is an effort to develop and test general propositions about the causes and consequences of public policy and to accumulate reliable research findings of general relevant. The object is to develop general theories about public policy that are reliable and that apply to different government agencies and different policy issues. Policy analysts prefer to develop explanations that fit more than one decision or case study, that is, explanations that stand the test of time in a variety of settings.

Preparation for Policy Analysis Policy analysis is as much an art and a craft as a science. Just as the successful portraitist must be able to apply the skills of the craft of painting within an aesthetic perspective, the successful policy analyst must be able to apply basic skills within a reasonably consistent and realistic perspective on the role of government in society. In order to integrate effectively the art and craft of policy analysis, preparations in five areas is essential (Weimer and Vining 1992: 12-13) First, analyst must know how to gather, organize, and communicate information in situations where deadlines are strict and access to relevant people is limited. They must be able to develop strategies for quickly understanding the nature of policy problems and the range of possible solutions. They must also be able to identify, at least qualitatively, the likely costs and benefits of alternative solutions and communicate these assessments to their clients. Second, analysts need a perspective for putting perceived social problems in context. When is it legitimate for government to intervene in private affairs? It can be argued that the government can intervene when there is market failure-a situation where the pursuit of private interests does not lead to an efficient use of society’s resources or fair distribution of society’s goods.

Third, analysts need technical skills to enable them to predict better and to evaluate more confidently the consequences of alternative policies. The disciplines of economics, political science and statistics serve as primary sources of these skills. Fourth, analysts must have an understanding of political and organizational behavior in order to predict, and perhaps influence, the feasibility of adoption and successful implementation of policies. Also, understanding the worldviews of clients and potential opponents enables the analyst to marshal more effectively evidence and arguments. Finally, analyst should have an ethical framework that explicitly takes account of their relationships to clients. Analysts often face dilemmas when the private preferences and interests of their clients diverge substantially from their own perceptions of the public interest.

Activity 1.4 What is policy analysis? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Explain the main procedure for policy analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Once again you have successfully completed this section with a lot of commitment. Well done. In this section you have been introduced to the dynamics of policy analysis as a prelude to the discussion on the relationship between policy analysis and policy advocacy. You noted that policy analysis is the examination and description of the causes and consequences of public policies. We discussed the main procedures for undertaking a policy analysis, it characteristics of and the preparation one has to do in order to succeed as a policy analyst.

Section 5: Policy Analysis and Policy Advocacy Introduction You are welcome to section 5 of unit 1: Policy analysis and Policy advocacy. Since you have covered policy analysis in section 4, it is important for you to fully understand the relationship between policy analysis and policy advocacy.

Objectives

At the end of this section, you should be able to:  Differentiate between policy analysis and policy advocacy  Explain the procedures of public policy analysis  Discuss some basic questions in policy analysis

Policy Analysis and Policy Advocacy It is important to distinguish policy analysis from policy advocacy. Explaining the causes and consequences of various policies is not equivalent to prescribing what policies government ought to pursue. Learning why governments do what they do and what the consequences of their action is not the same as saying what government ought to do or bringing about changes in what they do (Thomas Dye 1998:8). Policy advocacy requires the skills or rhetoric, persuasion, organization and activism. Policy analysis on the other hand, encourages scholars and students to attack critical policy issues with the tools of systematic enquiry. There is an implied assumption in policy analysis that developing scientific knowledge about the forces shaping public policy and the consequences of policy designs is itself a socially relevant activity and that such analysis is a prerequisite to prescription, advocacy and activism. In short, policy analysis might be labeled the “thinking man’s response” to demands that social science become more relevant to the problems of society. Public policy analysis is thus a demanding exercise which public servants must undertake. Policy analysts are wide ranging in their consideration of factors that might influence policies. They examine traits of administrative agencies and other official bodies, the level of economic development or the political culture which exist in an agency’s clients, and historical experiences (Thomas Dye 1998:8). Procedures for Policy Analysis The methodology of policy analysis incorporates five (5) general procedures that are common to most efforts at human problem solving. These include; definition, prediction, prescription, description and evaluation. In policy analysis these procedures have been given special names which are explained below: Problem Structuring/ Definition-This yields information about the conditions giving rise to a policy problem. Problem restructuring can supply policy –relevant knowledge that challenges the assumption underlying the definition of problems reaching the policy-making process through the agenda setting. Problem structuring can consist of in discovering hidden assumptions, diagnosing causes, mapping possible objectives, synthesizing conflicting views and designing new policy options. Forecasting- Forecasting can provide policy-relevant knowledge about future state of affairs which are likely to occur as a consequence of adopting alternatives, including doing nothing, that are under consideration at the phase of policy formulation. Forecasting can examine the

16 plausible, potential, and normatively valued features, estimates the consequences of existing and proposed policies; specify probable future constraints on the achievement of objectives, and estimate the political feasibility (support and opposition) of different options. Recommendations-Recommendation yields policy-relevant knowledge about the benefits and costs of alternatives in the future consequences of which have been estimated through forecasting, thus aiding policy makers in the policy adoption phase. Recommendation helps estimates levels of risks and uncertainty, identify externalities and spillovers, specify criteria for making choices, and assign administrative responsibilities for implementing policies. Monitoring- Monitoring provides policy-relevant knowledge about the consequences of previously adopted policies, thus assisting policy makers in the policy implementation phase. Many agencies regularly monitor the outcomes and impacts of policies by means of various policy indicators in areas of health, education, housing, welfare, crime, and science and technology. Monitoring helps to assess degrees of compliance, discover unintended consequences of policies and programmes, identify implementational obstacles and constraints, and locate sources of responsibility for departures from policies. Evaluation- Evaluation yields policy-relevant knowledge about discrepancies between expected and actual policy performance, thus assisting policy makers in the policy assessment phase of the policy-making process. Monitoring not only results in conclusions about the extent to which problems have been alleviated; it also may contribute to the clarification and critique of values driving a policy, aid in the adjustment or reformulation of policies, and establish a basis for restructuring problems. A good example of evaluation is the type of analysis that contributes to the clarification, critique, and debates of values by challenging the dominant mode of technical reasoning which underlies environmental policies in parts of the world. Basis Questions in Policy Analysis What can we learn about public policy? First of all, we can describe public policy-we can learn what government is doing (and not doing) in welfare, defense, education, health, energy, water supply, and so on. A factual basis of information about national policy is really an indispensable part of everyone’s education (Thomas Dye 1987:6). Second, we can inquire about the causes, or determinants, of public policy. why is public policy what it is? Why do governments do what they do? We might inquire about the effects of political institutions, processes and behaviours on public policies. Does it make any difference in tax and spending levels whether the NDC or NPP control Parliament and the Presidency? What is the impact of the activities of interest groups on parliament? etc. Third, we can inquire about the consequences, or impacts, of public policy. What difference, if any does public policy makes in people’s lives? We inquire about the effects of public policy on political institutions and processes. All these questions are interrelated. You need to think of the policy analysis as a series of questions about the relationship, or linkages, between social and economic conditions, characteristics of political systems, and the content of public policy (Thomas Dye 1987:6).

Activity 1.5 1. State any two differences between policy analysis and policy advocacy 2. Explain any two questions usually addressed by policy analysts 3. Critique the procedure of policy analysis

Summary Congratulations for completion yet another section of unit I. I have introduced you to the main difference between policy analysis and policy advocacy. I indicated that while policy analysis is concerned with knowing the causes and consequences of policies, policy advocacy involves the analyst pressing specific options and ideas in the policy process, either individually, or in association with others, perhaps through a pressure group. Procedures including problem structuring, forecasting, monitoring and evaluation have also been explained. We finally addressed some of the fundamental questions in policy analysis.

Section 6: Category of Public Policies Introduction Welcome to section 6 of unit 1: Category of Public Policies. Be informed that the government of Ghana like all governments all over the world has been increasingly active in producing public policies. Every year a number of laws are passed. The proliferation of public policies has occurred in such traditional areas of governmental action as foreign policy, transportation, education, welfare, law enforcement, business and labour regulation, and international trade. In this section, I am going to introduce you to the variety of public policies that the government of Ghana formulates. Objectives

By the end of this section, you should be able to:  Identify the different category of public policies that exist in Ghana  State the importance of the different category of public policies in Ghana

Variety of Policies in Ghana Giving the large number and complexity of public policies in Ghana, the task of trying to make sense of them is enormous. This section is therefore intended to summarize a number of general typologies that political scientists and others have developed for categorizing public policies. The typology differentiates policies on the basis of their effects on society and the relationship among those involved in their formation.

Constituent Policies We begin this journey by considering constituent polices. The name constituent is used here in the sense that it involves the composition of government. As Professor Theodore Lowi states “ constituents policies are policies formally end explicitly concerned with the establishment of rule or procedures for the conduct of government, of rules that distribute or divide power and jurisdictions within which present and future government policies might be made”. This is sometimes referred to as state building. Constituent policies also include such matters as personnel practices and budgetary actions. Because they are concerned with government organization, procedures, and processes, constituent policies can have important substantive consequences, this is, how something is done or who has responsibility for acting can be used here to indicate the importance of constituent policies in this respect. Frequently, efforts are made to use procedural issues to delay or prevent adoption of substantive decisions and policies. An agency’s action may be challenged on the grounds that improper procedures were followed. Even though procedural issues are important, if an agency becomes entangled in procedural requirements, it may lose the capacity for timely and effective action (James Anderson 2011:12).

Distributive Policies Distributive policies involve allocation of services or benefits to particular segments of the population-individuals, groups, corporations, and communities. Some distributive policies may provide benefits to one or a few beneficiaries (James Anderson 2011:13). Others may provide benefits for vast number of persons as in the case of policies and programmes under the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority, which seeks to bridge the gap between the north and the south in Ghana. Distributive policies usually involve using public funds to assist particular groups, communities, or industries. Those who seek benefit usually do not compete directly with one another even though in some cases they do. Regulatory Policies Regulatory policies impose restrictions or limitations on the behavior of individuals and groups. That is, they reduce the freedom or discretion to act of those regulated, whether bankers, utility companies, meat-packers, or saloon keepers. In this sense they clearly differ from distributive policies, which increases the freedom or discretion of the persons or groups affected (James Anderson 2011:12). When we think of regulatory policies, we usually focus on business regulatory policies, such as those pertaining to control of pollution or regulation of transport and industries. The formation of regulatory policies usually features a conflict between two groups or coalitions of groups, with one side seeking to impose some sort of control on the other side, which customarily resists, arguing either that control is unnecessary or that the wrong kind of control is being proposed. Amid this opposition, regulatory decisions involve clear winners and losers, although the winners usually get less than they initially sought. The activity of Food and Drugs Authority is a

19 case in point. Other examples of regulatory policies are consumer protection policies. The restriction of foreigners from entry into retail business in markets establishments in Ghana is an example of regulatory policies. Self-Regulatory Policies Self-regulatory policies are similar to competitive regulatory policies in that they involve restricting or controlling some matter or group. Unlike competitive regulatory policies, however, self-regulatory policies are usually more controlled by the regulatory group as a means of protecting or promoting the interests of its members. Several hundred professions and occupations, ranging from physicians to lawyers are licensed to operate in Ghana. commonly licensed health professionals in Ghana include; dentists, dental hygienists, emergency medical technicians, optometrists, pharmacists, registered nurses, psychologists, and social workers. Redistributive Policies Redistributive policies involve deliberate efforts by the government to shift the allocation of wealth, income, property, or rights among broad classes or groups of the population, such as have and have-nots, proletariat and bourgeoisie. The main aim of this policy is not use of property but property itself, not equal treatment but equal possession, not behavior but being. The usual pattern in redistributive policy shifts resources from haves to have-nots. It is possible, however, for the flow to reverse. The mass cocoa spraying exercise instituted by the NPP administration is assistance to cocoa farmers in Ghana (James Anderson 2011:15). Redistributive policies are difficult to enact precisely because they involve the real location of money, rights, or power. Those who possess money or power rarely yield them willingly, regardless of how strenuously some may discourse upon the burdens and heavy responsibility attending their possession. Because money and power are good coinage in the political realm, those who possess them have ample means to resist their diminution. Redistributive policies are not only difficult to obtain, they are also hard to retain, as the discussion of income tax indicates.

Material and Symbolic Policies Public policies may also be described as either material or symbolic, depending upon the kind of benefits they allocate (James Anderson 2011:16). Material policies provide tangible resources or substantive power to their beneficiaries, or impose real advantages on those who are adversely affected. Legislation requiring employers to pay a prescribed minimum wage, appropriating money for a public-housing programme, or providing income-support payments to farmers is material in content and effect. Symbolic policies, in contrast, have little real material impact on people. They do not deliver what they appear to deliver; they allocate no tangible advantages and disadvantages. Rather, they appeal to people’s cherished values, such as peace, patriotism, and social justice. A prime example is the Kumasi declaration which was signed by the candidates which contested the 2012

20 general elections and facilitated by the National Peace Council with technical support from Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), abhorring violence and committing to peace, before, during and after the 2012 general elections. Most policies are neither entirely symbolic nor wholly material. The symbolic and material categories should instead be viewed as the poles of a continuum, with most policies being ranged along the continuum depending on how symbolic or material they are in practice. The material- symbolic typology is especially useful to keep in mind when analyzing effects of policy because it directs attention beyond formal policy statements. It also alerts us to the important role of symbols in political behavior.

Policies involving Collective Goods and Private Goods Public policies may also involve the provision of either collective (indivisible) goods or private (divisible) goods. The nature of collective goods is such that if they are provided for one person, they must be provided for all. Moreover, one person’s consumption of a collective good does not deny it to others. A standard example is national defense: there is no effective way to provide it for some citizens and exclude others from its benefits, enjoyment, or other consequences, nor to calculate that some citizens benefit more from it than others. Thus, economically rational person would never pay for national defense, clean air, or mosquito control, choosing rather to be a free rider and let others stand the cost. Hence, defense must be provided, if we want it, by government and financed by taxation. Other examples of collective goods include public safety and traffic control (James Anderson 2011:16). Private goods, in contrast, may be broken into units and purchased or charged by the individual user or beneficiary, and are available in the market-place. Others may be excluded from its use. Various social goods provided by government (postal services, medical care, museums, national parks) have some characteristics of private goods. Charges and fees are sometimes, but not always, levied on users. Some argue that only collective goods should be the subject of public policy. The tendency, however, has been more and more to convert private goods into social goods by government action. Many consider ill health, unemployment, environmental pollution, industrial accidents and disease, and misrepresentation in the marketplace to be collective rather than individual problems – matters affecting the entire population, hence the involving public goods for which the entire society should pay. Generally, the more something is thought to have the qualities of a public good, the more likely people are to accept its provision by government. if it seems clear that some benefits more directly than others, there may be a desire to levy charges, fees or taxes on the direct beneficiaries to cover part of the cost (James Anderson 2011:18). Thus we encounter uses cost or user fees at, national parks, tuition at public universities and tolls for some bridges and highways. Activity 1.6 1. What are the differences between distributive and redistributive policies? 2. Explain with relevant examples self-regulatory policies 3. Discuss the utility of regulatory policies

4. Differentiate between collective goods and private good. Summary Well done for completing the last section of unit 1. In this section you studied the categories of public policies in Ghana which include distributive, regulatory, self-regulatory and redistributive policies. You also learnt that material policies provide tangible resources or substantive power to their beneficiaries, or impose real advantages on those who are adversely affected while symbolic policies appeal to people’s cherished values, such as peace, patriotism, and social justice. You also learnt that collective goods are provided for all. Private goods, in contrast, may be broken into units and purchased or charged by the individual user or beneficiary.

Unit Summary I am happy that you have successfully completed this unit. In this unit, you have learnt that public policy involves both action and inaction of government and that it is goal oriented. It is a goal-oriented behavior, futuristic and involves several governmental institutions. Public policy is mainly concerned with the description and explanation of the causes and consequences of government activity. It is studied for scientific, professional and political purposes. You noted that policy analysis is the examination and description of the causes and consequences of public policies. I indicated that while policy analysis is concerned with knowing the causes and consequences of policies, policy advocacy involves the analyst pressing specific options and ideas in the policy process, either individually, or in association with others, perhaps through a pressure group. The various categories of public policies in Ghana which include distributive, regulatory, self-regulatory and redistributive policies were also highlighted.

Unit 2: The Policy Process Introduction Welcome to unit 2 of the course: The Policy Process. This unit basically introduces you to the various policy processes in the country. It discusses the stages approach and gives you an overview of the policy cycle in the country. I am very sure that if you have a good handle on this one it will help you understand the role other actors play and at what point each of the actors exerts influence. I am sure you will pay attention to this unit as your understanding of the subsequent units will be predicated on your firm understanding of this unit. The following sections will covered in this unit: Section 1: The Agenda Setting Phase Section 2: The Policy Formulation Phase

Section 3: The Policy Adoption Phase Section 4: The Policy Implementation Phase Section 5: The Policy Evaluation Phase Section 6: The Policy /Change/Termination phase

Objectives At the end of the course, you should be able to:  Explain the utility of the study of the policy process  Account for the agenda setting phase of the policy process in Ghana  Explain the dynamics of policy formulation in Ghana  Discuss how policies are adopted in Ghana  Account for the implementation of public policies in Ghana  Outline the evaluation of public policies in the country  Explain the circumstances that inform the termination or change of public policies

Section 1: The Agenda Setting Phase of the Policy Process Introduction Welcome to section 1 of unit 2: The Agenda Setting Phase of the Policy Process. This sections deals with how an issue is put on the public agenda for the attention of government. You must note that governments of Ghana come under new and wide demands. There is regular call for the solution of myriad of problems confronting the people. Some of the demands include; salary increases, the fixing of roads, increases in producer prices of cocoa and other cash crops, the fixing of health facilities, construction of roads, provision of adequate portable water, the supply of reliable energy, gas and petroleum products and the provision of adequate security to avert armed robbery and crimes etc. You must know that not all issues receive attention at the same time. It is therefore important to know how issues get unto the systemic and institutional agenda for redress. Objectives

By the time you finish this section, you should be able to:  Explain how issues get unto the agenda of government  Identify and explain the actors involved in the agenda setting phase of the policy process

Studying the Policy Process The study of policy process is concerned with how policy decisions are made and how policies are shaped in action. An issue for academic study, the exploration of the policy process is most evidently a part of political studies or political science. Note that here we are concerned with the

23 explanation of the outputs of politics-the ‘how’ aspects of Lasswell’s terse definition of the study of politics as being about ‘who gets what, when, and how,’ At the same time, much of the study of politics is about how power is acquired and used, without reference to outputs, inasmuch as it is concerned with elections, legislative processes and so on (Michael Hill 2005:12). The process of public policy making is a series of intellectual activities carried out within the process comprised of activities that are essentially political. It is political because public policy making involves conflict and the struggle among individuals and groups following conflicting desires of public policy. The political activities are visualized as series of interdependent phases arrayed through time. Any discussion of the public policy process needs to be grounded in an extensive consideration of the nature of power in the state. Any consideration of how the process works will tend to involve propositions about who dominates. Omission of this, in statements about the policy process, will tend to have the implication that there are no dominant elements in the state. That is in itself a stance on this much debated subject, congruent with the pluralist perspective that power is evenly spread and openly contested. This has been widely opposed by views which draw upon Marxist theory or elite theory, which see power as very distinctively structured or which suggest that dominance is very much embedded in the nature of the machinery of the state. An important element in the controversy about the control over the state concerns the nature of power itself. Controversy about the state and about power is closely related to the debate about democracy (Michael Hill 2005:12). Broadly, there is conflict about the extent to which it is possible to identify, in society that is under scrutiny- in Ghanaian sense, a system of power over the state which can be regarded as reasonably according with some of the criteria for a democracy. Whilst political scientists in Ghana recognize problems with Ghana’s nascent democracy, there are differing views about the scope any specific system offers for public participation. Sometimes these differences seem like little more than debates about whether the bottle is half full or half empty. The Stages Approach to Policy Making One of the most popular means of simplifying public policy making has been to disaggregate the process into a series of discrete stages and sub-stages. The resulting sequence of stages is referred to as the policy cycle. Subsequently academics have developed six-stage model as an analytical device to study public policy. It is not a literal description of the policy making process. It is only in rare cases that governments march methodically from stage to stage in a given policy area. Most of the time governments are working on all fronts simultaneously, continually shifting gears from the identification of problems to the creation of potential solutions and the back again. If we take the area of health policy for instance, at any given time, there are hundreds of health issues that different citizens want to see addressed either directly or indirectly by public policy. Some people are concerned about the supply of certain health care options, others want government help improve the quality of health care for different health conditions. Still others are concerned about the cost of health care etc. At any given time, many competing policy proposals are floating around that deal with each issue by the bureaucracy, the executive and the legislature.

Studies on public policy and policy making examine both the intentions of government and the specific consequences of the actions they take. Such studies commonly examine policy output, or what governments actually do to implement and enforce their policies. Policy outputs include the amount of money a government spends on education, the number of police officers it hires, the tax code provisions it passes to subsidize health care, and penalties for violating environmental laws among others. When we want to assess the consequences of government activity, it involves the study of policy outcomes, or what the public policy has produced. This assessment involves evaluating a given policy’s short-term effects and its long-term intended and unintended consequences. Analysis of policy outcomes examine whether the public policies have for example, improved literacy rate, school enrolment figures, reduced crime rates, made health care more accessible and affordable to the poor, reduced air pollution, or improved the sanitation situation in our cities. There is no single process through which public policies are made in the world. Different institutional frameworks, procedures and tradition result in significant variations in the style and mechanisms of policy making. In spite of the differences, it is possible to identify a six-stage model of policy making that are common to most countries. These are agenda setting, policy formulation, decision making/ policy adoption, policy implementation, policy evaluation and policy termination or change. These stages are examined in turn.

Agenda setting Agenda-setting refers to the process by which problems come to the attention of government (Howlett and Ramesh 1995: 11). It involves those problems, among many, which receive the serious attention of public officials. Elected and appointed officials place problems on the public agenda. Many of the problems are not acted upon at all, while others are addressed only after long delays. All societies and nations have numerous problems which governments seek to resolve, cope or ignore. The essence of public policy is how societies and nations recognize and deal with problems faced. Since government action and resources are scarce commodities, governments are unable to tackle all these issues and problems confronted. The process by which issues like poverty, food security, internal security, rapidly expanding population etc, arrive on the public agenda as problems to be ignored or solved by the government can tell us a great deal about public policies and the politics of the policy cycle. In Europe and North America, individuals, interest groups and political parties express particular interests and bring them on to the public agenda through many channels. Elections enable competing politicians and parties to vie for election support. However, an assessment of the agenda phase of the policy cycle in the third world including Ghana indicates a very different process. Public agenda building and the resultant policies are seldom the result of demands and pressures from competing interested groups and political parties. The organizations and the channels of influence, such as political parties and interest groups, are hardly aggregated in the agenda building phase of the policy cycle. Interested and affected groups and individuals will wait for the policy implementation phase of the policy cycle before becoming active in the policy process.

An additional factor in the agenda building of the policy cycle in the Third World comes from outside the nation’s political system. Many social and economic development policies are undertaken based upon the ideology of development and modernization. Policies to achieve these ends are supported by foreign aid programmes predetermined plan and technological imports. Foreign governments or aid donors, such as the World Band and the USAID, often influence or directly determine major government policies and they may hold the option of a withdrawal of financial and technical support if policies they advocate are not adopted. If we examine Ghana and make an attempt to catalogue all the needs and demands of the people, we will find the dimensions staggering. If we combine the individual needs and the domestic and international concerns of the country, we will create a seemingly endless list of potentially important items for the country’s policy agenda. However, not all of these wants and demands occupy visible spots on the government’s institutional agenda. In point of fact, only a relatively small number of these demands attain such institutional agenda status and therefore become the focus of public policy making. Generally the level of economic development is considered a possible determinant of agenda setting and of decision making on a wide variety of policy issues. Those who set agenda in Ghana include civil society organizations, political parties, the executive, think tanks, the courts, and the international community including development partners, the Fund and the Bank. Activity 2.1 What is the utility of the study of the policy process? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. What is the relevance of power to the study of the public policy process in Ghana? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. State the differences between policy output and policy outcome? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Summary Well done, for completing section 1 of unit 2. You have been introduced to the stages approach to public policy making. The section has indicated that a process of public policy making is a series of intellectual activities carried out within the process comprised of activities that are

26 essentially political. You also learnt that the Agenda-setting phase of the policy process, which is the first phase of the policy process or cycle, refers to the process by which problems come to the attention of government. Section 2: Policy formulation. Introduction Welcome to section 2 of unit 2: Policy Formulation. You need to know that a useful source of evidence about the policy process comes from subsequent enquiries, commissions audit reports held during or shortly after such crisis. For instance the report on the stadium disaster in May 9, 2001 proved very critical in improving the security at various stadia in the country. In this section, I am going to introduce you to the dynamics of policy formulation. I will also address the key actors involved in policy formulation in Ghana. Objectives At the end of the is section, you are expected to:  Explain the concept of policy formulation  Identify and explain the actors involved in the policy formulation in Ghana

What is policy formulation? This is the development of pertinent and acceptable proposed course of action for dealing with a public problem. Officials formulate alternative policies to deal with a problem. Alternative policies assume the form of executive orders, court decisions and legislative acts (James Anderson 2011:107). Policy formulation also refers to the process by which policy options are formulated within government. Once a problem has arrived on the institutional agenda, a course of action to solve, reduce, or dismiss the problem must created. The formulation stage generally involves developing and evaluating proposed solutions and programmes. At this stage, many conceivable policy alternatives are rejected because they are viewed as technically not feasible or politically unacceptable by major participants in the policy-making process. Given the subjective nature of the technical and political judgment at issue here, understanding policy formulation often requires an assessment of who the important participants are and where policy makers look for policy alternatives. Often the agenda setting process gets an issue on the institutional agenda without generating an acceptable or clear definition of the policy problem and its causes. The Formulation of Policy proposals Policy-makers may be confronted with several competing proposals for dealing with a problem, or they may have to struggle with devising their own alternatives. Policy formulation does not always culminate in a law, executive order, or administrative rule. Policy maker may decide not take positive action on a problem, but instead to leave it alone to let matters work themselves out. Or they may be unable to agree on what to do. Please not that the fact that a public problem reaches a policy agenda does not mean positive action will be taken or, if it is, that it will be soon in coming.

Factors policy makers must consider during policy formulation phase Policy formulators need to keep several factors in mind that will affect their chances of producing successful policy. First, is the proposal technically sound? Is it directed at the problem’s causes to the extent that they can be ascertained? To what extent is the proposal likely to resolve or ameliorate the problem? If recession is the problem, will spending programmes or tax cuts provide more economic stimulus? If taxes are cut will people spend the proceeds? Or will they save the money or use it to pay off exiting debts, which will not do much to revive the economy? Second, are the budgetary const of the proposals reasonable or acceptable? This will not be a significant concern for many regulatory proposals, at least insofar as direct governmental costs are at issue. But what about the compliance costs imposed on private entities? Third, is the proposal politically acceptable? Can it gain enough support from legislators or public officials to be adopted? Can it win bipartisan support if that is thought to be necessary or important? The addition or deletion of various provisions may be warranted in order to gain support. Fourth, if the proposals become law, will it be acceptable to the public? Will those affected be inclined to comply? A classic case involved the passage of the Value Added Bill into law in 1995 and the corresponding public outcry which eventually resulted in the withdrawal of the law and repackaged and introduced in 1997 with a lot of amendments and the reduction of the tax rate.

Who is involved in Policy Formulation in Ghana? In discussing who is involved in developing policy proposals, we focus primarily on the national level in Ghana. Since independence, the president, together with his chief aids and advisers in the Castle has been the leading source of initiative in formulating major policy proposals. Members of Parliament and the public have come to expect the president and the cabinet to present policy recommendations to Parliament for consideration. Ghana’s policy formulation has over the years been dominated by bureaucratic network-where governmental actors especially the executive bureaucracy dominates with minimal effective participation from outside. The trend is however changing under the Fourth Republic. Increasingly the country is moving towards a pluralistic network, where many interest groups are active. Key actors involved in policy formulation in Ghana include governmental agencies, presidential organizations, legislators, and international actors and interests groups. It must, however, be pointed out that the political executive still retains a preponderance of influence in the policy formulation initiatives in the country.

Activity 2.2 What is the relevance of the policy formulation phase in the policy cycle? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Explain three main factors that policy makers must consider when a formulating policy ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Why do you think that the political executive dominate the policy formulation phase of the policy process ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Summary I am happy that you are making a lot of progress. You have just finished with another important section of unit 2. Congratulations. You have learnt that policy formulation is the development of pertinent and acceptable proposed course of action for dealing with a public problem. It involves actors such as the executive, the legislature, governmental agencies, international actors and interest groups. I also introduced you to some of the salient factors policy makers must consider at the formulation phase of the policy process. After discussing the formulation phase of public policy, let us now turn our attention to the policy adoption phase.

Section 3: Decision-making/Policy Adoption. Introduction Welcome to section 3 of unit 2: Decision-making/Policy Adoption. It is important to note that once the political process inside and outside of government has weeded out many potential policy options, the moment arrives to make a decision to create a new policy, revise an existing policy, or, alternatively, take no new action. In this section our focus in on how particular policy options are settled on while others are discarded. Objectives

At the end of this section, you are expected to:  Explain the decision making phase of the policy process  Explain the main models of decision making in a state

Decision making Decision-making refers to the process by governments adopt a particular course of action or non- action. The decision making stage is the component of the policy making process that involves the smallest number of direct participants. With the infrequent exception of policy question put to vote via a referendum or an initiative, only the appropriate elected or appointed government officials can make decisions about the use of public authority (Adolino and Brake 2001:17). Differences exist among countries with regards to the formal and informal rules that determine the precise procedures by which the government can make decisions. The relationship between the executive and the legislature, to a very large extent shapes the character of decision making stage. In presidential systems, decision making occurs in both the executive and the legislative branches e.g. USA. In parliamentary system, policy decisions are largely the responsibility of the executive branch with legislatures often playing more limited, often symbolic roles, especially when a single political party has majority control of the government (Adolino and Brake 2001:18). Despite the formal exclusion of non-governmental actors from the policy process at this stage, government decision makers work in a context shaped by the policy preferences found in society as a whole. Individual citizens and organized interest groups voice their approval of some options and sometimes their objections to other alternatives. The more important and visible the issue is to the public at large, the more decisions are constrained by public opinion. Not surprisingly, the less salient the issue is to the public, the more decisions are influenced primarily by the interests groups most directly affected by the policy under discussion.

Decision making models Amid this variety of formal and informal constraints, how are decisions made? In the early years of formal policy research in the post-war era, the rational decision making model emerged as the primary conceptualization of decision making. The rational model emerged out of an effort to prescribe an ideal path to sound decision rather than from an attempt to describe reality. After defining a policy problem, firm goals should be established; all possible paths to reaching those goals should be identified; each option’s ability to achieve the stated goals should be evaluated; as should its cost; and, finally, decision makers should approve the option that has the greatest likelihood of reaching the goals at an acceptable cost. At its most formalized, the rational model calls for all items to be evaluated in monetary terms. The result of this cost-benefit can be evaluated against different criteria. One such standard is Pareto optimality, according to which policy decisions must make at least one person better off while making no one worse off. However, because most public policy decisions involve transfer of resources few policy decisions can hope to be Pareto optimal. Instead, formal cost-benefit analyses tend to adopt the utilitarian principle of Kaldor criterion, according to which a policy must provide more benefits than cost to society as a whole (even if some people suffer net losses), in order to be adopted. The preferred policy option then is the one that provides the greatest net benefits. The rational-comprehensive theory usually includes these elements (Anderson 2011: 127):

 The decision-maker is confronted with a problem that can be separated from other problems or at least considered meaningfully in comparison with them.

 The goals, values, or objectives that guide the decision-maker are known and can be clarified and ranked according to their importance.  The various alternatives for dealing with the problem are examined.  The consequences (costs and benefits, advantages and disadvantages) that would follow from selecting each alternative are investigated.  Each alternative, and its attendant consequences, is then compared with the other alternative  The decision-maker will choose the alternative, and its consequences, that maximizes attainment of his or her goals, values and objectives. The result of this procedure is a rational decision – that is, one that most effectively achieves a given end. In fine, it optimizes; it is the best possible decision. Rational decisions may make either large and basic or limited changes in public policies. The rational-comprehensive theory has received substantial criticism. Professor Charles Lindblom contends that decision-makers are not faced with concrete, clearly defined problems. Rather, he says that they first have to identify and formulate the problems on which they make decisions. We must do something about the problem of inflation. What is the problem? Excessive demand? Inadequate production of goods and services? Administered prices controlled by powerful corporations and unions? Inflationary psychology? Some combination of these? One does not, willy-nilly, attack inflation. Instead, the causes of inflation must be dealt with, and these may be difficult for the decision maker (Anderson 2011: 128). A second criticism holds that rational-comprehensive theory is unrealistic in the intellectual demands it makes on the decision maker. It assumes that he or she will have enough information on the alternatives for dealing with a problem, will be able to predict their consequences with some accuracy, and will be capable of making correct cost-benefit comparisons of the alternatives. It is worth noting that there is limit to rationality. The factors that limit rationality include; lack of time, difficulty in collecting information and predicting the future, and complexity of calculations (Anderson 2011: 128). Even the use of computer and sophisticated economic models replete with equations cannot fully alleviate these problems, as economists continually demonstrate. A third criticism is that the value aspect of the rational-comprehensive theory also draws some criticism. It is contended that in actuality the public decision-maker is usually confronted with a situation of value conflict rather than value agreement, and that the conflicting values do not permit easy comparison or weighing. Yet another problem is that of “sunk cost”. Previous decisions and commitments, investments in existing policies and programmes, may foreclose or severely complicate the consideration of many alternatives (Anderson 2011: 128). Finally, the rational-comprehensive model assumes the existence of a unitary decision-maker. This condition cannot be met by legislative bodies, plural-headed agencies, multiple-member courts, or nation-states in international relations.

The Incremental Theory The incremental theory of decision-making is presented as a decision theory that avoids many of the pitfalls of the rational-comprehensive theory and, at the same time, is more descriptive of the way in which public officials actually make decisions. Certainly there is little evidence to indicate that the members of parliament utilize anything close to rational-comprehensive model in enacting legislation. Incremental decisions involve limited changes or additions to existing policies, such as small percentage increases in agency’s budget or a modest tightening of eligibility for student’s loans. Charles Lindblom refers to incrementalism as “disjointed incrementalism and this can be summarized below (Anderson 2011: 131):

 The selection of goals or objectives and the empirical analysis of the action needed to attain them are closely intertwined with, rather that distinct from, one another.  The decision-maker considers only a few of the alternatives for dealing with a problem, which will differ only incrementally from existing policies.  For each alternative, only a limited number of important consequences are evaluated.  The problem confronting the decision-maker is continually refined. Incrementalism allows for countless ends-means and means-ends adjustments that help make the problem more manageable.  There is no single decision or right solution to a problem. The test of good decision is that various analysts find themselves agreeing on it, without agreeing that the decision is the most appropriate or optimum means to an agreed objective.  Incremental decision making is essentially remedial and is geared more to ameliorating present, concrete social imperfections than promoting major future social goals. Lindblom contends that incrementalism is the typical decision-making procedure in pluralistic societies such as United States of America, United Kingdom and Ghana. Incrementalism is politically expedient because it is easier to reach an agreement when the matters in dispute among various groups are only limited modification of existing programmes. Because decision- makers operate under conditions of uncertainty about the future consequences of their actions, incremental decisions reduce the risks and costs of uncertainty. Incrementalism is seen as realistic because it recognizes that decision-makers lack the time, intelligence, and other resources needed to engage in comprehensive analysis of all alternative solutions to existing problems. Various criticisms have been directed at incrementalism. One is that it is too conservative, too focused on the current order, hence, it is a barrier to innovation, which is often necessary for effective public policies. Another is that in crisis, situation, or when major changes are made in policy, incrementalsim provides no guidelines for handling the tasks of decision. The third criticism is geared as it is to past action and existing programmes, and to limited changes in them, incrementalism may discourage the search for or use of other readily available alternatives. The fourth criticism is that incrementalism does not eliminate the need for theory in decision- making, as some of its more enthusiastic advocates contend. Unless some incremental changes are to be made simply at random or arbitrarily, some theory is needed to guide the action and to indicate the likely effects of proposed changes (Anderson 2011: 131).

Notwithstanding these criticisms, incrementalism has become a form of conventional wisdom. Statements to the effect that policymaking in Ghana are common. Activity 2.3 Justify the continued use of incremental decision making model in Ghana ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Why do you consider decision making a critical phase in the policy process? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Well done for completing section 3 of unit 2: Decision making. Generally decision-making refers to the process by governments adopt a particular course of action or non-action. It is an important stage in the policy process. You have been introduced to two contrasting models, rational comprehensive and incrementalism. You noted that even though rational comprehensive model ensures that the best possible decision is taken, limits such as time, resource, the sheer limitation of human intellect among others make incremental approach much more attractive.

Section 4: Policy Implementation.

Introduction Welcome to section 4 of unit 2: Policy Implementation. You need to know that when the adoption phase of the policy process has been completed and for instance, a bill has been enacted into law by the legislature, we can begin to refer to something called public policy. When the public policy has been enacted, efforts must be made to actualize the objectives set in the policy and this is what is termed implementation. I expect you to pay attention to this section as it will help you appreciate the implementation of many policies in the country.

Objectives At the end of this section, you are expected to:  State the utiity of implementation in the policy process  Discuss the role of the various actors in the implementation of public policies

Implementation Defined

Implementation has been referred to as “what happens after a bill becomes a law” (Anderson 2011: 209). More precisely, implementation encompasses whatever is done to carry a law into effect, to apply it to the target population, and to achieve its goals. The study of policy implementation is concerned with the agencies and officials involved, the procedures they follow, the techniques or the tools they employ, and the political support and opposition that they encounter (Ripley and Franklin 1986: 5). In doing so, we focus on the day-to-day operations of government.

There is often considerable uncertainty about what a policy will encounter, how effective in terms of its goals it will be, or the consequences that it will have for society. It is this uncertainty that makes the study of policy implementation interesting and worthwhile. It is worth pointing out that policy implementation is neither a routine nor a very predictable process. Why some policies succeed and others fail remains a challenging puzzle.

In actuality, it is frequently difficult, sometimes impossible, to neatly separate a policy’s adoption from its implementation. Here again, we may find that the line between functional activities is smudgy. Statutes sometimes do not do much beyond setting some policy goals and creating a framework of guidelines and restrictions for their realization.

The Growing importance of Implementation

Policy implementation refers to the process by which governments put policies into effects. At the implementation stage, we are concerned with what is done to put a public policy into action. Policy implementation represents the stage where the government executes an adopted policy as specified by legislation or policy document. Policy implementation is what happens after a bill becomes law. It is at this stage that various government ministries, departments and agencies are formally made responsible for the execution of the planned policy. In the early years of policy research, most analysts focused on the first three stages of policy cycle because they assumed that the real action centered on policy decision making and events leading up to the decision.

However, by the early 1970s, variety of studies spearheaded by Pressman and Wildavsky (1973) demonstrated that the implementation stage is crucial to the success or failure of a policy. Implementation is important because prior to this stage, a great many public policy decisions are loosely defined. Those individuals and agencies responsible for policy implementation are often given a great deal of latitude in determining the specific terms and requirements of a new law or regulation. It is because of this delegated authority that the bureaucracy has become a major location for policy implementation and enforcement and thus plays a key role in interpreting and elaborating the government’s broad policy guidelines. Policies are usually implemented through direct government instruments, market instruments, voluntary instruments and mixed instruments.

Who Implements Public Policies in Ghana

In Ghana, as in other modern political systems, policy implementation is formally the province of a complex array of administrative agencies, now referred to as bureaucracies, a term that carries both descriptive and pejorative connotations (Anderson 2011: 216). Some of the institutions that take part in policy implementation in Ghana are explained below:

First, bureaucracies or administrative agencies are often provided with broad and ambiguous statutory mandates that leave them with much room for choice in deciding what should or should not be done on some matter. The second institution is the legislature. Legislative bodies display much interest in the implementation of policies. It has been argued by Theodore Lowi that “the major problem and major focus of US Congress is no longer simply that of prescribing the behavior of citizens but more often that of affecting the behavior of administrators”.

Thirdly, some legislation is enforced primarily through the judicial action. Laws dealing with crimes are the most obvious example. The court’s most important influence on administration, however, flows from their interpretation of statutes and administrative rules and regulations, and their review of administrative decisions in cases brought before them. Generally, courts can facilitate, hinder, or largely nullify implementation of a policy through their decisions. The Supreme Court ruling in 1997 which instructed the executive to put retained ministers through prior approval of parliament is one of such cases in point.

In addition, because of the discretion often vested in agencies by legislation, once an act is adopted, the group struggle shifts from the legislative to the administrative arena. A group that can successfully influence agency action may have a substantial effect on the course and impact of public policies.

Groups also participate directly in administration, as when the representation of particular interests is specified for certain boards. The role of certain representatives on certain national commissions is important to observe. The Constitutional Review Commission put in place in 2010 in Ghana had some representation from the civil society organizations particularly Institutive of Economic Affairs (IEA).

Activity 2.4 What is implementation of public policies? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Identify and explain the role of any two actors in policy implementation in Ghana ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary Well done once again for completing yet another section in unit 2. I have introduced you to a very important phase in the policy process, implementation. Implementation is very vital if the goals we set in policies are to be achieved. You have noted that a variety of participants may have a hand in the implementation of a given policy of any complexity. In addition to what has been discussed here, the media, other government agencies, political party officials, and presidential staff agencies may also be involved in implementation. Not that I will revisit this issue when I consider the role of political institutions in the policy process in Ghana.

Section 5: Policy Evaluation.

Introduction Welcome to section 5 of unit 2: Policy Evaluation. Policy Evaluation is the assessment of the effectiveness of a policy. People in and out of government are often conducting formal and informal evaluations of government performance in different policy areas. It is in this context that this section addresses the dynamics of policy evaluation and discusses the actors involved in it.

Objectives At the end of this section, you are expected to:  Explain the importance of policy evaluation  Discuss the role of various actors in the policy evaluation  State the functions of evaluation  Explain the various arenas of evaluation

Policy Evaluation Defined Policy evaluation refers to the process by which the results of policies are monitored by both the state and societal actors, the result of which may be re-conceptualization of policy problems and solutions. Policy evaluation involves the estimation, appraisal, or assessment of a policy, its content, implementation, goal attainment, and other effects (Anderson 2011:271). Policy evaluation is synonymous with appraisal, rating and assessment, words which imply efforts to analyze policy outcomes in terms of some set of values. In a more specific sense, policy evaluation refers to the production of information about the worth or value of policy outcomes. Auditing and accounting units in government determine whether executive agencies, legislatures, and courts are in compliance with statutory requirements of a policy. Policy evaluation may seek also seek to identify factors that contributed to the success or failure of a policy. This in turn, may lead to recycling of the policy process in order to continue, modify, strengthen, or terminate the policy. You must note that information gained through evaluation feeds back into the ongoing policy process. As a functional activity, evaluation can occur at any point in the policy process, not simply after some effort has been made to implement a policy. Thus, attempts are made to determine

36 prospectively to estimate or predict the likely effects, or the costs and benefits, of policy alternatives prior to their implementation. Typically, however, policy evaluation looks backward to what has happened whereas the other stages of the policy process look forward to attaining a goal (Anderson 2011:271). There are three sets of activities involved in evaluation process. These are;

 Measuring output (performance measurement)  Comparing output performance against desired results  Correcting any deviation or inadequacies Policy evaluation as a functional activity is as old as policy itself. Legislators, administrators, judges, pressure group officials, media commentators, policy makers, policy implementers, the public who are affected by public policies and outside experts and consultants have always made judgement about the worth or effects of particular policies, programmes, and projects. The criteria used in evaluation are often diverse. Sometimes evaluation focuses on policy output, that is resources government uses to address a problem. Other evaluation focuses on policy out-come, examining whether government actions has produced the desired or the intended objectives. There are three arenas for evaluation. These are; Administrative Evaluation Administrative evaluation usually conducted by government itself. Ministries, Departments and Agencies are expected to provide regular assessments of government programmes. These assessments are normally reviewed by the upper level of the executive branch or by the appropriate legislative committee, e.g. the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. In addition, many of the programmes undergo external assessment, especially those that are externally funded. These are usually carried out by other governments, consultants often employed by the funding government, etc. Even external evaluations are shaped by information provided by the program itself (Adolino and Blake 2001: 27).

Judicial Evaluation Judicial evaluation is conducted by the courts in response to particular legal complaints against the programmes. In most countries, the central issue of judicial evaluation is the legal authority of the government to make policy in that area. Many countries employ administrative courts to determine whether a particular government employee or agency had legal authority to take action in a particular sphere (Adolino and Blake 2001: 27). Political Evaluation A third major arena is the realm of political evaluation. Sometimes governments attempt to gauge the public’s evaluation of government policies via the interpretation of election results and by taking public opinion poll on certain issues. However, it is difficult to interpret election results as turning on a single policy’s evaluation, and public opinion polls are often better indicators of where governments should focus attention. Most political evaluation takes place within the active policy network for each issue (Adolino and Blake 2001: 27). The most

37 important role of interest groups lies in their efforts to shape government opinion via formal and informal policy evaluation. Evaluation serves a number of purposes. First, it provides reliable and valid information and policy performance. Second, it also contributes to the clarification and critique of values that underlie the selection of goals and objectives. Third, it contributes to the application of other policy analytical methods, including problem restructuring and recommendation.

Functions of Evaluation

 Evaluation provides reliable and valid information on policy performance.

 Evaluation contributes to the clarification and critique of values that underlie the selection of goals and objectives.

 Evaluation may contribute to the application of other policy analytical methods, including problem restructuring and recommendation.

Criteria for Policy Evaluation Effectiveness It refers to whether a given policy or alternative results in the achievement of a valued outcome. It refers to the degree to which a policy attains its objective (technical rationality). The following ratios can be used to evaluate effectiveness; (i) actual resources consumed: planned use of resources (ii) actual programme activities performed: planned activities (iii) attainment of objectives attributable to a programme: attainment desired etc. this criterion is often referred to as

Efficiency It refers to the amount of effort required to produce a given level of effectiveness. Efficiency is the relationship between inputs and outputs (Economic rationality). The following ratios are commonly used to evaluate efficiency; (i) output generated: resources consumed, (ii) actual activities performed: resources expended, (iii) objectives attained: activities performed etc.

Adequacy It refers to the extent to which a given level of effectiveness satisfies the needs, values, or opportunities that gave rise to the problem. It brings to the fore the relationship between cost and effectiveness. Equity It is closely associated to legal and social rationality and refers to the distribution of effects and efforts among different groups in society. An equitable policy is one where the effects (unit of service) or efforts (monetary cost) are fairly distributed.

Responsiveness It refers to the extent that a policy satisfies the needs, preferences or values of particular groups.

Appropriateness The criteria of appropriateness are intimately related to substantive rationality, since questions about the appropriateness of a policy are not concerned with individual set of criteria but two or more criteria taken together. Appropriateness refers to the value or worth of a programme’s objectives and to the tenability of assumptions underlying these objectives. Activity Explain the utility of policy evaluation to the success of a public policy in Ghana. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Why do you consider political and administrative evaluation of public policies necessary in Ghana? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Identify and explain any four criteria for evaluating public policies ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Summary I am happy that you have gone through this section successfully. Well done. You have demonstrated that you are committed to the course. In this section you have learnt that the evaluation of a policy is vital to help policy makers assess the effects of policies and if necessary put in place correct measures if the policy is not achieving the goals it was originally set to achieve. You have learnt the various criteria used in evaluating policies. I have also introduced you to the various arenas through which policies are evaluated. I am hopeful that the knowledge gained here will go a long way to help you to fully appreciate the discussions below.

Section 6: Policy change and termination Introduction Welcome to section 6 of unit 3: Policy change and termination. In this section, you will be introduced to the factors which necessitate change or termination. Any policy worth its sort undergoes some form of evaluation. It is at this evaluation stage that decisions is made whether to continue the policy modify it or terminate it altogether especially if it is not achieving the desired effect. I hope that you pay close attention to this section as we conclude the policy cycle in Ghana. Objectives At the end of this section you should be able to:  Explain policy change and policy termination  Outline the factors that account for policy change and policy termination  Explain why policy termination is rare

Policy Change and Policy Termination One of the main reasons for undertaking policy evaluation in the first place is to determine the difference between policy goals and objectives subsequent impact that a given a policy as implemented has been achieved, and then to do something about it. There are usually three options available to a policy maker after rigorous evaluation exercise. First, to maintain the status quo if the policy is working as planned. Second, make adjustment to the policy, in other words make changes. Third and the most drastic and rare change of all is to terminate the programme or repeal the policy. When a policy is replaced or modified in some respect or repealed in parts, then policy change has occurred. It is worth noting that policies are rarely maintained exactly as adopted. Change inevitably starts to occur as soon as a policy is implemented because of the intrinsic ambiguity of legislation. Thus policies are constantly evolving and the policy cycle is a dynamic process. These options represent political innovations. Once politics is added to policy change or termination dynamic, then a host of policy actors, motivations can once again be seen as attempting to influence the ultimate outcome of policy. Policy change does not occur in a vacuum. Proposes changes will essentially go through some variation of the preceding six stages of the policy process, problem identification/agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation, policy evaluation and then again back to the policy change or termination stage in a nearly never ending cycle.

Factors Necessitating Policy Change A number of factors necessitate policy change in most countries. Some of the factors are as follows:

Changes in societal dynamics: Changes in society may demand a change in the policy direction to take care new demands of the people. New policies may contradict or invalidate an existing policy: Public policies and programmes must complement each other and so if new policies which are broader in scope and orientation contradict an existing one, one of them usually the old one changed. The legality or constitutionality of a policy is challenged: In an era of constitutionalism, individuals who are aggrieved or affected adversely by a policy may challenge the constitutionality of a policy in court. If the challenge is upheld by the court, the policy will have to change. Technological changes alter the feasibility or relevance of a policy: The introduction of a new technology may render an existing policy irrelevant and therefore call for amendment. Other factors that may motivate a change of a policy include but not limited to the following: new discoveries or revelations alter public support, changes in economic and political conditions, Power shifts due to election results, example the defeat of the New Patriotic Party in the 2008 general elections in Ghana resulted in the change of numerous policies including the change of the duration of the Senior High School education from four years to three years. The NPP had changed the duration from three years to four years when they won power in 2000. Others include, when the problem is solved, when implementing agencies lack the skill to manage the policy, a policy whose implementation is fraught with too many defects and finally when target groups refuse to comply with or mobilize support against the policy.

Reasons for Policy Termination Public policies are sometimes terminated for the following reasons: First, when the policy is no longer effective. Second, when the need for the programme no longer exists a policy may be terminated. Thirdly, budgetary requirements which are sometimes considered as prohibitive may force the end of the policy or programme. It also happens that an evaluation study makes the case that the policy is unsatisfactory in impact or outcome and therefore must be terminated. Also the political environment may no longer support the goals of a policy and finally, some policies or programmes are terminated purely for ideological reasons.

Why is Policy Termination so Rare? Please note that even though the factors listed above may call for a policy termination, in real practice, policies are hardly terminated in Ghana because of the following factors. First, some organizations desire to survive so even when their flagship policies are not working, they are kept in business largely because of the desire of the organization to survive. Secondly, the creation of new goals sometimes helps legitimize the organization’s continued existence. Also some programmes must exist because of current laws (i.e. public education). Finally, sometimes it is cheaper to keep a programme going than it is to terminate it. Activity 3.6 Differentiate between policy change and policy termination

……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Explain any four factors which may necessitate a policy change in Ghana ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Why do governments normally keep certain policies running even when evaluation reports have shown that the policies are not working? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary Well done for completing this section. You have noted that no matter how well intentioned, policies are never implemented in the same form they were conceptualized. Policy implementation is also a learning process in that the implementation is usually followed by evaluation which indicates whether the policy is on course or reforms and adjustment will have to be made. An evaluation report usually proves very invaluable in informing policy makers and governments whether a particular policy ought to be continued, changed or terminated. You have been introduced to the rational behind policy changes and why policy terminations are rare even though evaluation reports may have indicated that the policy is not working as expected. Unit Summary Congratulations for completing unit 2 of this course. In this unit you covered a number of issues. You learnt that agenda-setting phase of the policy process refers to the process by which problems come to the attention of government. You also learnt that policy formulation is the development of pertinent and acceptable proposed course of action for dealing with a public problem. In the decision making phase, you observed that it is the process by governments adopt a particular course of action or non-action. A salient point made about implementation was that it is very vital if the goals we set in policies are to be achieved. After introducing you to policy implementation, we underscored the critical importance of evaluation. You realized that evaluation of a policy is vital to help policy makers assess the effects of policies and if necessary put in place correct measures if the policy is not achieving the goals it was originally set to achieve. I concluded the unit by observing that an evaluation report usually proves very invaluable in informing policy makers and governments whether a particular policy ought to be continued, changed or terminated.

Unit 3: The Constitutional Basis of Public Policies in Ghana Introduction Welcome to unit 3: The Constitutional Basis of Public Policies in Ghana. In this unit, my attention is on the basic constitutional framework that guides the making of public policies in Ghana. The unit will consider some of the key aspirations of the Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Chapter 6 of the 1992 Constitution and explain the main government structure of Ghana. Specifically, the unit covers the following sections. Section 1: The Profile of Ghana Section 2: The Directive Principles of State Policy Section 3: The Machinery of Government in Ghana Section 4: The Governance Environment Section 5: Ghana’s Policy Environment Section 6: The Context of Policy Choice in Ghana Objectives

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:  Explain the profile of Ghana  Discuss the directive principles of state policy and it affect on government  Explain the machinery of government from the local to the national level  Outline the decentralized planning process in Ghana  Discuss the governance environment of Ghana  Explain the context of Policy Choice in Ghana

Section 1: The Profile of Ghana

Introduction Welcome to section 1 of unit 3: The Profile of Ghana. In this section, my responsibility is to help you appreciate some of the basic facts of the country in order that the discussions will be put in proper perspective. You need to know some of the basic facts about the country in order to understand the context within which public policies are made. I encourage you to pay attention to this section.

Objectives At the end of this section, you are expected to:  Explain the profile of Ghana  Discuss some of the demographics of the country  Outline the key developmental challenges confronting the country

The Country Profile of Ghana Ghana with a area of 238,537 square kilometers (approximately equal to the size of the United Kingdom), lies along the West Coast of Africa. It is bounded on the west, north, east and south by Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, and the Gulf of Guinea. For proper administration of the state Ghana is divided into ten administrative regions. These are Greater Accra (which host the national capital-Accra), Western Region, Central Region, Volta Region, Eastern Region, Ashanti Region, Brong Ahafo Region, the Upper East Region, Upper West Region and the Northern Region. The regions are divided into 210 administrative districts for the purpose of local government.

Ghana has one of the highest population growth rates in the world (about 3.1%), and its population has more than doubled between 1970 and 2010. The total population is 2010 is estimated at 24. 6 million. Almost 50% of the population is made up of children less than 15 years of age, thereby indicating a high dependency ratio. Ghanaian has more than ninety ethnic groups. Two broad cultural groups can be distinguished. These are the matrilineal culture of most of the south and the patrilineal culture of the north and parts of Greater Accra and parts of the Volta Region. The main religious groups are Christians, Muslims and traditionalists. Social and kingship bonds in Ghana play a critical role in everyday life. A complex system of rights and obligations serve as communal social security and welfare system. Traditionally, the institution of chieftaincy buttresses the political and socio-cultural institution of the various communities and provides avenues for the people to express their social, religious, ethnical, and cultural values. In July 1, 2011, the World Bank reclassification of economies saw Ghana moving from a low-income to a low-middle income country. This classification was done after the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) had rebased the economy in November, 2010. This rebasing also indicated that the country’s per capita income was $1,343 with GDP value of $32.5 billion (GH46.2 billion).

The top 20 per cent of households account for 44% of total income, the bottom 40% for 18%, and the bottom 20% for 7%. Life expectancy improved from fifty-two per cent in the 1980s to fifty-six years in 2010.

The Economy of Ghana Ghana experienced its half-century as an independent nation in March 2007. However, the early promise of democracy combined with economic and social development that hailed the new era in 1957 let to disappointments in the first three decades of independence. While democracy has now been restored, with six successive, peaceful, violent free and free and fair elections, and two alternations of political power in 2001 and 2009, and while there has been some recovery from the earlier economic collapse, the challenge of economic and social transformation looms large (Aryeetey and Kanbur 2008: 1).

The country has a mixed economy consisting of a dominant traditional agricultural sector, characterized by small-scale peasant farming, which absorbs about 50% of the total adult labour force. Agriculture contributes to nearly 40% of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Agriculture’s growth rate lagged behind the other sectors in most recent years, however, largely

44 due to inefficient farming practices, a strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture and poor transport and distribution channels. Ghana’s economy has a relatively capital-intensive modern sector dominated by mining and a few other industrial activities; a rapidly expanding informal sector dominated by petty traders, small artisans, technicians, and small businessmen. Ghana also struck oil in 2008 after several years of exploration and started drilling oil in commercial quantities in the last quarter of 2010. The economic has undergone drastic changes during the past five decades. After a period of relative prosperity in the 1960s, the economy underwent unprecedented deterioration in the 1970s and the early 1980s. GDP fell by 30% between 1957 and 1982. Inflation rose to an average of 56% per annum and reached a peak of 123% in 1983. The negative impact of the economic deterioration on health, education, and other sectors was profound.

In order to cure the economic malaise, the government adopted an economic recovery programme in 1983, the primary goals of which were to stabilization and structural reforms. Among the key elements of the reform package were; exchange rate reforms, liberalization of trade and payments including financial sector reforms, export promotion, diversification of export sector, divestiture of government investments, and a strengthening of the balance of payments. Within a decade, GDP growth rate increased to about 5% per annum, and inflation was reduced to an average of 26% per annum. However, by the mid-1990s the growth momentum slowed and macroeconomic instability resurfaced. This is evidenced by declining GDP growth rates, uncontrolled expansion in money supply, and escalating price inflation. This has been accompanied by economic hardships, mounting unemployment, a slowing of poverty alleviation and escalation of social tension.

Macroeconomic conditions in Ghana have been relatively stable since 2001, even if somewhat mixed for a number of indicators. This stability contrasts quite considerably with performance in the preceding decade. There have been considerable improvement in certain areas especially real GDP and gross international reserves. The targets set for the domestic primary balance, inflation and the overall budget deficit were not achieved. It is, however, interesting to note that since the year 2010, the country has enjoyed single digit inflation even though it has not reflected in the overall reduction in interest rate. It must be stated that the biggest weakness of the Ghanaian economy is the chronic joblessness of a vast proportion of the people. Launching the State of the Ghanaian Economy report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Ernest Aryetey said that “we’ve always said that unemployment deserves much bigger attention in policy than it has been given, and for 20 years we have said the policies we have been pursuing are not tailored towards job-creation”. He further argued that the industrial sector remains weak and has not been expanding enough to create the needed jobs.

3.1 Activities To what extent does the location of Ghana affect its ability to craft independent public policies? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What were the main trusts of the economic reform programme embarked upon by Ghana in 1983? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary

Well done for completing the first section of unit 3. You have been introduced to the profile of Ghana. I indicated that Ghana has a very youthful population with about 50% of the population under the age of 15. This produces a very high dependency ratio. You have also learnt that the country has experienced a very erratic economic growth rate since independence. With severe economic deterioration between 1973 and 1983, the introduction of ERP restored some health to the economy. The fourth republic has witnessed a slow but dramatic growth rates in some of the key sectors of the economy. It is my hope that you will find the next section very interesting.

Section 2: The Directive Principle of State Policy

Introduction

Welcome to section 2 of unit 3: The Directive Principles of State Policy. In this section, my focus is on the key principles contained in the Chapter six of the 1992 Constitution which seeks to give direction to the key institutions of state on how to proceed with the making and implementing public policies and programmes in the country.

Objectives At the end of this section you are expected to:  Explain the directive principles of state policy  Examine the measures government has to put in place to achieve the targets under the directive principles of state policy

General Consideration The report of the National Commission on Democracy report identified the need to include in the 1992 Constitution “core principles around which national political, social and economic life will resolve”. Against the background of the achievements and failings of our post-independence experience, and our aspirations for the future as a people, the principles attempt to set the stage for the enunciation of political, civil, economic and social rights of our people. The directives principles are regarded as spelling out in broad strokes the spirit or conscience of the constitution.

Article 34 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states that “The Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the this chapter shall guide all citizens, Parliament, the President, the Judiciary, the Council of State, the Cabinet, political parties and other bodies and persons in applying or interpreting this Constitution or any other law and in taking and implementing any policy decisions, for the establishment of a just and free society”. In this connection, the president shall report to parliament at least once a year all the steps taken to ensure the realization of the policy objectives contained in the Directive Principles of State Policy. In particular the president is expected to take steps towards the realization of the following:

 Basic human rights and popular participation

 A healthy economy

 The right to work

 The right to good health care

 The right to education The Political Objectives The political objectives set out under the Directive Principles of State Policy include the following: Ghana shall be a democratic state dedicated to the realization of freedom and justice, and accordingly sovereignty resides in the people of Ghana from whom government derives all its powers and authority through the constitution. It further states that the state shall protect and safeguard the independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ghana, and shall seek the well-being of all her citizens. Again, the state shall promote just and reasonable access by all citizens to public facilities and services in accordance with law. The state is also expected to cultivate among Ghanaians respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms and the dignity of the human person. It is also expected of the state to actively promote the integration of the peoples of Ghana and prohibit discrimination and prejudices on the grounds of place of origin, circumstances of birth, ethnic origin, gender or religious creed or other beliefs. In order to ensure the continuity of projects started by previous administration, the Constitution enjoins government in Article 34 (7) that as far as practicable, a government shall continue and execute projects and programmes commenced by the previous governments. The state is expected to take steps to eradicate corrupt practices and the abuse of power and promote a culture of political tolerance among the people of Ghana.

Economic Objectives

The economic objectives are captured under article 36 of the 1992 Constitution. Under the economic objectives, the state of Ghana is expected to do the following: The state shall take all the necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximize the rate of economic development and to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every person in Ghana and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment and public assistance to the needy. The state is also expected to take steps to promote the development of agriculture and industry, encourage foreign investment, ensure equality of economic opportunity to all citizens, guarantee the ownership of property and the right of inheritance, the state shall recognize that ownership and possession of land carry a social obligation to serve the larger community and, in particular, the state shall recognize that the managers of the public stool, skin and family lands are fiduciaries charged with the obligation to discharge their functions for the benefit respectively of the people of Ghana. These positive rights are not justifiable. To achieve these set principles, the government of Ghana is expected to take the following concrete steps:

 Establishment and strengthening of democratic state, based on the ideals of freedom, equity, regional and gender balance, justice, probity, accountability, transparency and competence

 Eradication of corrupt practices and the abuse of power

 Institution building and reform

 Establishment of a sound and healthy economy with a reduction in the role of the state in the economic life of the country and make the private sector the engine of growth by promoting investor confidence

 Decentralization of administrative and financial machinery of government to the regions and districts

 Development of “value for money” public services

Activity 3.2 Briefly state the guiding principle of the Directive Principles of State Policy of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Identify and explain any three steps the government of Ghana is expected to take to address the general principles contained in the Directive Principles of State Policy. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Well done for completing section 2 of unit 3. You have learnt that the Constitution has certain aspirations for the country. The Directive Principles of State Policy is expected to guide all citizens, Parliament, the President, the Judiciary, the Council of State, the Cabinet, political parties and other bodies and persons in applying or interpreting this Constitution or any other law and in taking and implementing any policy decisions, for the establishment of a just and free society. You have also learnt the political and economic objectives contained in DPSP and the steps the government of Ghana is expected to take to realize these objectives. It is my hope that you will be able to analyze the actions of government from the perspectives of the objectives set out in the Directive Principles of State Policy.

Section 3: The Machinery of Government Introduction Welcome to section 3 of unit 3: The Machinery of Government. In this section, you will be introduced to the machinery of government from the local government level to the national level. You will also learn the linkages between these levels and appreciate the extent to which the making of public policy depends on the effective synergies between the various levels. I am expecting that you will take your time and thoroughly understand this section as it will help you grapple with the subsequent sections and units.

Objectives At the end of this section, you should be able to  Explain the relationship between the central government and the local government units  Outline the key functions of District Assemblies  Discuss the oversight responsibilities of the Regional Coordinating Council over the

activities of District Assemblies

The Central Government At the apex of the machinery of government is the Executive President, who doubles as the head of state and a head of government. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. In the discharge of his duties, the president is assisted by a vice president, a 25-member council of state, partly elected and partly appointed, charged with the responsibility of counseling the president, and other buffer institutions such as the National Security Council, National Development Planning Commission etc. The President is also empowered by the Constitution to appoint such ministers as may be necessary to help him administer the state. The ministers and their deputies so nominated by the president must receive prior approval of parliament. The central government is also assisted by the public service of Ghana. These include the Civil Service, the Ghana Education Service, Internal Revenue Service, Immigration, Service, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, Prison Service, Fire Service and Public Corporations placed under specific sector ministries to enhance accountability and responsiveness. For instance, the Prisons Service, Fire Service, Internal Revenue Service and the Police service are placed under the Ministry of Interior, while the universities and the Ghana Education Service placed under the Ministry of Education. In accordance with Chapter 14 of the 1992 Constitution, the Public Services Commission was established in 1994 (Ghana, 1992). The President also benefits from the expertise of the Head of the Civil Service and the Secretary to the Cabinet. Until the advent of constitutional rule in 1993, the two positions were held by one person. The Head of the Civil Service is a public officer appointed by he president, acting in consultation with the active advice of the Public Services Commission. It is possible for the HCS to be appointed from outside of the civil service. Currently the Head of the Civil Service has the rank of a minister of state. This arrangement is to enable him wield the necessary influence in the policy making process. The HCS is empowered to form and express independent opinion concerning the management of the civil service in Ghana (Ayee 1999: 256). Unlike previously, the HCS has the rank of a minister of state. This is to enable his or her voice to be heard at the highest level of decision making in the country. The HCS is guaranteed the freedom to form and express independent views on all matters concerning the management of the civil service. The secretary to the cabinet, on the other hand is appointed by the president on such terms and conditions as the president may determine. Although not a civil servant, the secretary heads the Office of the President, which also forms an integral part of the civil service. This arrangement unfortunately has given rise to enormous conflicts between the secretary and his staff over procedures and ethics (Ayee, 1999:257). Regional Level Most ministries save Defense, Foreign Affairs, Mines and Energy, have departments in the regions. The regional minister is the representative of the president in the region and is responsible for co-coordinating the public administration of the region. The regional minister is supported by a deputy and a regional coordinating director-a career civil servant who is the head

50 of the administration of the region. The main role of the regional level is to serves as an intermediate coordinating and monitoring link between the central government and the districts within his/her area of jurisdiction. The regional minister also benefits from the expertise and experience of the regional coordinating council which he/she chairs. The regional coordinating council consists of the following;

 A regional minister and his deputy or deputies

 The presiding member and the district chief executive from each district in the region.

 Two chiefs from the regional house of chiefs.

 The regional heads of the decentralized ministries and department (they are members with no voting right). The Functions of the Regional Coordinating Council The coordinating council is expected to perform the following functions (Ahwoi, 2010:110).

 Coordinates, monitor and evaluate the performance of the Assemblies in the region;

 Monitor the use of monies allocated to the Assemblies by any agency of the Central Government;

 Review and coordinate public services generally in the region.

 Perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by or under any enactment. The technical performance of these functions is undertaken by the Departments of the RCCs. For this purpose, each RCC was to have and Appointments and Promotions Committee, a Disciplinary Committee, and an Advisory Committee. It is important to note that the Regional Coordinating Councils are not elected bodies, they are also not legislative bodies and they are not taxing bodies in the national governance system. There are, however good reasons for their composition and for their role as a coordinating and harmonization rather than a policy-making, supervisory or legislative institution. First, it has been argued that in an African country with numerous tribes, clans and ethnic groups, the nations are artificial. Therefore if the decentralizes units are large enough, are allowed independently elected legislatures, elected executives authorities and with sufficient independent sources of revenue, all it would take to trigger off demands for a separate state is ambitious leadership. Secondly, Ghana’s independence had been fought for on the platform of unitarism verses federalism, and it had been very bitter and violent fight. A decentralized system that sought to create a state within a state had to be avoided. Thirdly, the RCCs do not have independent revenue sources and are entirely dependent on the Central Government for resources for both development and recurrent expenditure. For this reason, the RCCs have not been created as taxing or rating authorities.

Finally, the RCCs have been so composed in order that they are able to play their coordinating role without unjustifiably interfering in the decisions of democratically elected District Assemblies. District Level The 1992 Constitution provides for decentralized and local government system in Ghana. Article 240(1) of the Constitution states that “Ghana shall have a system of local government and administration which shall, as far as practicable be decentralized. The district assemblies constitute the basic unit of the local government system in Ghana. The Das consist of 70% elected members and 30% appointed by the president in consultation with traditional authority and interest groups in the area. The implicit advantage of the 30% appointees is for the ruling to have a measure of control in the operations of the assemblies. The major justification of the 30% is however, for the government to tap into the expertise of people who may not want to go through the rough waters of campaigning to be elected into the assembly but whose contributions can prove invaluable in the discharge of the responsibilities of the assembly. The district assembly is also made up of a district chief executive who is the representative of the central government in the district who is appointed by the president with the prior approval of two-thirds majority of the district assembly members present and voting. It also includes the MPs whose constituencies fall within the area of jurisdiction. The district assemblies are the highest political and administrative authorities in the district with taxing powers and budgeting of their own. The district assemblies exercise deliberative, legislative and executive powers. They are expected to perform about eighty-seven functions. Functions of the District Assembly The District Assembly generally exercises political and administrative authority in the district. It also provides guidance and gives direction to and supervises all other administrative authorities in the district. In fine, the District Assembly exercises deliberative, legislative and executive functions. Specifically the District Assembly is expected to perform the following functions;

 Be responsible for the overall development of the district and shall ensure the preparation and submission through the Regional Coordinating Council of ;  Development plans of the district to the National Development Planning Commission for approval; and  The budget of the district related to the approval plans to the Minister for finance and economic planning for approval;  Formulate and execute plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilization of the resources necessary for the overall development of the district;  Promote and support productive activities and social development in the district and remove any obstacles to initiative and development;  Initiate programmes for the development of basic infrastructure and provide municipal works and services in the district;  Be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment of the district;

 In co-operation with appropriate national and local security agencies be responsible for the maintenance of security and public safety in the district;  Ensure ready access to courts in the districts for the promotion of justice;  Initiate, sponsor or carry out such studies as may be necessary for the discharge of any of the functions conferred by this Act or any other enactment; and  Perform such other functions as may be provided under any other enactment (Local Government Act, 1993 Act 462 section 10 [3]). It is also important to note that subject to the Local Government Act and to Government policy, it shall be the responsibility of a District Assembly to take such steps and measures as are necessary and expedient to:

 Execute approved development plans for the district;

 Guide, encourage and support sub-district local government bodies, public agencies and local communities to perform their roles in the execution of approved plans;

 Initiate and encourage joint participation with other persons or bodies to execute approved development plans;

 Promote or encourage other persons or bodies to undertake projects under approved development plans; and

 Monitor the execution of projects under approved development plans and assesses and evaluates their impact on the people’s development, the local, district and national economy ((Local Government Act, 1993 Act 462 section 10 [4]).

 The Assemblies also co-ordinates, integrates and harmonizes the execution of programmes and projects under approved development plans for the district and other development programmes promoted or carried out by Ministries, Departments, public corporations and other statutory bodies and non-governmental organizations in the district (Local Government Act, 1993 Act 462 section 10 [5]). In order that the functions of the District Assembly will reflect the vision of the president, it is required to be subject to the general guidance and direction of the President on matters of national policy and is also required to act in accordance with the appropriate public corporation, statutory body or non-governmental organization. The Sub-District Level On paper, the district level has two tiers. These are; urban, zonal and town councils (UZTCs), and unit committees. The UZTCs are not elected bodies. They are made up of the relevant DAs and unit committees and government appointees. The unit committees are made up of not more than 15 members out of which ten are elected and 5 are appointed by the government. The main link between the center, the regions, the districts and sub-district levels is the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. It is a “super ministry” that issues instructions and directives to other ministries, departments and agencies on matters related to decentralization.

The key features of government machinery of Ghana are:

 Ghana is a unitary and centralized state

 There is a measure of decentralization

 There is close relationship between the center and the local areas-central local relations

 Central government has the power to influence the decisions of the local government units

 The central government is responsible for the interpretation of the powers of sub- government units.

Activity 3.2 Explain briefly the advantages involved in electing a district chief executive ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Explain the rationale for the composition of the Regional Coordinating Council ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Summary I am very happy that you have successfully completed this section. You have given a clear indication that you are committed to this course. In this section, I have discussed the critical role of the central government in the administration of the state. I have explained the linkages that exist between the central government, regional, districts and sub-district level. You have also learnt the general functions of the regional coordinating council as the key coordinating institution and the district assemblies as the legislative and executive institutions at the district level.

Section 4: The Process of Decentralized Planning in Ghana

Introduction Welcome to section 4 of unit 3; The Process of Decentralized Planning in Ghana. It is an attempt to let you understand the process of decentralized planning in Ghana. This section will help you appreciate the linkages that exist or must exist between the various levels of government in

Ghana. In the process, you will be informed about the dynamics of decentralized planning in Ghana.

Objectives At the end of this section, it should be possible for you to:  Explain the respective roles of the levels of government in the planning process  Outline the linkages between the National Development Planning Commission and the local government units

The Process of Decentralized Planning The traditional approach to development planning in Ghana had been centralized in scope and sectoral in nature. Planning was described as “top-down” and highly centralized, the planning approach sought to define national goals and objectives and therefore formulates national development plans from the perspective of a few staff of Ministries and central government agencies without any consultation with or participation of the people who were supposed to be the ultimate beneficiaries of the plan (Ahwoi 2010: 186).

The Drawbacks of the Traditional Planning System

The major drawbacks of the traditional planning system explained above were as follows:  It was insensitive to community aspirations and opportunities for local level development initiatives;  It inhibited integrated analysis, synthesis and action and represented a limited and parochial approach to solving development problems;  It hardly explored the interactive nature of development planning.

Objectives of the Decentralized Planning System

Ghana’s decentralized planning system sought to achieve the following:  Restructure the Ministries, Departments and Agencies and decentralize their decision- making authority;  Integrate local government and central government at the regional, district and sub- district levels;  Decentralize and integrate the development planning process and its supporting budgetary system;  Effect adequate transfer of revenue, staff and other resources from central to local government. The decentralized planning system is therefore participatory and integrative, and is designed to ensure the active involvement of the community and services providers in the provision of services and the planning and implementation of development programmers. Both the Local Government Act (Act 462 of 1993) and the National Development Planning System Act (Act 480 of 1994) clearly identify political and bureaucratic bodies and assign them with authority, responsibility and roles in ways that promote partnership in planning, identify functions, decentralize the planning system and effect integration and effectiveness in the

55 formulation and implementation of development policies and programmes at national, regional district, sub-district and sectoral levels (Ahwoi 2010: 157).

The two laws see planning as a politico-technical dialogue and process. Community participation and inter-disciplinary collaboration are integral parts of the planning process, and it involves continuous monitoring and evaluation of implementation to provide the requisite feedback.

The Planning Process The entire planning process takes the following form:  Planning at the district level starts with the communities’ problems, goals and objectives from the Unit Committee level through the Urban, Zonal, Town and Area Council level to the District Assembly;  The sub-committees of the Executive Committee of the Assembly consider the problems and opportunities, define and prioritize them and submit these to the Executive Committee;  The Departments of the Assembly, sectoral specialists, non-governmental organizations and other functional agencies confer and collaborate with one another to work out the ingredients of the District Development Plan;  The District Planning Coordinating Unit integrates and coordinates the district sectoral plans into the district development plans and annual plans and budgets for consideration of the Executive Committee and debate by the Assembly.

The approved District Development Plan is then sent to the Regional Planning Coordinating Unit for coordination and harmonization with the plans of the other Assemblies in the region. These are submitted to the Regional Coordinating Council, which is the political body responsible for the integration, coordination, harmonization, monitoring and evaluation of the development decisions and actions of the Assemblies in the region and are responsible for effecting real and meaningful collaboration among Assemblies and cooperative development administration of the region.

The ten coordinated regional development plans are submitted to the National Development Commission (NDPC), the apex body of the national development planning system charged with the responsibility for ensuring consistency and continuity in the framing and execution of development planning policy for the entire country. These are synthesized into a draft National Development Plan from where it is submitted to the cabinet for political approval.

Even though it is neither constitutionally nor legally required that the NDPC Plan is approved by parliament, the practice has been to seek parliamentary endorsement of the plan after cabinet approval. This is to enable MPs familiarize themselves with the development priorities of the government since these form the bases of the annual budgets which are approved by parliament.

The National Development Plan as approved is what is then sent down as District Development Plans containing the district programmes, and projects, using the mechanism of the composite budget and funded largely by the District Assemblies’ Common Fund.

Sector inputs are coordinated into the National Development Plan at the level of the National Development Planning Commission, and there are provisions for sector implementation. There are provisions in Act 480 for Joint Development Planning Areas, Joint Development Planning Boards, and Special Development Areas (Ahwoi 2010: 158).

Activity 3.4

What is the critical of the Regional Coordinating Council in the decentralized planning process? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

How can the information from the District and sub-district levels affect the planning process in Ghana? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… State and explain any three advantages gained from the decentralized planning system. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Summary

You have just completed another section in this unit. Thank you for your diligence. In this section you have learnt that the traditional planning system was too parochial and did not encourage participation in the planning process. In the decentralized planning process participation and high level of consultation is the hallmark. In this section, the relationship that exist between the district assembly and the regional coordinating council on one hand and the national development planning commission on the other for purposes of planning have also been explored. It is my wish that you will enjoy the subsequent sections in the unit.

Section 5: The Governance environment Introduction Welcome to section 5 of unit 3: The Governance environment. Governance is the art of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. In this section, we define governance as the manner in which power is exercised in the management

57 of a country’s economic and social resources for development. The section provides a brief political history of the country in order to place the public policy making in proper perspectives. Objectives

At the end of this section, it should be possible for you to:  Explain the governance environment of Ghana before 1992  Outline the factors that continue to sustain Ghana’s democracy  Discuss the key democratic deficits during the Fourth Republic

Governance before the Fourth Republic

Ghana has over the years experienced a very unstable political environment which has impacted adversely on the development of enduring public policies and programmes. It must be noted that no matter how well intended public policies are they do not yield instantaneous results. Public policies have gestation periods and therefore require tremendous political stability to realize the objectives set under the policy. The twenty-eight years following the overthrow of Nkrumah in 1966 could be aptly described as the period of military domination and instability in the political system as a result of multiple coup d’états. The return to constitutional rule was the country’s third transition from military to civilian-constitutional rule since independence in 1957.The past political chaos has given way to new political actors who are demonstrating a higher level of tolerance, co-operation and consensus building in the formulation and implementation of policies. It must be noted that the quality of governance will go a long way to determine how enduring the Fourth Republic will be. It could be said that bad governance contributed in no small measure towards much of the instability of the past. Some have argued that the overthrow of Busia and Limann might have been premeditated for reasons other than bad governance, considering the justification given by Acheampong that the little amenities they were enjoying under Nkrumah had been taken away from the soldiers and the admonition of Rawlings to Limann in 1979 that his was on probation.

Governance in the Fourth Republic

The Fourth Republic was born when the draft Constitution was adopted in a nationwide referendum on 28th April 1992 went into force in January 1993 to end the reign of the Provisional National Defence Council. The adoption of the 1992 Constitution and the holding of six successive, free and fair and relatively violent free elections have ushered Ghana into a period of modest but significant gains in democratic governance.

Following the controversy of the 1992 election, for instance, the formation of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee has facilitated consensus among the political parties over issues of electoral conduct. The 1992 Constitution provides for the basic framework for competitive elections to the National Legislature, the Executive, and the District Assembly, the lowest unit of representative government in Ghana. The Fourth Republic has fostered a more pluralistic and competitive multi-party democracy.

The optimism associated with the fourth republic is attributable to several factors. These include not limited to the following; collective antipathy to coups, popular support for democracy, deflated superiority complex of the military, vibrant and engaging pro-democracy civil society, including the media and the emergent anti-coup global climate (Baffour Agyeman-Duah 2008: 20).

It is pertinent to know how far have the good governance precepts and ideals been actualized under the forth republic. The 1992 Constitution guarantees civil and political rights, creates autonomous bodies to safeguard citizens’ rights, enhance public accountability by mandating free media, entrenching political pluralism by prohibiting the enactment of law that will turn the country into a one-party state.

Shortfalls in the quest for good Governance in Ghana There a number of shortfalls in the quest for good governance in Ghana. First, the political liberalization did not encompass the separation of the state from the ruling party. Some departments in some ministries have become colonies of the ruling parties. There is also a considerable fusion of some state enterprises and the ruling parties. Institutions such as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), National Mobilization Programme, (NMP) National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) were run by pro-PNDC era appointees. The officials who ran these organizations knew that their security of tenure depended on the continued stay of the NDC in power. They therefore aligned themselves with the ruling party with varying degree of openness contrary to what the code of their profession indicated.

Secondly, the continued influence of money in Ghanaian politics threatens to undermine the democratic credentials of the country. The issue of vote buying has been highlighted a number of times but nothing is been done to address the problem. it is an undeniable fact that running a political campaign is expensive, but the issue of vote buying has the potential of preventing very knowledgeable people who do not have the financial muscle dish out money to electorate to contest and win. The danger is also that the incumbent government who obviously trumps all the other political parties in resource mobilization enjoys unfettered incumbency advantage.

Thirdly, even though civil society organizations have developed tremendously since 1992, it still continues to suffer severe handicaps. The civil society groups depend on external agencies for funding, and sometimes for moral or political support. For instance, Domestic Election Observation Groups depended almost completely on foreign donor. Governments have also been very hostile to groups they perceive to be anti-government.

Furthermore, the inability of government to show high level of political commitment to their much touted rhetoric of transparency, probity, zero tolerance of corruption, and accountability constitute a serious democratic deficit in the fourth republic. The recent public hearings of the Public Account Committee of Parliament attest to the leakages in the public procurement system coupled with misapplication and misallocation of public funds.

In order to consolidate the existing gains in good governance, a lot needs to be done. First, the country needs a relatively strong parliament with a virile opposition. Second, the country

59 requires a strong and vibrant media with professionals who will defend the public interest at all times. It is also important to nurture very strong civil society organizations who will constantly interrogate government policies and programmes and thereby put government on its toes. We also need to build strong political institutions to serve as countervailing force to the state.

Activity 3.5

Identify and discuss five major factors that can sustain Ghana’s democracy ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Discuss and four major achievements of the Fourth Republic of Ghana ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Outline any four democratic deficits of the Fourth Republic ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary

Well done for completing this section. You have noticed that Ghana experienced very unstable political system from 1966 to 1992. You learnt that the return to constitutional rule was the nation’s fourth attempt at constitutional rule. It is interesting to note that there is some optimism this time around because of general antipathy to coups, the desire to sustain democratic systems and negative global attitude to coups among others. You have learnt that the institutional checks and balances manifested in the creation of independent institutions of state coupled with the limitations of the powers of the president are likely to sustain the current democratic dispensation. The continued influence of money in politics, violence during elections, the domineering role of parties, weak parliament and civil society organizations will have to be corrected if the nation is to endure in its fourth attempt at constitutional rule.

Section 6: The Policy Environment of Ghana Introduction Welcome to section 6 of unit 3: The Policy Environment of Ghana. In this section, I am going to introduce you to the policy context of Ghana to help you appreciate the variables that shape the

60 making of public policies in the country. Policy making cannot be studied apart from the environment or the context in which it occurs. According to the systems theory, demands for policy actions stem from problems and conflicts in the environment and are transmitted to the political system by groups, officials, and others. In this connection, this section looks at general environment within which policies are made in Ghana. Objectives At the end of this section you should be able to:  Explain the policy environment before 1992  Outline the variables that shaped the policy environment during military regimes  Discuss the need for the opening of the political space for participation in the policy process

The Policy Making Environment in the Past Throughout much of its post-independence history, the responsibility for policy initiatives and design has been either directly or indirectly conferred upon civil servants and the political elite, who depending on their preferences, could choose to seek policy advice from experts (Armstrong, 1996 Hutchful, 1997). Lamenting on the domineering role of politicians in the design of the 7-year development plan by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and other policy initiatives, E.N. Omaboe asserted that “in Ghana, the politicians are always ahead of the civil servants and the planners in the general consideration and implementation of economic and implementation of economic and social objectives. This has meant that almost all important projects have had to initiate by the politician who on many occasions have taken decisions and committed the nation to a certain course of action before the technicians were consulted”. The concern of E.N. Omaboe was that consultations were very minimal in the policy making process in Ghana during this period under review. Ohemeng has succinctly described the policy making environment in Ghana between 1957-1992 as a “close circuit network” of politicians and senior bureaucrats with technical assistance drawn from multilateral and bilateral donor. The domestic non-governmental sector played little or no noticeable role in the policy making process. This lack of participation is explained by the nature of the political environment which prevailed at that time. The succession of military regimes beginning in 1966 did not allow dissent or public discussions of government policies and programmes. To a very large extent, public opinion was largely seen not as a resource but a source of potential problem to be avoided or neutralized for political expediency (Ohemeng, 2005). The short-lived elected governments in 1969-1972 and again in 1979-1981 failed or didn’t have the opportunity to open up the political space that welcomed citizens’ engagement on national issues. The transition from successive military governments to multi-party democracy in 1992 brought limited changes as fare as public participation in policy-making was concerned. Having transformed itself from a military government (1981-1992) to an elected parliamentary government, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government during its (1992-2000) rein continued its authoritarian practices as instruments for policy making and implementation.

Indeed Hutchful (2002) remarked that the difficulties encountered in implementing structural reforms initiated in 1983, were partly because of the failure to solicit the views of the private sector, civil society groups, and the civil service. As unwelcoming as it may have been to the NDC government, the dawn of multi-party democracy in 1992 was a new opportunity for civil society to influence government policies and programmes. The emergence of private think tanks such as the Institute of Economic Affairs, and The Center for Policy Analysis signaled the emergence of civil society organizations interested in engaging in research and readily provided input into the policy-making process, consultation remained limited and where it existed it was not done openly. Potential spaces of consultation provided through various legislative and governance instruments were underutilized or virtually closed by state actors-politicians and bureaucrats. Between 1957 and 1992 there was generally lack of transparency in policy making in Ghana. It is in this connection that the World Bank’s Comprehensive Development Framework outlined the core guiding principles behind the preparation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS 1), to include the need for country ownership of programmes, and the adherence to democratic principles in decision-making. Most policies are expected to be country-driven, partnership oriented and comprehensive in scope. Public policies are also expected to be transparent by being national based, consultative in character that features public fora where the government, civil society organizations and development partners participate and determine the effective pathways to development. Decision-makers in developing countries assume central roles in initiating, shaping and pursuing public policies. They are mostly responsible for agenda setting, assessing policy options and priding over implementation. The systems theory suggests that policy making cannot be adequately considered apart from the environment in which it takes place. Normally demands for policy actions are generated from the environment and transmitted to the political system. The environment also places a limitation on the performance of policy makers. The policy environment can be considered in two general dimensions, namely internal and external. The internal environment is made up of such geographical characteristics as natural resources, topography and climate, demographic variables such as population size, age distribution, sex distribution, spatial location, culture, social structure and economic system. The external environment is made up of other countries which the Ghana interacts with, international organizations of which Ghana is a member and donor agencies and development partners.

The Context of Policy Choice in Ghana Decision makers within government of developing countries including Ghana are central actors in the politics of reform because of the very nature and characteristics of developing countries. Policy elites work within several interlocking contexts which shape the type of problems they will have to address, places a limit on what solutions are to be considered and what options are feasible economically, socially, politically and administratively. The context within which policy elites work is shaped by the following variables.

Societal Pressures and Interests The policy making in Ghana is affected by the divisions within the society, the extent to which economic, religious, cultural and regional interest are mobilized. The multi-ethnic nature of the Ghanaian society makes it an imperative for policy makers to design policies that address the differing interests of the people. The insistence on regional balance in even recruitment into the army and the constitution of the cabinet among other important bodies is in reaction to these divisions. In democratic systems where interest associations operate with considerable amount of freedom, they often press particular issues on decision makers for action. In developing countries where interest associations are mostly not well organized, they tend to set limits on the options available to policy elites through the use of votes, clientelistic links with government officials, control over the economic resources and special ties with the military or the bureaucracy. How a particular decision will affect the coalition that sustains the regime in power, how changes can help develop new coalitions of support and how particular clienteles will be affected by proposed changes often weigh prominently in the decisions of policy elites in Ghana.

Political Culture Every society has culture that differentiates the values and lifestyles of its members from those of other societies. Culture according to Clyde Kluckholm is the total way of life of the people, the social legacy the individual acquires from his group or that part of the environment that is the creation of man. Political culture considered as those widely held values, beliefs and attitudes concerning what government should try to do and how they should operate and the relationship between the citizens and the government. Political culture helps shape political behavior. The intermittent military intervention in Ghanaian politics and their concomitant repressive tactics literally turned the citizens into a very passive actors in the policy making process. The advent of the “culture of silence” in the 1980s ensured that the citizens were docile and inactive and saw government as wicked and brutal. They tended to have a very low opinion about government. In effect, common political values, beliefs and attitudes guide and constrain the actions of both decision makers and citizens. Historical Context Historical factors peculiar to a country also impact on the policy elites. For instance, in many developing countries, the colonial legacy has shaped the public service, instituted international economic and political relations and to a very large extent defined regional and ethnic divisions as well as forms of national, regional and local governance. The association of Ghana with the British during colonialism for instance has shaped the relationship with that country to date (UK remains the nation’s most important trading partner). The struggle for independence and later conflicts and political compromise may have defined the role and the nature of the state in efforts to achieve economic development. Certain national experiences such as wars, revolutions, defeats, triumphs among others also shape the thinking of policy elites about how to proceed or specific issues.

Economic Conditions Public policies can be viewed as arising out of conflict between different groups of people, private and official, possessing differing interest and desires. One of the prime sources of

63 conflict, especially in modern societies, is economic activities. It is a truism to state that a society’s level of economic development will impose limits on what government can do in providing public goods and services to the society. The structure of a nation’s agriculture, the level of development of its industrial sector, levels of inflation, the performance of public enterprises, the proceeds from exports among others have the potential of either helping or hindering any effort of initiating a policy change or sustaining an existing one. The heave reliance on agriculture over the years has made Ghana an excessively agrarian economy. Ghana has made very little progress in economic diversification and there is still heavy reliance on cocoa. Cocoa contributes about 35% to Ghana’s export value. Fluctuations in the world prices of cocoa do adversely affect the country’s economy. The recent oil and gas find is not likely to change the structure of the economy because it has been argued that Ghana’s total revenue from the oil and gas find will represent less than 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In fact, it is estimated that the government of Ghana will earn $1 billion per annum. Ghanaians have therefore been admonished to be cautious about the high expectations of the extent to which oil and gas find would help resolve the myriad of problems confronting the country. Government has also been cautioned to manage the hopes and aspirations of Ghanaians because the revenue from the oil and gas though quite substantial will not transform the structure of the economy. Industrial or manufacturing which is considered a more efficient vehicle for economic development is also not well developed in Ghana. Administrative Capacity The administrative capacity of a state either influences or constrains policy options available to the policy maker. The administrative capacity determines what policies can be initiated and pursued with effectiveness and efficiency. The availability of requisite human resources, skills in particular areas as well as how efficient the public service is and how well it is integrated into the regional and local systems of administration are very key in informing the policy makers about the capacity of the administration to implement a policy or initiate a new one. The administrative capacity of the state of Ghana is weak and this impact adversely on its capacity to formulate and implement far reaching policies and programmes. An Overbearing State State intervention in the economy has increased over the years. The role of the state in most contemporary developing countries is very pervasive. The control or intervention of the state in the economy is manifested in four different ways. a. The public sector dominates capital formation. b. State-owned enterprises dominate many key or strategic sectors of the economy. c. The state controls banking and finance d. Even when private enterprises enter a particular sector, these privately owned and managed sectors are controlled by the government. In other words in an era where the private sector is seen as the engine of economic growth, the government has to set the ground rules by way of regulatory framework to govern the operations of the private

sector. Centralization of decision-making responsibilities tends to increase the government power and decrease its accountability to the people. Other Policies Public policies are sometimes shaped by the demands of existing policies. For instance, any effort at altering agricultural productivity at the sector level will be affected by macro-economic indicators such as exchange rates and interest. The context of policy reform initiative then includes the opportunities and constraints placed upon available options by a given policy environment. International Context

International actors and international economic and political dependency relations determine the outcome of a good number of policies in Ghana and the rest of the developing world. Policy changes in the 1980s were largely marked by the role of international actors, including the vulnerability of developing countries to international economic and political pressures. During this period of severe international economic crisis, foreign donors, governments, and a variety of international agencies put extensive pressure on governments of developing countries to make recommended changes. With badly needed economic resources at their command, they sought leverage through a variety of mechanisms in order to promote changes in macro-economic and sectoral policies. For instance the introduction of the Economic Recovery and Structural Adjustment Programmes in the in the early 1980s in Ghana required the government to pursue a number of policy options such as the withdrawal of subsidies on agriculture and the privatization of a number of state-owned enterprises all in an effort at rolling back the frontiers of the state. Also the adoption of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) in 2001 required Ghana to prepare a comprehensive policy titled Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS 1). This policy framework was implemented between 2003-2005 to accelerate growth and reduce poverty. The policy framework had the following thematic areas.

a. increasing production and promoting sustainable livelihoods;

b. support for human development and the provision of basic services;

c. special programmes in support of the vulnerable and the excluded;

d. ensuring good governance and increased capacity of the public sector;

e. Active involvement of the private sector as the main engine of growth and partner in nation-building.

Ghana was again required to implement another policy framework, Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS 11). It was meant to consolidate the gains made under GPRS 1 and further reduce poverty. It was designed for implementation between 2007 and 2009. The GPRS 11 had four thematic areas. These included:

a. Continued macroeconomic stability;

b. Accelerated private sector led growth;

c. Vigorous human resource development;

d. Good governance and civil responsibility.

It is important to note that these policy frameworks even though well intended were largely motivated by donor influence. The rationale is that once the donor community is investing money into the economy, they are interested in how the money will be utilized and are also interested in the bench marks upon which the success or otherwise of the policies will be measured.

Ghana is a member of a number of international organizations such as the United Nations, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the ECOWAS among others. Ghana is also a signatory to so many treaties. The public policies and programmes adopted by the country must respect the protocols and the treaty obligations it has with these governmental and non- governmental organizations in the world. It is interesting to note that the sources of policy for the country were almost always the same, namely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These Bretton Woods institutions have always urged the country to be consistent with particular policies (Aryetey, 2004).

Activity 3.6

Identify and explain the variables that shaped public policy making in Ghana before 1992.

Explain the context within which public policies are made in Ghana under the Fourth Republic.

Summary

Well done for completing section 6 of unit 3. You have learnt policy making before the inception of the Fourth Republic was a closed circuit network involving few technocrats and politicians. The politicians did not regard participation in the policy process as a resource. You learnt that since 1992, participation and consultation is seen as a resource to enhance the quality of policies.

I have also introduced you to a myriad of factors that shape the making of policies in the country. These include the societal pressures, political culture, historical context, economic conditions, administrative capacity of the state, and international context among others. It is my hope that you will tackle the subsequent sections with the same high level of seriousness.

Unit Summary I am very excited that you have completed Unit 3. Under unit you learnt a number of things. You learnt the profile and the political trajectories of the country from independence to the present. You learnt the erratic economic growth, through severe economic deterioration between 1973 and 1983, and the introduction of ERP in April 1983. It was pointed out that the 4th Republic has recorded some modest economic gains. You also considered the Directive Principles of State Policy is expected to guide all citizens, Parliament, the President, the Judiciary, the Council of State, the Cabinet, political parties and other bodies and persons in applying or interpreting this Constitution or any other law and in taking and implementing any policy decisions, for the establishment of a just and free society. The critical linkage that exist between the central government, regional, districts and sub-district level was discussed. I also introduced you to the functions of the regional coordinating council as coordinating institution was also underscored. On decentralized planning, I indicated that participation and high level of consultation especially between the district assemblies, regional coordinating council and the national development planning commission is the hallmark. I also argued that the institutional checks and balances manifested in the creation of independent institutions of state coupled with the limitations of the powers of the president are likely to sustain the current democratic dispensation. I also argued that the close circuit network which governed our policy making process before 1992 has been replaced with participation and consultation under the 4th Republic.

Unit 4: The Civil Service and Public Policy Making in Ghana Introduction Welcome to unit 4: The Civil Service and Public Policy Making in Ghana. Bureaucracy is an organization that is designed to carry out the decisions of some larger entity. It is made up of a group of individuals charged with the responsibility of carrying out the policies of some larger entity that cannot be managed properly using a single manager. It is practical necessity for politicians to grant bureaucrats substantial autonomy in the policy making process. In this unit, my interest is to introduce you to a very important actor in the policy making process the, civil service. The success or otherwise of any government in the developing world depends on the competency of its civil service. It is therefore important for you to fully understand the critical role this all important institution plays in the formulation and execution of public policies and programmes. Specifically, the following sub-sections are covered in this unit. Section 1: The Distinction between the Civil Service and the Public Service Section 2: The relevance of Civil Service to Development

Section 3: The Civil Service and Public Policy Making Section 4: The Civil Service and the National Development Effort Section 5: Obstacles to Civil Service in Policy Formulation Section 6: Civil Service Reforms in Ghana Objectives At the end of this unit, it should be possible for you to:  Define the civil service and distinguish between it and the public service  Discuss the relevance of the civil service to national development  Outline the contribution of the civil service to policy making  Identify and explain the main debilitating features of the civil service  Account for the contribution of civil to national development since independence  Explain the major reforms undertaken to address the debilitating features of the civil service

Section 1: The Distinction between the Civil Service and the Public Service Introduction Welcome to section 1 of unit 4: The Distinction between the Civil Service and the Public Service. You will agree with me that there is considerable amount confusion over the relationship that exists between the civil service and the public service. It therefore necessary to begin a unit on the civil service with an attempt to address this confusion and put the controversy behind you before you delve into the contribution of the civil service to the national development effort. In this section, I introduce you to the definition of the civil service and draw a distinction between the civil service and the public service. Objectives At the end of the section, you should be able to:  Define the civil service  State the differences and similarities between the civil service and the public service

The Justification for the Civil Service In complex modern societies, this leads to the undemocratic result that bureaucrats hold all the meaningful policy making power, with elected officials having little opportunity to influence policy outcomes. This perspective of bureaucratic dominance is nicely summed up by an authority Putman (1975: 87) who writes that: “Can there really be much doubt who governs our complex modern societies? Public bureaucracies, staffed largely by permanent civil servants are responsible for the vast majority of policy initiatives taken by government…in a literal sense; the modern political system is

68 essentially “bureaucratic”, characterized by “rule of official”. This practical reality can result in substantial authority by bureaucrats over society. The concern about excessive influence of bureaucrats has a long history. Montesquieu, in his book “The Spirit of the Laws” tended to defend a decentralized aristocratic society and offered an argument that political centralization leads to a bureaucratic state and that a bureaucratic state is a distinct form of despotism. Alexis de Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, shared similar concerns about centralization and bureaucratic despotism; though his observation of USA convinced him that decentralized federal system could be useful mechanism for preventing abuse of bureaucratic power. Marx Weber, however set the agenda for research on modern bureaucracy. Weber pointed out that democracy inevitably comes into conflict with its own bureaucratic tendencies. He also argued that in any form of government “the power position of bureaucrats is always over towering, overweening and over bearing. The political master finds himself in the position of dilettante who stands opposite the experts, facing trained officials who stand within the management of administration. Weber recognized the effective exercise of political control over bureaucrats by Bismarck in Germany and throughout the course of French political history. Understanding the tension so elegantly described by Weber between the valuable expertise of bureaucrats, on one hand and the need for politicians to control their behavior on the other and how this shapes public policy making in the central focus of our attention in this topic.

Civil Service Defined There are three main approaches to defining the civil service. The first approach consist of the civil service as a system of employment focusing on size and rules of the service as these relate to issues of recruitment, selection, and job evaluation, training and development, performance appraisal and the composition of the civil service as against other services. The second approach sees the service as instrument of governance that serves as the bridge between the state and specific administrative organs. It is the bedrock of modern directive principles of state policy. The third approach also conceives the civil service in terms of their role in the policy process. They are the policy authorizers, implementers, fixers, producers, arrangers, clients and consumers. According to A. L. Adu the Civil Service is the administrative machinery of the executive branch of government responsible for putting into effect government policies (Adu, 1969:26). The civil service comprises all servants of the state other than holders of political or judicial offices who are employed in a civil capacity and whose remuneration is paid wholly and directly out of money voted by Parliament. The term further covers all staff of ministries, departments from the highest civil servant to the lowest civil servant. It is common knowledge that the Ghanaian civil service at independence was a much larger institution than it is now. At the time, it embraced all those working for the state, with the exception of the military. Thus policemen, prisons and fire officers, customs officers, teachers, auditors, immigration officers, staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Telecommunications Ltd. As a matter of fact all the service listed under Article 190 of the 1992

Constitution of Ghana as the Public Services of Ghana, and also most of the public boards and corporations, came out of the civil service

The Structure of the Civil Service Usually the civil service is structured on a hierarchy with the administrative class occupying the apex. The occupiers of this class might be promoted from the executive class. Generally, it is a place for experts and professionals who provide the needed capacity to move the organization. The Chief Directors and Heads of Departments belong to this grade. Below the administrative class is the executive class. Persons enter this grade with higher qualification such as degree or diploma since the nature of the job requires higher standard of responsibility and specialized experience. It may include accountants, doctors, engineers etc. The next grade is the clerical class which may comprise of several people with basic education, whose duties among other things are to provide information needed in policy formulation and implementation. At the bottom of the structure is the messengerial class who comprise of messengers, cleaners etc who may or may not have any qualification. Each of the grades has its own commensurate salary. A person with the requisite knowledge and experience will be promoted on the basis of merit, seniority, and competence. Recruitment and promotions are usually done impersonally. Civil Service and Public Service In many countries of the world, the distinction between the civil service and the public service is blurred. Perhaps in no country is the confusion more pronounced than in Ghana. The ordinary person cannot tell the difference today just as in the mid-1970s when it was observed that “the notion has persisted, particularly in the mind of the ordinary man in the street, that the civil service constitutes the entire machinery for executing the full range of government activity”. In other words the average Ghanaian does not usually make any distinction between the civil service proper and the statutory boards and corporation and other service which together make the public. In point of fact the civil service is part of the public service and this is capture in Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The said article states that the public service of Ghana shall include: the civil service, the judicial service, the Audit Service, the Education Service, the Prisons Service, the Parliamentary Service, the Health Service, the Statistical Service, National Fire Service, The Ghana Revenue Authority (the customs, excise and preventive division, Internal Revenue division, and the Value Added Tax secretariat), the Police Service, Immigration Service, and Legal Service. The Public Service also includes public corporations other than those set up as commercial ventures, public services established by the Constitution and such other public services as Parliament may by law prescribe.

Article 190 (2) provides that “the civil service shall, until provision is otherwise made by parliament, comprise service in both central and local government”. In some countries such as France, the policeman, the teacher, the customs officer, the fireman are still considered as integral part of la function publique. In other countries such as Canada and Nigeria, the two terms are used interchangeably, and in both countries the Head of the Civil Service is in charge of the entire government machinery (Quartey, 2007:6). Activity 4.1 How will you define the civil service? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… What is the difference between the civil service and the public service? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… What account for the growing influence of the public bureaucracy in the policy making process? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Thank you for your diligence up to point. It is my hope that you will go through the rest of the course with determination and zeal. In this section, you have been introduced to the justification of the continued relevance of the civil service in the governance process. You learnt that the civil service is an integral part of the public service and therefore we should not confuse the two. I am sure that this foundation will help you appreciate the subsequent sections in the unit. Work hard.

Section 2: The Relevance of Civil Service to Development Introduction

Welcome to section 2 of unit 4: The Relevance of the Civil Service to Development. In this section I am going to introduce you to how the civil service has been used by some countries either as ideological tool or as a tool for socio-economic development. I will also highlight the purpose of the civil service. Objectives At the end of this section, you should be able to:  Discuss the relevance of the civil service  Outline the purpose of the civil service

The Civil Service and Development A strong and a proactive civil service is a necessary condition for a successful nation. The debate about the role of the civil service in dealing with development problems like unemployment, inequality, and poverty is an ideological one. The socialist countries convinced of the state ownership of property, believed in centralized planning and state-driven development. They used the civil service as the instrument for the successful planning and execution of development projects and programmes. In other words, the socialist countries used the civil service as instrument for socio-economic development. On the other hand, in industrialized nations, the civil service did not play a dominant role, even though; it was used to promote private sector development (Quartey, 2007:2). In Ghana, the civil service was generally used by Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention Peoples Party as a tool for socio-economic development under the direction of socialism. This brief period saw the realization of an impressive list of accomplishments. The National Liberation Council which ousted the first President in 1966 and the government of Busia government practiced economic liberalism from the mid-60s to the early 70s. This was followed by the National Redemption Council government, under I. K. Acheampong, which ushered in a period economic nationalism. The regime nationalized many privately owned businesses under the slogan “capturing the commanding heights of the economy. The country returned to economic liberalism in the early 1980s under the 3rd Republic headed by Dr. Hilla Limann. By the time the People’s National Party (PNP) won the 1979 elections after a four month house cleaning exercise by Rawlings led Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), the weaknesses in the civil service had become very apparent. In order to service a vital link between the government and other sectors of the economy for the much needed development, artificially induced reforms had to be undertaken to revitalize the administrative system of the state. It is in this connection that Turner and Hulme have argued that “bureaucracy is an essential and vitally important instrument of development. Even the most ardent proponents of the virtues of the market now admit this”. Purpose of the Civil Service The civil service serves as organs of employment, governance and policy making. The civil service is expected to serve as “the machinery of government”, “secretariat”, “think tank”, to execute the decisions and programmes of government. The civil service is therefore seen as a partner of the executive. These multiple roles justify a need for higher skilled workers. Such persons require demonstrable competence and commitment to state goals and must operate under

72 the general guidance of the public or their representatives. They devise strategies for the re. st of the society while stimulating other social institutions to operate as productive agents. To this end, many of today’s industrialized states as well as newly industrialized countries have invested heavily in the civil service to make them operate at fairly high professional levels. In most cases, the civil service began as a sinecures but over the years the organization was separated from the realm of partisan politics and transformed into a profession through a competitive entry, accountable use of office resources and complete compensation system that cover not only the active life of the civil servant but also a period of retirement. Critical to the civil service is the higher civil servants. Those who operate at this level must not only be proficient, but must also set the moral tone for the civil service and other public services as well as other social institutions. The strong attachment to merit and hence meritocracy ensures that the most competent are not only recruited but they also rise to leadership levels in the civil service. These groups provide professional leadership and take responsibility for the performance of the civil service and they offer quality advice to the political leadership. Countries that do not subscribe to this career system operate systems that guarantee the competence, the confidence and the credibility of the civil service. These roles make the civil service a crucial aspect of modern independent society. Indeed the civil service is regarded as both the cause and a consequence of economic growth and as an essential condition for the emergence of the modern state. Even in an age when business has become globalized, governments in most industrialized countries are still responsible for a quarter to half of their country’s GDP. In Ghana, the civil service is expected to observe strict political neutrality, that is, though loyal to the state, it is expected to serve the government of the day with all diligence and faithfulness. It is also expected to promote high level of professionalism, impartiality and anonymity in the discharge of its duties. It is also important to relate that the civil service is not expected to have its own agenda. It needs the vision and direction, and those must be provided by the government to enable the service translate the government’s dreams and agenda into pragmatic policies, programmes and projects which it is expected to execute. The government has the overall responsibility of providing the much needed leadership and guidance to the civil service and where necessary co-opt the top echelon of the service as genuine partners to identify with the vision of the government. In developing countries such as Ghana, the development agenda of the leadership of the civil service is different from those of the political elite, since they will normally be about the provision of infrastructure and the delivery of efficient services to the public. This role of the civil service is further strengthened by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana which enjoins the government of the republic to undertake infrastructural development. The Directive Principles of State Policy discussed earlier in the course, specifically provides for an elaborate plan covering all aspects of development-social, economic, political, cultural, foreign relations etc of the country. In point of fact, the Directive Principles of State Policy clearly states what the state of Ghana must do for its citizens. A proactive civil service can use this chapter in the constitution if there is no clear vision from government as a solid basis for initiating programmes and projects for adoption by government.

It is important to note that because of the principle of anonymity, the civil service is not expected to make public its contributions; also it does not take credit for the success of the government. It is argued that an efficient and achieving civil service enables a government, visionary or totally lacking in vision, to deliver and meet the needs of its people. In the same vein, an incompetent and dysfunctional civil service, on the other hand, exposes the failings and ineptitude of the government. Such a service my be incapable of identifying the flashpoints of crisis and warn government early enough to take action to avert them. It is for this reason that it is justifiable to hold both the political elite and the leadership of the civil service accountable for poor infrastructural provision and poor service delivery especially of public goods in the country. Activity 4.2 Is the civil service a necessary evil? Give reasons for your answer. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… What are the critical purposes of the civil service? Use Ghanaian examples to illustrate you points. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary Well done for completing this section. You have learnt that a strong and a proactive civil service is a necessary condition for a successful nation and that the civil service is an essential and vitally important instrument of development. You also noticed among other things that the civil service serves as organs of employment, governance and policy making in a country. I wish you well as you prepare to tackle another section in this unit.

Section 3: The Civil Service and Public Policy Making Introduction You are welcome to yet another section in unit 4: The Civil Service and Public Policy Making. In this section, I want to tease out the critical role played by the civil service in public policy making in Ghana to emphasize the indispensable role of this organization in the development of enduring public policies and programmes in the country.

Objectives At the end of this section, you should be able to

 State the critical role of the civil service in the policy making process  Discuss the functions of the civil service under the civil service law of 1993

The Contributions of the Civil Service to the Policy Making Process in Ghana Civil servants play critical role in the policy process in the country. First, the civil service has an important role to play in policy formulation, even though civil servants do not take active part in it. Civil servants especially the senior positions with long experience and expertise could assist the political head to shape the policies of the ministries. The extent to which he can assist in policy formulation is limited to the laying of policy options before the minister but the final determination of what becomes a policy, however, is the sole prerogative of the minister. Secondly, the civil service is the main machinery for the execution of government policies. It is the principal responsibility of the civil service to implement policies emanating from the political master. Once the minister has settled on a policy, it is the duty of the civil servants to faithfully and successfully execute the policies. Failure to carry out the policy could frustrate the policy and undermine the position and stability of the government. In this case, the effectiveness of a government will depend on the efficiency of the civil service and its stability to respond in practical terms to its policy decisions. Sir Warren Fisher has noted the determination of a policy is the function of a minister and once a policy is determined, it is the unquestionable business of the civil servants to strive to carry out that policy with precisely the same energy and goodwill whether he agrees with it or not. Thirdly, the civil service also advices on all major decisions to be taken. He does not only advice the minister in policy formulation but also its implementation. He should advice the minister on the course of action to be taken to project the image of the ministry. They can make suggestions for improvements in methods and results for a particular policy but has no hand in the making of administrative and political policies. Fourthly, the civil service is to provide all available information to the political head while decisions are being formulated. The civil servant should make every available information known to the political chief without fear or favour. Irrespective of whether the advice he tended may accord or not with the minister’s initial view. Furthermore, a significant duty of the civil servant is to be loyal to the state. They are servants of the state and therefore expected to show loyalty to the state. He should carry his duty diligently to the best of his abilities and eschew any act that may jeopardize any policy. The ides is that they do not discharge their duties by popular choice with the control and administration of the affairs of the state; hence, he ought to be loyal to the government of the day to design good policies that will be beneficial to the society which they are serving. This need, according to A. L. Adu underlies the sensitivities of many African governments to the attitude of civil servants to their regimes and their concern to ensure that attitude is in line with the philosophy of government policies.

The civil service is also the custodian of the state property. That is, the civil servants are custodians of information, documents, and all assets of the state. A. L. Adu says that the civil service is the custodian of government reputation; therefore any lackadaisical attitude on the part of the civil servant will have a debilitating effect on the security of the state. Finally, the civil service performs managerial function. It manages the economy, plan development and markets the government to the outside world. The civil service therefore holds the key to the effectiveness of the government.

The Policy making role of the civil service as captured by the civil service law of 1993 Under the civil service law of 1993, the main function of the civil service in Ghana is generally to “assist the government in the formulations and implementation of government policies for the development of the country”. This function is carried out mainly through the sector ministries responsible for specific policy issues, manpower and financial matters. Specifically the Ghanaian civil service performs the following functions.

 Helping to get the best value for money spent and the highest professional standards in the delivery of services to the public.  Helping to plan, prioritize and harmonize the activities of government within and between agencies  Promoting and facilitating the efforts of the private sector to create wealth  Assisting in mobilizing Ghana’s manpower and financial resources so as to accelerate national development and to reduce poverty  Contributing to the consolidation of democracy and good governance(transparency, political and bureaucratic accountability etc)  Supervising, monitoring and coordinating the activities of technical departments  Implement programmes and deliver service to the citizens

Activity 4.3 Identify and explain any four contributions of the civil service to the policy making process in Ghana. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Identify and explain the aspects of the civil service law of 1993 that relate to the role of the civil service in the policy making process. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Summary Well done for completing this section. I am happy that you continue to make progress in this course. You have been informed that the civil service has an important role to play in policy formulation, it also the main machinery for the execution of government policies and programmes, and the custodian of government assets and information. I am happy to note that you have fully understood the critical role played by the civil service in the policy making process and the civil service law of 1993 re-emphasize that fact. Let us now turn our attention to the role of the civil service in the national development effort since independence.

Section 4: The Civil Service and National Development Effort since Independence Introduction Welcome to section 4 of unit 4: The Civil Service and National Development Effort since Independence. In this section, I introduce you to the contribution of the civil service to national development. Specifically, I concentrate on the role of the civil service in deepening good governance and democracy, the building of infrastructure, the generation of revenue and the maintenance of law and order. Objectives

At the end of the section, you are expected to

 Explain the civil service and the nurturing of good governance  Account for the role of the civil service to the national development effort

Building of Democratic Culture and Good Governance The first general elections in the Gold Coast were held in 1951, 1954 and 1956. Without the existence of an electoral commission at the time, the responsibility of organizing the elections fell on the civil service. The civil service was tasked to plan and organize those elections; and they were conducted with relative success. The civil service thus made an enormous contribution no only to the county’s march towards independence, but also through their integrity and discipline, helped to build a democratic process and culture and good governance in the country (Quartey, 2007:9).

The creation of Ministry of External Affairs

The civil service was the main institution responsible for the building of some state institutions after independence. The civil service as we have today was the re-tooling of the colonial civil service following the recommendations of the Lindbury Report. Subsequently, various ministries, departments and agencies were established to spearhead the development of the state. At independence, the foreign policy of the country was still determined by Her Majesty’s Government in Britain. Soon it became important for the country to establish a Ministry for External Affairs. Through the influence of some of the best brains like A.L Adu at the time the country was able to establish this critical ministry of course with the support of the British who helped trained some young Ghanaian graduates in the embassies throughout the world. Attainment of Foreign Policy Objectives Since independence, the civil service has played a significant role in achieving the foreign policy objectives of the country. Traditionally, the nation’s foreign policy objectives have been the achievement of liberation of Africa, positive neutrality in world affairs, commitment towards world peace, the promotion of good neighborliness, African unity and economic diplomacy among others. The civil service has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help all governments in Ghana achieve the foreign policy objectives aforementioned. Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit Meeting in 1965 Ghana played a significant role in the formation of the Organization of African Unity in 1963. On the eve of Ghana’s independence, the first President said that “the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa. Nkrumah was committed to total African Unity and therefore committed resource both human and material toward the preparatory works that ultimately culminated in the formation of the OAU. Between 1958 and 1961, Ghana hosted two major meetings in Accra; one for the Freedom Fighters in 1958 and the World without Bomb in 1961. In 1965, Ghana hosted the OAU summit in Accra. It was the first time Ghana was to host such a big international conference like this. To ensure the success of the conference key actors in the civil service such as Victor Adegbite an architect, at the Public Works Department (PWD), as tasked to design and supervise the construction of the conference building to be known as ‘Job 600’. Other engineers such as Lawrence K. Apaloo and E. Y. Engmann were to assist Adegbite. K.B Asante a top civil servant at the time was tasked to organize the conference. By all account, the conference was a resounding success.

The Volta River Project The Volta River Project which gave birth to the Volta River Authority (VRA), ensured the construction and management of the Akosombo Hydro Dam. The construction of this Dan which happens to be the single largest source of electricity in the country was executed with the support of some of the finest Ghanaian civil servants at the time. For instance, a Permanent Secretary Herbert Winful, and some senior civil servants like E. A. K. Kalitsi were seconded from the civil service to team up with the Canadian Frank J. Dodson, the first Chief Executive Officer of the VRA, to manage the Akosombo Dam in its initial stages. The financial and administrative systems were set up with the support of key civil servants in the country at the time.

Other landmark projects

Through the support of the civil service, the country was able to set up the University of Ghana Medical School even when certain experts had indicated that it was going to suicidal for a medical school to be established Ghana. The support of the civil service enabled the country to establish several secondary schools under the Educational Trust Fund established by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Since independence the modest gains the country has chalked, was largely through the support of the civil service. Activity 4.4 In your view, what do you think have been the major contribution of the civil service to the national development effort? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Do you think that the civil service has served the nation well since independence? Give reasons for your answer. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Thank you for the diligence and the sense of purpose you have demonstrated so far. In this section you have been introduced to some of the critical areas where the civil service has rendered invaluable service to and are still serving the nation extremely well. In this regard we have given a broad sweep over areas such as the construction of the Akosombo Dam, the organization of major conference such as the OAU conference in 1965, the building of democratic culture and the establishment of several second cycle institutions among others. We are hopeful that this overview of the contribution of the civil service in the national development effort will help you appreciate the significance of the civil service in policy making and implementation in the country.

Section 5: Obstacles to Civil Service in the Policy Making Process

Introduction You are welcome to section 2: Obstacles Civil Service in the Policy Making Process. In this section I introduce you to some of the debilitating features of the civil service which militate against its effective and efficient performance. The rationale here is to identify the ills of the civil service so that in the next section we will assess the efficacy of the measures put in place to address them.

Objectives At the end of this section, you should be able to  Outline the attitude of various governments of Ghana to the civil service  Identify the problems that have militated against the effective performance of the civil service

The Attitude of various Governments to the Civil Service The Ghanaian civil service has been variously described as “the finest, most relevant and high performance-oriented institution in Africa”, and as “a moribund, inept and a mere paper pushing institution (Nti, 1978). The contesting descriptions show that the civil service has experienced both good days and bad time and that it is a reflection of the state of the Ghanaian economy during different periods. The good days of the civil service generally cover the period immediately before independence in 1957 when civil servants, on whose shoulders the machinery of government essentially revolves, appear to have been well-trained, and adequately remunerated and resourced. At the same time the size of the service was manageable and security of tenure as well as the anonymity and neutrality of civil servants were guaranteed. These factors combined to produce an environment which was congenial and thus elicited in most civil servants the highest degree of performance and productivity (Ayee, 2001). The Ghanaian economy at the time was good with the country being the world’s largest producer of cocoa. The country also possessed other mineral resources which boasted the foreign exchange earnings of the country. The country had one of the highest per capita incomes in sub-Saharan Africa, physical infrastructure, and very competent and well-trained civil servants. The bad time of the civil service on the other hand, seem to have coincided with the period of economic stagnation and decline. You need to note that from 1974 to early 1980s, the Ghanaian economy was in sharp decline. The country experienced declining agricultural and industrial productivity, in some cases despite rising prices of her major exports largely because of economic malaise. It must be noted that before 1987, some attempts were made to restructure the civil service. In the process Mills-Odoi Commission (1967), and Okoh Commission (1974) were put in place to look at the structure and remuneration of the public service and structure and procedures of the civil service respectively. Taken together these two commissions’ reports provide a detailed model of civil service reforms that both mark a turning point in Ghana’s administrative

80 experiments and serve as reference point for civil service reforms to the present. The recommendations of the two commissions were as follows:

 Ministerial organizations should be restructured to concentrate on sector policy planning, co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation functions of government and be divested of implementation activities, and,  Responsibilities for the implementation of government approved programmes be given decentralized implementation agencies reporting to their political head of regional organizations (Ayee, 2001). One significant contribution of the Mills-Odoi Commission to the administrative system of the country was the establishment of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). Also through the recommendation of the Okoh Commission, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service was established.You need to know that the recommendations of the two commissions were largely not implemented because of political instability. In April 1982, the PNDC government established the Kaku Kyiamah Committee on the Restructuring of the Civil Service Machinery with particular reference to the role of the Principal Secretary and his functional relationship with other technical personnel within the ministry. It also set up the Sackey Committee on the Restructuring of ministerial organization in August 1982. Two other committees, the Ansa-Asamoah Committee on the Decentralization of National Administration and the Sowu Committee on the Formulation of Content of Socio-Economic Development Programme for Decentralized National Administration were also appointed in September 1982. The three committees were, however, merged in September/ October 1983 to form the Public Administration and Decentralization Implementation Committee (PARDIC) to look at all the earlier reform efforts and implement their recommendations. PARDIC also failed to perform its task due to limited logistics, diminutiveness in administrative technology, rapid turnover of PARDIC leadership, institutional formlessness, bureaucratic and political sabotage. It must be pointed out that the recommendations of the various committees on the structural organization and improved conditions of the civil service were not implemented largely because of lack of political and bureaucratic commitment, their over-ambitious nature and lack of clear remit of the implementing institutions.

The Negative Attitude of Government towards the Civil Service It is contended that the negative attitude of some governments towards the civil service contributed to the “bad times” of the service. Even though the civil service is seen as the engine of development, various governments, unable to prosecute their development agenda have often accused the civil service of sabotage and lack of commitment. It was often criticized for over- bureaucratization, rigidity and corruption. For instance in his dawn broadcast of 1961, Dr Kwame Nkrumah attacked the civil service for generally lacking focus and behaving as though they lived under colonial rule. He intimated that: “It amazes me that up to the present many civil servants do not realize that we are living in a revolutionary era. This Ghana which has lost so much time serving colonial masters, cannot afford to be tied down to archaic snail-pace methods of work which obstruct expeditious

81 progress…civil servants, therefore must develop a new orientation, a sense of mission and urgency, to enable them eliminate all tendencies towards red tapeism, bureaucracy and waste. Civil servants must use their initiatives to make the civil service effective instruments in the rapid development of Ghana” (Ayee, 2001). Kwame Nkrumah also warned that “senior civil servants must be loyal to the state painstaking and devoted to the cause of Ghana and Africa or face dismissals even if by so doing the service suffers some temporary dislocations. The National Liberation Council government which ruled Ghana from 1966-1969, was also not happy with the performance of the civil service. The NLC argued that generally the civil service lacked a sense of focus and urgency in the implementation of public policies and programmes. As a matter of fact key operatives of the NLC complained bitterly about the snail pace at which the civil service works. Lt. Gen. E.K. Kotoka, for instance complained the “things don’t go as expected in the civil service. Lt. Gen Ocran another member of the NLC also complained that in his ministry, unlike the army, the line of authority was ill-defined and diffused and civil servants often did not know who was responsible for what. The PNDC also accused the civil service of sabotage and feet dragging. It subsequently accused the top echelon of the civil service as being “allies of imperialism and neo-colonialism which must be subjected to revolutionary overthrow and not mere reform”. The PNDC envisioned a civil service that was politicized to enable it be re-oriented, revamped and revitalized in order to pursue the development agenda of the government with honesty and loyalty. Reacting to criticisms often leveled against civil servants, the Head of the Civil Service said in 2005 that: “In only few countries in the world are civil servants praised or commended for their hard work and sacrifice in helping to build their nations. Indeed, civil servants in most countries have come to accept criticisms as an “occupational hazard”. But perhaps, in no country is this civil servant more vilified and disparaged than in Ghana”. (Speech of 26 June 2005, p.7) These attacks on the civil service go to buttress the point that the service is the main vehicle for promoting socio-economic programmes in the country.

Debilitating Features of the Civil Service Civil servants are considered as the prime movers in the formulation and evaluation of public policies to ensure sustained growth and development. This requires civil service with the right attitudes, training and information to effectively analyze policy options and offer technical advice. Reports indicate that there are few analysts in the civil service. Ghana’s Vision 2020 document maintained that “policy initiatives as well as programme design, implementation and monitoring have been handled by very few self-motivated and committed public sector officials who are overstretched and over used. Most public service institutions lack expertise in critical areas such as policy analysis, planning, budgeting, and accounting, but are overstaffed at the lower semi-skilled and functional levels. The Head of the civil service has also reechoed this concern. He argued that most of the existing personnel are generalist officers who may be suitable for perhaps one functional area that is

82 finance and administration. The decline of the civil service can be largely explained by the creation of a parallel civil service at the Flagstaff House during the First Republic, its fragmentation or balkanization, its politicization, the steep decline in the real income of its officers as well the gradual deterioration in the conditions of service and the inability of succeeding governments to implement the needed reform programme among others. Specifically, the following debilitation features of the civil service have been identified; The launch of Economic Recovery Programme brought in their wake a desire to revamp and reinvigorate the civil service to be able to cope with the challenges of the reform. The Economic Recovery Programme which entailed measures such as trade liberalization, subsidy withdrawal, currency devaluation, job retrenchment and a reduction in para-statals activities (privatization) required a well-focused civil service for effective implementation, hence the implementation of the civil service reform programme. The reform was basically aimed at dealing with the debilitating features of the civil service such as:

 Substantial overstaffing, especially at the junior levels-lack of manpower planning.  Lack of morale/ motivation-incentive problems  Inability of major institutions involved in civil service management to provide policy guidance, direction and supervision to sectoral /departmental units, effective managerial competence  Over-centralization of powers and functions at the national level  Excessive bureaucratization and red tap e.g. and promotion appointment to key positions  Lack of political direction and commitment leading to apathy and inertia  Poor physical work environment and poor facilities-logistics problems  Low wages – leading to migration of competent staff  Serious deficiencies in training institutions and programmes  Obsolete and rigid rules and regulations resulting from an outdated civil service law

Activity 4.5 What accounted for the “good times” of the civil service in the immediate post-independence era? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Identify and explain the factors that affected the smooth implementation of the civil service reforms before 1992? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Summary You must congratulate yourself for completing this section. In this section you have learnt that several reform measures were instituted by governments between 1967 and 1983 to reinvigorate the civil service, but because of political instability and over-ambitious nature of the reforms largely contributed to their failure. It is important to note that frustrated governments have always accused the civil service for their inability to fully implement their policies and programmes. The debilitating features such as poor remuneration, low moral and poor logistics among others have contributed to the low productivity of the service. Let us now turn to some of the measures to correct these lapses.

Section 6: Measures to Enhance the Civil Service Capacity Introduction You are welcome to section 6 of unit 4, which is devoted to some measures put in place to address the capacity gap of the civil service. You will notice that with the emergence of the modern state, the civil service in developing countries evolved not only to formulate policies but also to effectively implement them. In order to address the critical capacity gaps in the service a number of reform measures were embarked upon sometimes with the support of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The section looks at these reforms and how they fared. Objectives At the end of the section, you are expected to:  Identify and explain the key reform measures to revitalize the civil service  Examine the achievements and weaknesses of the reforms

The Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP), 1987-1993 The Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP) was commissioned in 1987 to eliminate the constraints which have impeded the civil service’s ability to function as an agent of progress and change in Ghana. The CSRP was a component of the Structural Adjustment Programme’s public sector management improvement exercise. The SAP, which was begun in April 1983 entailed economic measures such as trade liberalization, subsidy withdrawal, currency devaluation, job retrenchment and a reduction in parastatal activity. These measures were meant to stimulate the production of exports, discourage renk-seeking activities, correct budgetary and balance-of-payment problems, and penalize the urban middle and class. The CSRP was jointly funded by the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) of the United Kingdom and the World Bank. Phase1 of the CSRP started in July 1987 and ended in June 1988. It identified problems peculiar to the civil service and designed the means of achieving specific objectives within the context of SAP. Between July 1988 and May 1989, there was a bridging project to maintain the continuity

84 of the programme while waiting for the commencement of phase 11, which was to coincide with SAP 11. Phase 11 of the CSRP that is the implementation phase, based on the diagnostic and design work outlined above, started in June 1989 and lasted for four years, up to May 1993 (Ayee, 2001). An Oversight Committee for Civil Service Reforms (OCCSR), chaired by Member/Secretary of the Committee of PNDC Secretaries and the Head of the Civil Service but comprised of membership of 12 was set up in 1987 to oversee the work of the consultants and periodically advise and submit recommendations on specific aspects of the reforms to the government for approval. The Oversight Committee was supported by four sub-committees which were;

 Salary Administration and Incomes Policy Division, headed by the Executive Director of the Prices and Incomes Board  Management Services Division, headed by the Executive Secretary,  Personnel Policy and Management Division, headed by its Director, and  Training and Manpower Development Division, headed by a Director. The sub-divisions which dealt directly with the ODA Consultancy Team studied and examined the consultant’s reports and proposals and submitted recommendations to the OCCSR for consideration.

Objectives of the CSRP The overall objective of the CSRP was to restructure the civil service in such a way as to make it more productive, effective and efficient, and strengthen its capacity for the implementation of development programmes. In other words, the CSRP was to contribute to improving the management of resources in the public sector. This is consistent with Civil Service Reforms elsewhere in Africa. The achievement of these objectives was based on a number of human resource development and manpower planning strategies which included the following (Ayee, 2001):

 Further rationalization of the pay structure to provide incentives for all grades;  Regarding all civil service posts to allow for improved salary relativities within the system;  Introduction of new schemes of service to retain and reward high caliber staff;  Work to support decentralization of authority to District Assemblies, including staff structure, and functions;  Implementation of a new Performance Appraisal System which sets agreed objectives for each office to motivate and assess staff effectively;  Production, distribution and computerized updating of senior and junior staff lists to assist manpower planning;  Comprehensive analysis of training needs for all classes, with crash training programmes in key areas to improve skills from the top down;  Launching Management Reviews of key ministries and function to achieve improvements in performance and management;

 Strengthening the institution and operational structure of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service in order to improve the efficient management of the civil service;  The elimination of overstaffing, mostly in the lower grades, through a functional and redeployment review, while recruitment of skilled personnel into critical areas is accelerated;  Improving the competitiveness of civil service pay, particularly at the senior stff level, introducing performance incentives, and restructuring the grading system to eliminate anomalies, ensure equity in salaries and provide a better framework for career development and pay policy determination; and  Improving and strengthening the coordination of training and manpower development throughout the civil service. It must be emphasized that phase 1 of the CSRP consisted of the provision of consultancy services and diagnosis of five related and complementary components, namely

 A review of the civil service personnel management function, including civil service legislation;  Civil service salary and grading review;  A review and strengthening of the Management Services Division of OHSC;  Functional review and redeployment study; and  Training and staff development review. The Achievements of the CSRP The achievements of the Civil Service Reform Programme included the following: First, it resulted in the introduction of a new performance appraisal system based on the setting of objectives and targets. Secondly, it resulted in the use of merit rather than length of service as the basis for promotion. This to a very large extent encouraged performance improvement. Thirdly, the reform measure led to the revision of the civil service law. The new law (PNDCL327) was enacted by the PNDC became operational in 1993. Fourthly, the reform led to the revision of schemes of service in the civil service and thereby provided guidelines for career progression. Furthermore the reform was important as it encouraged the establishment of civil service incomes policy guidelines on yearly basis and the decompression of pay differentials in the pay structure. Additionally, the CSRP encouraged the consolidation of pay supplements into the basic salary. It also led to the installation of improved manpower budgeting and establishment control systems in the civil service. This made significant impact on the civil service size (the civil service size was reduced from 140,000 to 91,000) with subsequent reduction in the personal emoluments elements of the national budget. The reform also helped in the re-training, counseling, supply of tools and resettling of civil servants found to be surplus to the establishment. The launching of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Database (IPPD) to provide comprehensive and accurate personnel and establishment data for improving resource management was a significant achievement of the reform. Finally, the full operationalization of the new civil service law (PNDCL327) provided an effective legislative framework for consolidating the CSRP. The law made provision for some fundamental reform structure which included, the institution of the post of the Head of the Civil Service with ministerial rank, the creation of the position of Chief Directors as public officers to take charge of the sector

86 ministries, the organization of ministries’ headquarters into four distinct specialized functional areas namely; Administration and Finance, Human Resources Management, Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Statistics, Research, Information Management and Public Relations. Finally the law resulted in the creation of the Reform Coordination Unit, a Public Complaint Unit and Committee on Administrative Reform to support reform activities. Major Constraints to Civil Service Reform Programme Civil service reforms have generally been constrained by the following factors: First, the nature of the reforms programme, the characteristics of which were that its elements were imposed top-down with only limited participation from civil servants. Consultation and consensus building did not take place and facilitated a sense of exclusion, as if other civil servants were not party to the reform. Secondly, the weaknesses in the CSRP’s terms of reference, for example, relatively narrow in scope and lacked explicit linkage with a well understood policy framework. Thirdly, the focus of the reform activities which concentrated almost solely on one organization, that is, the office of the head of the civil service weakened the linkage with ministries, departments and agencies. Furthermore, the ad hoc nature of the oversight of the reforms served as a serious weakness. There was no full-time coordinator and Oversight Committee was and ad hoc institution. Also the lack of effective machinery to ensure evaluation and follow up actions on the new system that had been introduced was a serious limitation. For instance, even though the new appraisal and reporting system had been introduced into the human resource management system of the civil service five years earlier, it was found during the consolidation period (1994/95), that it had not become effective part of the culture of the management in the civil service. Then again, even though the structure of the pay and grading system had been finalized for implementation several years earlier, it had still not been operationalized due, in part, to inadequate and incomplete manpower data and finally, donor funding, conditionalities and failure to meet set deadlines created imbalances which upset the government’s own planned implementation schedules (Ayee, 2001). In spite of these problems Ghanaian still hold the civil service in high esteem. They believe that the civil service is populated by people with the requisite skills to provide sufficient inputs in the formulation and implementation of public policies and programmes. Activity 4.6 Identify and explain the main objectives of the CSRP ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. State and explain any four achievements of the CSRP. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Discuss any four factors that impeded the smooth implementation of the CSRP. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Well done for completing this section. You have noted that several reform measures have been undertaken to reinvigorate the civil service so they can provide value-for-money services. The overall objective of the CSRP was to restructure the civil service in such a way as to make it more productive, effective and efficient, and strengthen its capacity for the implementation of development programmes. The reforms have not been successful because they have been top- down in orientation, overconcentration of the reform in the OHCS, and have been largely ad hoc.

UNIT SUMMARY You have done exceedingly well for completing yet another unit. in this unit you have covered the following areas: First, the continued relevance of the civil service in the governance process was discussed in the light of the role it plays in the governance process of the state. Second, I indicated that a strong and a proactive civil service is a necessary condition for a successful nation and that the civil service is an essential and vitally important instrument of development. Third, you learnt that the civil service plays a very important role in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes, and also serves as the custodian of government assets and information. Furthermore, I maintained that the civil service has rendered invaluable service to and are still serving the nation extremely well. In this regard we have given a broad sweep over areas such as the construction of the Akosombo Dam, the organization of major conference such as the OAU conference in 1965, the building of democratic culture and the establishment of several second cycle institutions among others. Then again, you learnt that in the wake of weak capacity of the service, several reform measures were instituted by governments between 1967 and 1983 to reinvigorate the civil service, but because of political instability and over-ambitious nature of the reforms largely contributed to their failure. The debilitating features such as poor remuneration, low moral and poor logistics among others have contributed to the low productivity of the service were also highlighted. Finally, you noted that one of the reform measure, the CSRP was to restructure the civil service in such a way as to make it more productive, effective and efficient, and strengthen its capacity for the implementation of development programmes.

Unit 5: The Role of Political Institutions in Ghana

Introduction Welcome to unit 5 of this course: The Role of Political Institutions in Ghana. I have indicated in the earlier section of this course that policy making involves several actors. A number of institutions are involved in public policy making in Ghana. While some are constitutional (official actors), others are extra-constitutional (unofficial actors). Some of the formal or constitutional institutions to be considered here include the executive president, the cabinet, parliament and the judiciary. The extra-constitutional or unofficial actors include the policy management group, political parties and the mass media.

It is therefore proper that we take a broad sweep and consider some of the important actors whose contributions, we consider critical in the policy making process. Please note that the list we have provided here is not exhaustive. You need to know that public policies are public policies basically because they come out of political institutions. In this unit the following specific sub-topics will be considered:

Section 1: What are Political Institutions?

Section 2: The President and the Vice-President and Public Policy Making

Section 3: The Cabinet and the Council of State

Section 4: Parliament and the Policy Making Process

Section 5: National Development Planning Commission

Section 6: Judiciary and Political Parties and Policy Making

Objectives

At the end of this unit, you are expected to:

 Discuss the utility of political institutions to the policy process

 Outline the functions and limitations of the president as they relate to policy making

 Examine the role of Vice-President and the policy process

 State the contributions of some key buffer institutions to the policy process

 Examine the role of parliament in the policy process

 Account for the contributions of National Development Planning Commission, the Judiciary and Political Parties to the policy making process in Ghana

Section 1: What are Political Institutions?

Introduction

Welcome to section 1 of unit 5: what is Political Institutions? You will agree with me that definitions are important in delineating the boundaries of a concept for us to know what fits in and what does not fit. It gives us parameters within which to operate. In this section, I introduce you to what political institutions are and outline some of their key functions.

Objectives

At the end of this section, you are expected to:

 Define political institutions

 Explain their utility to the political system generally and governance in particular

Origins of Institutional Analysis Institutional theory is as old as the study of politics. Plato and Aristotle to Locke, Hobbes and James Madison have long understood the importance of political institutions for structuring political behaviour. Plato’s Republic, for example, is a comparison of different forms of government in which he tries to understand how institutions shape political behaviour. Aristotle’s Politics continues the study of political institutions: He specifically examined institutional structures because he believed they shaped political incentives and normative values. Although rarely credited as the political theorists they clearly were, the founders of the American republic were interested in precisely the same sets of questions. Madison’s ‘science of politics’ is nothing if not a study of how different institutional arrangements will encourage and/or discourage different types of political action.

As the social sciences started to emerge as a modern academic discipline in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, these classical traditions had a great impact (Almond 1996). Both in Europe and in the US, students of politics were specifically concerned with the relationship between constitutional design and political (and even moral) behaviour. Indeed, much of what could be called early political science was specifically concerned with trying to design perfect constitutions. This was an era of massive political and social upheaval when scholars were sometimes even invited to design institutions that could help build better societies. Perhaps the most famous case (and worst disaster) was Weimar Germany. After the defeat of the Kaiser, constitutional architects attempted to design what they believed to be the world’s most perfect

90 democracy. This historic occasion provided a nearly unique opportunity to apply ‘political science’ to the real world. The new German Republic, it was firmly believed, would be a model democracy that others would soon emulate. Unfortunately, things did not quite work out that way.

The failure of Weimar democracy led to increased disaffection with institutional analysis. This disaffection grew into skepticism – if not hostility– in the post-war years. While prior to the war one could imagine that democracy could be built with proper institutions, as we moved past the middle of the century such an argument became impossible to sustain. As the great European Empires broke down, they often attempted to leave behind what they thought were the best practices and institutions in their former colonies. Sadly, however, finely designed democratic institutions fell to dictatorship, autocracy and even chaos, throughout the developing world. No matter what kinds of institutions were constructed, virtually all failed to produce the kinds of political behaviour necessary for democratic society to function.

Increasingly, social scientists came to believe that institutions were mostly the vessels in which politics took place: What mattered was what filled the vessels. Given this understanding, both political science and sociology departments moved in two distinct directions. On the one hand, many believed that to be scientific, social science needed to be more theoretical. At the same time, others held that the study of politics and society should to be broken down into constituent variables that could be measured, examined and analyzed independently. In the process, institutions mostly fell out of the analysis. It is important to remember that social science was growing within a broader political and historical context. In the post-World War II years, the physical sciences were advancing rapidly and there was no small amount of ‘physics envy’ in the social sciences.

To be taken seriously, it was sometimes thought that social science needed to be a ‘real’ science. Many believed that real science must follow the scientific method: If social science was to be a science, these reformers argued, it, too, must build predictive theories that are falsifiable and testable. Mark Blyth quotes Karl Lowenstein, who wrote in the American Social Science Review in 1944 that ‘to overcome past errors comparative politics would have to become “a conscious instrument of social engineering” because the discipline ha[d] a mission to fulfill in imparting our experience to other nations…integrating scientifically their institutions into a universal pattern of government’ (cited in, Blyth 2006: 493). After all, the problems of poverty, inequality, injustice, war and underdevelopment are just as important as anything studied by ‘real’ scientists. What scientists do, in this perhaps naïve view, is analyze their part of the physical world, induce hypotheses about how certain features work, and test these hypotheses with repeated experiments.

Institutionalism Defined According to Guy Peters, political institutions are collections of structures, rules and standard operating procedures that have a partly autonomous role in political life (Peters, 2005). Going back to even antiquity and the first systematic thinking about political life, the primary questions asked by scholars tended to concern the nature of the governing institutions that could structure the behavior of individuals-both the governing and the governed towards better ends. The

91 mercurial and fickle nature of individual behavior towards the collective purposes required forming political institutions. The first political philosophers began to identify and analyze the success of these institutions in the governing and then to make recommendations for the design of other institutions based on those observations (Aristotle-the politics, Plato’s republic etc). Although in most cases these recommendations were phrased almost entirely in normative terms, they nonetheless constituted the beginning of political science through the systematic analysis of institutions and their impact on public policies and programmes. The same tradition of institutional analysis continued with other political thinkers. Thomas Hobbes lived through the breakdown of political life during the English civil war and hence argued for the necessity of strong institutions to save mankind from his worst instinct. John Locke developed a more contractarian conception of public institutions and began the path towards more democratic structures. Montesquieu identified the need for balance in political structures and served as a foundation for the American “separation of powers” doctrine for the weakening of potentially autocratic government. The fundamental point here is that political thinking has its roots in the analysis and design of institutions.

The Utility of Institutions Political institutions serve very useful purpose in the political system and must be acknowledged. Firstly, institutions are useful ways to approach the study of politics because they set the stage fro political behavior. By virtue of the fact that institutions generate norms and values, they favour and allow certain kinds of political activity and not others. It is worth emphasizing that the way institutions are structured will have a profound effect on how politics is conducted and the extent to which they impact on public policies and programmes. Secondly, political institutions generally bring element of order and predictability to the actions of government and individuals. It also legitimizes the actions or policies of government. Thirdly, within an institutional perspective, a core assumption is that institutions create some element of order and predictability in the actions of government and individual. Fourthly, institutions also provide bonds that link citizens together in spite of the many things that divide them. Furthermore, institutions offer functional solutions to the problem of governance. Again, institutions do not only constrain options, they establish the very criteria by which people discover their preferences. Also, institutions legitimize public policies and programmes. Policies are usually seen as legitimate and command universal respect and obedience when they come out of institutions of state. Finally, institutions give order to social relations, reduce flexibility and variability in behavior, and restrict the possibility of a one-sided pursuit of self-interests or drives (Peters, 2005). Activity 5.1 What is a political institution? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. What is the relevance of studying political institutions?

Summary Well done for completing section 1 in unit 5. You have noticed that this section sets the tone for the subsequent sections in this unit. It gives a theoretical background to the working of institution in a state. You have noted that political institutions are collections of structures, rules and standard operating procedures that have a partly autonomous role in political life. They are useful in the sense that they order the political system and legitimize public policies and programmes. I wish you well as you go through the subsequent sections.

Section 2: The President and the Vice-President and Public Policy Making Introduction You are welcome once again to another section, section 2, which deals with the roles of the President and the Vice-President in the policy process. Please you must know that the President and the Vice-President are two of the critical actors in the policy making process in Ghana. The two actors play such a phenomenal role in the process and it is only proper that we devote this section to their special position within the policy making architecture of the country. Objectives At the end of this section, it should be possible for you to:  Explain the role and limitations of the President in the policy process  Discuss the contribution of the Vice-President in the policy process

The Powers of the President Article 58(1) of the 1992 Constitution, like the 1969 and 1979 Constitutions, vests the entire executive authority of Ghana in the president who is the Head of State and the Head of Government and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The executive authority covers the execution and maintenance of the Constitutions and the executive acts of Government which are expressly taken in the name of the president. The executive powers also mean the power to executive laws. Both Parliament and President are empowered to make laws for the country. The President derives his executive authority from the Constitution and the laws made by Parliament. Article 58(1) obliges the president to exercise executive authority in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. It therefore stands to reason that the president in the exercise of his powers cannot interfere with the executive bodies such as the vice-president, the cabinet, the

National Security Council, and the National Development Planning Commission among others since they also take their powers from the constitution and not the president. The authority of the President could be exercised either directly by him or through his subordinates including, the vice-president, Ministers of state or public officials. This power of delegation is controlled by parliament. The provision of delegation of authority by the Constitution is important in that given the multifarious functions performed by the modern state it is unthinkable to suggest that the president can perform all the functions all alone. The 1969 Constitution vested formal ceremonial powers in the president while real executive power was conferred on the prime minister who chaired cabinet meetings and cabinet ministers were appointed on his advice. The cabinet under the 1969 was charged with the responsibilities of determining the general direction of the policies of the government.

The Executive Authority and the Formulation of Public Policy Executive authority is the power vested in the president to determine government. There are four basic provisions in the constitution that grant the president the power to make public policies. The first provision is the conferment of executive authority of the state in him. The fact that the president is responsible for translating the Constitution and the laws made into practice makes him peculiarly interested in the policy of the laws and makes him have a strong urge to influence them. Furthermore, under Article 67, the President is expected at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before the dissolution of Parliament, to deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation. This message is expected to give an overview of the situation in the country and give a broad policy outline to address other problems in the country. The president also has powers in the area of finance. Even though the president cannot veto financial bill passed by parliament and that it is only parliament that can authorize the imposition of taxes and withdrawal from the consolidation fund, it is only the president who is empowered by the Constitution to recommend to Parliament any measure which seek to impose tax or make charges on any public fund including the consolidated fund. The president also has powers to propose measures that seek to authorize the payment of monies out of public funds or the cancellation of any debt owed to the government (Article 108 and 177). The President is required by the constitution to cause to be prepared and presented to parliament estimates for periods of more than one year, though it is parliament which is given the authority to request for yearly estimates (Article 179 and 180). Where this yearly estimates delay, expenditure in advance of appropriation may by authorized by the president with the support of parliament up to the first three months of the financial year. Also it is the president who determines the salaries, allowances, facilities, privileges and retiring benefits of the Speaker, Deputy Speakers and Members of Parliament, the Chief Justice and other justices of the Superior Courts of Judicature, the Auditor-General, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission, the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and other to ranking public officials on the recommendations of a committee of not more that five members appointed by him on the advice of the advice of the Council of State. (Article 71) Considering the critical role finance

94 play in the management of the affairs of the state, the conferment of this enormous financial powers in the president makes him an extremely important actor in the policy making process in Ghana. In addition Article 76 (2) states that the Cabinet shall assist the President in the determination of the general policy of the Government”. The Cabinet shall consist of the President, the Vice President and not less than ten and not more than nineteen Ministers of State. (Article 76:1). The constitution makes the president the Head of Government so that he can be Finally, the president is ultimately responsible for the formulation of public policies. The President is both the formulator and implementer of public policies and programmes. Article 34(2) enjoins the President to report to Parliament at least once a year all the steps taken to ensure the realization of the policy objectives contained in the Chapter Six of the Constitution, particularly, the realization of basic human rights, a healthy economy, the right to work, the right to good health care and the right to education. The partial separation of the executive and legislative powers was arrived at by the consultative assembly because in their considered view, the fusion of the executive and legislative powers was likely to lead to abuse of powers and the promotion of authoritarian rule which was likely to affect the formulation and implementation of public policies. The current arrangement of the hybrid system was meant to enhance public policy making. Limitations on the Powers of the President and Public Policy It is often argued that the practice of executive presidency leads to autocracy because immense powers are usually conferred on one person. However, the existence of certain institutional mechanisms will check the abuse of powers. What is important is that there is the need to limit the powers of the executive for effective government and also provide adequate control over the exercise of such powers by the executive. It is the realization of the dangers of uncontrolled powers of the executive that the 1992 Constitution is declared the “Supreme Law of Ghana”. The Supreme Court of Ghana is given the power to decide the constitutionality or otherwise of any person or group of persons in the country. Any contravention of the provisions of the Constitution constitutes a high crime…and shall in the case of the President or the Vice President constitute enough grounds for removal from office (Article 2(4). Article 2(5) makes it a high crime punishable by ten years imprisonment, followed by ten years disqualification from holding any public office by any person who disobeys or fails to carry out the terms of an order or a directive made by the Supreme Court. Nobody is above the law in Ghana, not even the President. Even though the Constitution vests executive authority in the president, the exercise of this authority must be in accordance with the Constitution and this places limitation on the powers of the president. Another limitation of the powers of the President has to do with the fact that even though the President is empowered to appoint any number of ministers as is necessary for the smooth running of the administration of the state; such appointment must receive prior approval of parliament. There are certain appointments that are also carried out with the consultation of the Council of State. There are also certain actions that the president cannot take without consulting with the Council of State. For instance, the President cannot create new region or alter the boundaries of existing regions without the advice of Council of State. The exercise of prerogative of mercy by the president is also done in consultation with the council of state.

Another limitation on the powers of the president is in article 69 (1) of the Constitution which makes provision for the removal of the president from office either in violation of the oath of allegiance and presidential oath or if he willfully violates any other provision of the constitution or conduct himself in a manner which brings or is likely to bring the Office of the President into disrepute, ridicule or contempt or prejudicial or inimical to the economy or the security of the state. There was no such impeachment article in the 1960 Constitution. However the 1969 and 1979 Constitutions contained this impeachment clause. Finally article 296 obliges any person or authority exercising discretionary power to do so as if it is an implied constitutional duty to be fair and candid and in accordance with the due process of law. The limitations on the powers of the president are not meant to be a stumbling block to effective public policy making but rather, to enhance and sustain it. The Vice-President The Vice-President is elected on the same party ticket as the President. The 1960 and 1969 Constitutions made no provision for vice-presidents. Again under the PNDC, nobody was appointed as a vice Chairman. However, the 1979 and 1992 Constitutions had provisions for Vice-Presidents. Under Article 60 (1), the Vice-President performs such functions as may be assigned him by the Constitution or the President. It is a unique feature of the Constitution that it assigns specific functions to the Office of the Vice-President. The Vice-President is a member of Cabinet, the National Security Council, as well as the chairman of the Police Council.

Activity 5.2 Discuss the powers of the president as they relate to the making of public policies in Ghana. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Account for the limitations on the powers of the President. Do you think these limitations indeed constrain the president in the execution of his duties? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Well done for completing this section. You have realized that the two actors, the President and his vice are prime movers as far as policy making is concern. The President derives his executive authority from the Constitution and the laws made by Parliament. In the performance of his

96 duties, the president is limited by certain constitutional provisions. Specifically, the constitution must guide all his conduct, he can be removed from office for misconduct, all his ministerial appointees must receive parliamentary approval among others. The Vice-President performs such functions as may be assigned him by the Constitution or the President. Let us now turn our attention to two critical buffer institutions-the council of state and the cabinet.

Section 3: The Cabinet and the Council of State Introduction Hello! Welcome to section 3 of unit 5, the Cabinet and the Council of State. These institutions are critical buffer institutions which aid the President to govern effectively. The two institutions are critical to the functioning of the government and their composition and functions which be considered shortly attest to this critical role. I expect that you will stay focused as I take you through these all-important institutions.

Objectives At the end of this section, you should be able to:  Examine the critical role of the Cabinet in the policy making process  Outline the composition of the Council of State and the contribution to the governance process in the country.

The Cabinet

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana in Article 76(1) states that “there shall be a cabinet which shall consist of the president, the vice president and not less than ten and not more than nineteen ministers of state.” The Cabinet is fundamentally tasked to “assist the president in the determination of the general policy of the government.” According to Article 60 (1), Ministers of state are appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament. The Constitution further states in Article 77(1) that “the Cabinet shall be summoned by the president who shall preside over all its meetings and in the absence of the president, the vice president shall preside.”

Cabinet Meetings Every Thursday the Cabinet meets. There is a rumor that all but two Cabinet meetings under Rawlings were chaired by P.V Obeng (Presidential Advisor on Governmental Affairs). Ekow Nkensen Arkaah complained bitterly that there had been a breech of the Constitution since in his view P.V. Obeng was a stranger at Cabinet and should not be allowed to chair the meetings. In the second term of Rawlings, it was also alleged that Vice President Atta Mills chaired almost all Cabinet meetings. Apart the first cabinet constituted in 1993 which had 17 ministers, all the remaining cabinets have had 19 ministers.

Measures To Increase and Enrich the Discussions at Cabinet Meetings

 In 1995, Rawlings issued a directive that all ministers should attend cabinet meetings with their chief Directors when issues concerning their ministry were going to be discussed.  The use of visual and other teaching aids to enable ministers under understand technical issues and problems.  Impartial discursions followed the minister’s presentations on policy memorandum. The cabinet was referred to as a “critical or vigorous discussion chamber”. This approach allowed the cabinet to refer certain policy proposals back to the ministry for fine tuning. Cabinet also works with committees, this is to allow the institution time and space to be able to effectively deal with all policy issues efficiently and effectively. Under Rawlings, four main sub-committees existed. These included;

 Finance and Economic sub-committee- it covered issues from the ministries of finance and Economic Planning, Trade and Industry, Food and Agriculture, Land and Forestry, Mines and Energy, Tourism, Environment and Science and Technology as well as issues relating to loans, donor support and funding.  Political, Legal and Security sub-Committee- was responsible for programmes from the ministries of Justice, Defence, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Local Government and Rural Development as well as drafting of bills, screening of loan agreements, elections, public safety and national security.  Social Sector Sub-Committee- dealt with issues emanating from the Ministries of Health, Education, Youth and Sports, Employment and Social Welfare, Communication and poverty reduction issues.  Infrastructure and Utilities Sub-Committee- deals with programmes from the Ministries of Roads and Transport, Works and Housing and issues relating to water and electricity. The sub-committees were convened chaired by the vice-president. The sub-committees were made up of the ministers of the relevant sector ministries. The Attorney General and the Finance Minister belonged to all the sub-committees. The reports of the sub-committees were presented by the vice-president to the whole cabinet.

The Secretary to the Cabinet Article 76 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states that “there shall be a Secretary to the Cabinet who shall be appointed by the President”. The Secretary to the Cabinet generally performs the following functions:

 Coordinates the policy inputs from ministries, agencies and departments for consideration by the Cabinet as a whole.  Briefs the President on all matters for discussion at Cabinet meetings.

By performing these functions, the secretary to the cabinet wields enormous public policy influence as he can decide what issues should be put on the agenda for discussions. He also has direct access to the President and therefore able to influence certain key decisions.

The Council of State The Council of State has been created under article 89(1) of the 1992 Constitution to counsel the President in the performance of his functions. Council of State is expected to perform the following function. a. Consider a bill which has been published in the Gazette or passed by parliament if the president so request; b. Consider and advice the president on any other authority in respect of any appointment which is required by the Constitution or any other law to be made in accordance with the advice of, or in consultation with, the Council of State. This advice shall be given not later than thirty days after the receipt of the request from the president or other authority; c. Consider and make recommendations, upon request or on its own, on any matter being considered or dealt with by the president, minister of state, parliament or any other authority except that the above mentioned institutions or bodies will not be required to act in accordance with any recommendation made by the council of state (Article 90 and 91). The Council of State comprises of eminent personalities who are supposed to be non-partisan. It consists of; a. The following persons appointed by the president in consultation with Parliament. i. One person who has previously held the office of Chief Justice. ii. One person who has previously held the office of Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of Ghana. iii. One person who has previously held the of Inspector-General of police; b. The President of the National House of Chiefs; c. One representative from each region of Ghana elected in accordance with regulations made by the Electoral Commission under Article 51 of the Constitution, by an electoral college comprising two representatives from each of the districts in the region nominated by the district assemblies in the region; and d. Eleven other members appointed by the president. In all there are 25 members of the Council of State. Under the 1979 Constitution, the President was empowered to appoint all the members of the Council of State. However, it was realized that there was the tendency for the President to pack the Council of State with his favorites thereby making it a mere rubber stamp. To address this anomaly, the 1992 Constitution reduces the President’s appointees to 14 which also reduce the entire Council from 30 to 25. This is to

99 expedite the deliberations of the Council. It is important to note that the Third Republican Constitution was not given the opportunity to fully play itself out due to the coup d’état in December 1981. Under the 1969 Constitution, a Council of State was established to aid and counsel the President. There was no further elaboration of this function. However, the 1979 Constitution went further in entrusting the Council of State with specific functions; namely; a. To consider and advice on bills; b. To consider and advice the President or any other authority on certain appointments, where such was mandated by the Constitution or any other law; and c. To make recommendations, upon request or at its own initiative, on any matter being considered by the President, Parliament, Minister or any other authority These functions were consistent with the functions of the Council of State under the 1992 Constitutions. It must be noted that except for certain categories of appointments, any advice or recommendation furnished by the Council of State was not binding. The Report of the Committee of Experts on the Proposals for a Draft Constitution of Ghana laments that: “It can hardly be disputed that the experience of the Constitution of the Second and Third Republics was that the Council of State was relegated to a perfunctory role and, accordingly, proved ineffectual”. Despite the poor performance of the Council of State, the institution has again been provided for in the 1992 Constitution. Three reasons account for this. First, Ghana’s constitutional experiments had witnessed major constitutional confrontations arising from constitutional litigation in the court challenging some governmental acts or another. These disputes, it has been observed, could have been avoided by having recourse to the Council of State. In the view of the Committee of Experts, the Council of State is important because: “Taking timely action to diffuse a potential public confrontation between major state organs or to resolve major constitutional disputes that threaten the very basis of the political order would be in consonance with the traditional disputes settlement tradition”. Second, although some of the functions assigned to the Council of State fall within the purview of Cabinet, there is no guarantee that the Cabinet will adopt non-partisan considerations in its advisory role. The President is not only a guarantor of the Constitution but also a symbol of national unity. It is therefore necessary for him to enjoy advice of a truly national body. Thirdly, the Council of State is supposed not only to serve as a unifying body, catering for the interests of all regions and all ethnic groups, but is also to reinforce public interest by stipulating that “ appointments to certain national institutions and offices would only be made by the President in accordance with the advice of the Council State. The functions of the Council of State are meant to ensure responsible and democratic governance, in accordance with the basic tenets of constitutionalism, national harmony and unity. All these are hallmarks of a rational and efficient public policy making process.

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Activity 5.3 How does the composition of Council of State affect the performance of its functions? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Is the Council of State still relevant to the governance system of the country? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Summary Thank you for your effort so far. You have made progress and I commend you for this. I am encouraged that you have noted that the Cabinet is fundamentally tasked to “assist the president in the determination of the general policy of the government.” The Council of State comprises of eminent personalities who are supposed to be non-partisan so it can give an impartial advice to the President. The Council of State has been created to counsel the President the performance of his functions.

Section 4: Parliament and the Policy Process Introduction Hello! You are welcome to section 4 of unit 5: Parliament and the Policy Making. You must note that parliament is also one of the key institutions involved in policy making in Ghana. let me state here that policy making is essentially executive function but as the democratic face of government, parliament exercises due diligence in ensuring that public policies passed by the House indeed contain the remedial measures to address the problems of society. Objectives At the end of this section, it should be possible for you to:  Examine the role of parliament in the policy process  Discuss the limitations to effective performance of parliamentary functions

Parliament Parliament all over the world play a cardinal role in the policy making process. Generally, Parliament takes part in the policy making through legislation. In most countries, most legislative initiatives come from the government or the executive rather than parliament. However, government’s legislative proposals require parliamentary approval. Usually, a distinction is

101 drawn between transformative and arena legislatures. Transformative legislature is the one that possesses the independent capacity, frequently exercised to mould and transform proposals from whatever source into laws, example the Congress of the United States of America. The arena legislature on the other hand is the one which serves as formalized setting for the interplay of significant political forces in the life of a political system, example the UK parliament. In Ghana, as in many developing countries, the legislature exists as a result of a constitutional mandate and a desire to demonstrate democratic legitimacy. Under the 1992 Constitution, the Parliament plays an important role in the formulation of public policies. The Parliament is empowered by the Constitution to debate the president’s state on the nation address, approve financial policies and programmes, including loans, taxes, and the national budget. These policy instruments are usually initiated by the executive through bills. Motions, proposals, suggestions among others persuade ministers to look at certain sectors or areas which overlooked not deliberately but because of pressure of work they are inadvertently overlooked. Members also have the opportunity to make statement to inform parliament on some development in the country or the person’s constituency. They may provoke certain policy positions which government may want to consider in the course of the year. Motions and Resolutions are some of the means by which MPs and ministers of state can initiate debate in the house. Usually a motion is a proposal tabled in the House to elicit a decision or opinion of the house on a given matter. A motion may be moved by a minister of a private member. Normally, debate on a motion passes through four different stages and these are; (a) moving the motion and seconding it where necessary; (b) debate where permissible, (c) proposing of the Question by the Speaker and finally (d) vote or decision. A motion tabled by members can sometimes compel government to change its stand on a policy. Statements are also made on the floor of the house to inform it of some developments. It may inform certain policy positions in certain areas which the government may have to pay attention to. For instance the decision of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission to suspend the implementation of tariffs increases in 2010 was as a result of a private member motion calling on the government to step in to halt the planned implementation of the tariffs adjustment. Parliament is making serious inroads into public policy making in Ghana. This is done during the legislative process where serious amendments are made to most bills. At the consideration stage of the bill, various suggestions and opinions are openly expressed and these have the capacity of affecting the amendment that can be made to the bill by the house. The suggestions made by parliamentarians invariably invite the executive to make certain changes to the bills and subsequently public policies. Most of the time suggestions made by parliament are considered by the executive to help fine-tune policy proposals. Other instruments of oversight include the question time. This instrument gives members of parliament the opportunity to put forth options, proposals, suggestions among others to persuade to look at the questions and address them accordingly even thought most of the questions involve constituency projects. The power of the purse means the allocation of money amongst the various sectors of the economy. Money is usually allocated by the government through the budget. The budget carries the policy intentions of the government. Parliament has the authority to approve, deduct or reject

102 the budget. In theory the sole responsibility of approving budgets rests on the legislature. The budget is usually a means for implementing public policies and programmes. The executive usually dominates the law-making process for two reasons. First, the amount of information, expert advice, and technical drafting that usually go into the preparation of a bill were often not easily available to parliament. Parliament has a small library with very few library assistants, which are inadequate to give MPs sufficient information on bills to improve the quality of debate and engage in proper oversight over the activities of the executive and other institutions of state. Moreover, MPs do not have offices in which they could read and prepare for parliamentary debates. Secondly, MPs cannot count on the backing of their parties to get a bill through parliament to the same degree as the executive can. In point of fact, since the inception of the Fourth Republic, no private member’s bill has ever been introduced into parliament. Under the circumstances, instead of initiating bills, MPs found themselves exercising, for the most part, their power to change bills usually sponsored by the executive. It is not surprising that more than 90% of the business the parliament does come from the executive.

Limitations of Parliament The 1992 Constitution of Ghana embodies the governance system of the country and it is bases on the hybrid or quasi-executive presidential system of government. Unlike the American system which can be described as the proto-type of the presidential system with strict adherence to the concept of separation of powers, the Ghanaian Constitution prescribes a situation where majority of the ministers of state are appointed from among members of parliament. Article 78 (1) of the Constitution states that “ministers of state shall be appointed by the president with the prior approval of parliament from among members of parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of parliament, except that majority of ministers shall be appointed from among members of parliament”. This particular provision has been subjected to several interpretations and it has also generated so much controversy among politicians and academics.

Kwasi Prempeh has argued that the requirement that majority of ministers be selected from among members of parliament is crippling for the institution of parliament in three different ways. First, the principle of collective responsibility enjoins ministers and other members of the executive to support and defend publicly policies and programmes of government. This means that members of parliament who are also ministers may not freely criticize or question a policy or programme of the government on the floor of parliament. This impoverishes the deliberative and representational role of parliament, which obviously affects the quality of public policies. Second, the demands of ministerial responsibilities coupled with the generally more substantial power, prestige, patronage opportunities and perks attached to a ministerial or deputy ministerial appointment means the MPs who serve simultaneously as ministers cannot but relegate their parliamentary duties to second place and thus deprive parliament of the full participation of such MPs in the business of the House. Finally, since there is no numerical ceiling on the number of ministers appointed by the president, he can decide reward an MP on its side that defends his policies. Non-ministerial MPs (those on the side of the government), may decide to behave in such a way as to attract the attention of the president for ministerial appointment (Kwasi Prempeh 2008: 107).

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Delivering his last state of the nation address, in consonance with Article 67 of the Constitution, the President John Agyekum Kufuor hinted that the adoption of the doctrine of separation of powers between the legislature and the executives posed a vexed question, since the constitution required majority of ministers to be appointed from within parliament. The president indicated that “the arrangement was perhaps meant to facilitate the co-operation between the two organs, but on the other hand, it was clear that the demands of the two functions required full-time attention, a situation which could lead to underperformance by an MP who doubled as a minister”. He further stated that the combination of the position of the minister and the legislator in one person gives an undue psychological advantage over an ordinary legislator. In short, both the legislature and the executive get weaker by combining full-time functions that must be kept separate”. Other weakness of parliament is further explained by the following factors: First, the parliament of Ghana has no financial autonomy. The resources needed for the development of parliament is more often than not determined by the executive A major drawback to the capacity of parliament in Ghana is the inability or unwillingness of Parliament to exert financial autonomy in the preparation of its own budget. Parliament depends of the executive for financial support to carry out its constitutionally mandated responsibilities. This makes the legislature play second fiddle to the executive. Secondly, parliament lacks professional advice on technical issues. Parliament lacks technical depth in certain critical areas. Thirdly, parliament lack adequate research facilities. Library facilities are not adequate and research assistants do not have the capacity to undertake rigorous research to support the work of MPs Fourthly, office accommodation facilities for the MPs are also lacking. Most MPs do not have office accommodation and this hampers their ability to meet their constituents and discuss matters of interest with them. Finally, excessive partisanship and the emergence of ultra-majoritarianism have combined to deny parliament that bi-partisanship it so very well needs to fashion out enduring public policies for the country. The situation the majority normally says that “you can have your say but we will have our way” which has come to define the relationship between the majority and the minority is not good enough for consensus-building in the country. Activity 5.4 Identify the instruments used by parliament to shape public policies in Ghana. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Discuss the capacity gaps in the operations of parliament.

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What measures would you recommend to address the capacity gaps you have identified above? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary I am so happy that you are making such a phenomenal progress. You have noted that Parliament is a very important policy making institution in the country. The major instruments available to parliament include motions, debating national bill and national budgets, discussing the state of the nation address and the use of question time among others. The performance of parliament is, however, hampered by the practicing of appointing majority of ministers from parliament, and generally weak capacity and logistical constraints.

Section 5: National Development Planning Commission (NDPC)

Introduction

Welcome to section 5: National Development Planning Commission. It is important to know that the nation depends on one major planning institution for purposes of planning. It is one institution which has come under several attacks for excessive politicization and non- performance. In this section, my intention is to let you know what the NDPC’s role is in the policy making process.

Objectives At the end of this section, you should be able to:  Explain the role of the NDPC  Discuss the composition the NDPC  Outline the limitations of the NDPC

The Creation to the National Development Planning Commission

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The National Development Planning Commission is a body created by Article 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and re-established by Acts 479 and 480 (1994) of Parliament with the mandate to advise the President on development Planning Policy and Strategy. Proposals for the establishment of an effective system of development planning within the framework of the policy of decentralization were initially prepared by a team of Hungarian Consultants (TESCO) under the auspices of the UNDP. The decision to establish the National Development Planning Commission was formally announced by the PNDC in September 1987. After series of consultations, a preparatory committee, the Transitional Implementation Team (TIT) was tasked to undertake the preparatory works necessary for the establishment of the NDPC. The team drew up a detail proposal for the Organization and Structure of the NDPC and an Interim Operation Manual. The team also prepared the first draft of the National Development Planning Law as the legal basis for the Commission. The draft law underwent a rigorous revision and was accepted by the government in 1989, but it was never promulgated. However in early 1990 the government decided to proceed, administratively with the implementation of the TIT’s recommendation. Even though Act 479 of September 1994 did officially establish NDPC, it was not until 15th June 1995, that the Commission was formally inaugurated by H.E. the President Flt. LT. Jeremiah John Rawlings at a swearing-in ceremony at the Castle, Osu, Accra. Membership of the NDPC The First Officers of NDPC were Mr. Paul Victor Obeng (PAGA)-chairman, Prof. E.A. Boateng (former Head of Environmental Protection Council and former Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast as Vice Chairman and Dr. Kobena Erbynn as the Acting Director-General of NDPC. The Commission at the request of the President, Parliament, or on its own initiative, is expected to do the following:

 Study and make strategic analysis of macro-economic and structural reform options  Make proposals for the development of multi-year rolling plans taking into consideration the resources potentials and comparative advantage of the different districts of Ghana;  Make proposals for the protection of the natural and physical environment with a view to ensuring that development strategies and programmes are in conformity with sound environmental principles;  Make proposals for ensuring the even development of districts of Ghana by the effective utilization of available resources;  Monitor, evaluate and co-ordinate development policies, programmes and projects;  Undertake studies and make recommendations of development and socio-economic issues;  Formulate comprehensive national development planning strategies and ensure that the strategies including consequential policies and programmes are effectively carried out;  Prepare broad national development plans;  Keep under constant review national development plans in the light of prevailing domestic and international economic, social and political conditions and make recommendations for the revision of existing policies and programmes where necessary; and

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 Perform such other functions relating to development planning as the President may direct. In spite of the array of expertise that is available to the NDPC, its performance has not been very modest. Over the years it has prepared the following documents;

 Ghana Vision 2020 The First Step: (1996-2000)  The First Medium Term Development Plan  Strengthening Efforts for the Eradication of Poverty and Hunger Country Report  Citizens Assessment Report  Guidelines for Operationalization of District and Regional Plans  The Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development of Ghana  National Poverty Reduction Programme- Resource Guide  Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for GPRS The Commission has admitted its limitations by indicating that they have faced challenges in the area of marshalling the needed data to help with the planning purposes. The reasons for the poor performance of the Commission are not far fetched.

 Lack of information from MDAs and the MMDAs  The sour relationship between the NDPC and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning  The appointments to the Commission are based on political grounds rather than merit. Consequently, the NDPC has become the dumping ground for political casualties while some regard it merely as an occupational transit institution.

Activity 5.5

Identify and explain the major role played by the NDPC in the policy making process in Ghana

……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What have been the major constraints to the effective performance of the NDPC?

Summary

Well done for completing this section. Let us now recap some of the salient issues discussed in this section. You have learnt that;

 The NDPC was created by the constitution of Ghana with the mandate to advise the President on development Planning Policy and Strategy.

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 The commission faces serious challenges in the area of marshalling the needed data to help with the planning purposes.

Section 6: Judiciary and Political Parties and Policy Making

Introduction

Welcome to section 6 of unit 5. In this section, our concentration will be on how the judiciary and political parties influence public policies in a country. Sometimes people think that the judiciary and political parties are not important as far as political parties are concern. It must be noted these two institutions play cardinal roles in the policy making process in the country.

Objectives

At the end of this section, you should be able to:

 Explain the instruments used by the judiciary to influence policy making in the country.

 Discuss the role and the methods used by political parties to influence policy making in the country.

 Identify some critical capacity gaps in the political institutions in Ghana

The Judiciary Judges have sometimes been accused as deciding cases based on their own policy preferences rather than in accordance with the law. Critics often see dereliction of judicial duty in every decision with which they disagree. The critics contend that the task of the judge is to “say what the law is” not “to make law”. They argue further that policy making is the responsibility of other branches of government, so judges who engage in policy making are usurping power and behaving improperly. But viewed from another perspective, judicial policy making is neither exception nor suspect. It is true that courts “say what the law is”, in the course of deciding cases, but deciding cases inevitably enmeshes them in public policies. Their rulings may announce authoritative legal standards that define public policy within the state or the jurisdiction they serve. In some cases, their rulings may influence political action and stimulate or retard societal change, regardless of

108 whether judges decide the cases properly and whether judges uphold or strike down government actions. The Occasions of Judicial Policy Making Judicial Review Judicial Review is the power of the judiciary to review and possibly invalidate laws, decrees and other actions of other braches of government notably the legislature and the executive. It is seen by many as the cornerstone institution of liberal constitutionalism, as it ensures a government of laws. The power of judicial review was first exercised by Chief Justice John Marshall, in a case Marbury V. Madison (1803). In this case, the Supreme Court of the United States of America declared that the Judicial Act of 1789 was incompatible with the Superior Paramount Law of the US Constitution. This made the Supreme Court as Robert Dahl (1956) put it, “a political institution, which is to say for arriving at a decision on controversial question of national policy. Other examples of landmark cases of the US Supreme Court include the following; a. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) which rejected segregation in schools as unconstitutional and b. Barker v. Carr (1962), which required that legislative Constituencies in the USA be of uniform sizes. c. Roe v. Wade (1973), which upheld the constitutionality of abortion in the USA Most constitutions specify the scope of governmental powers, divide those powers among various branches of government and confer rights that government cannot violate. Whenever a government exceeds the powers granted to it, when a branch of government exercises powers conferred on another branch or when a government infringes on constitutionally protected rights, its actions are unconstitutional. Usually those who are injured by the government’s unconstitutional actions may challenge them in court and call on judges to invalidate those actions. Remedial Policy Making Judicial involvement may extend beyond determining whether the constitution has been violated. Once a constitutional violation is discovered, it must be remedied. Remedial policy making therefore refers to the judicial imposition of requirements on officials to eliminate unconstitutional conditions or practices. In most cases, judges only need to order officials to stop their unconstitutional conduct and to refrain from it in the future.

Statutory Interpretation Although constitutional cases receive a lot of attention, they constitute a miniscule portion of court caseloads. Typically, judges are involved in enforcing legislative mandate rather than invalidating them. The judge deciding a criminal case must determine what the defendant has done and whether those actions violate the criminal law. Judges in civil cases often must apply

109 statutes in reaching their decisions. Thus the responsibility to say what the law is frequently requires the judge to determine the meaning of legislative enactments and how they apply in specific cases. Oversight of Administrative Activity Over the course of the Twenty First Century, the size of government and the scope of its activities have also expanded dramatically. A major expansion in administrative policy making has accompanied this unprecedented growth of government. As administrative policy making has expanded, so has the judicial intervention designed to ensure that agencies observe that substantive and procedural requirements imposed on them. This intervention has inevitably enmeshed courts in policy disputes and led them to issue rulings that have had a major impact on public policy. Supreme Court of Ghana The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana’s 1992 Constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the judiciary from the other branches of government viz, the legislature and the executive. The Supreme Court was established by the Supreme Court Ordinance (1876) as the highest tribunal in the Gold Coast. Appeals from the Supreme Court went to the West African Court of Appeals (WACA), established in 1866. Ghana withdrew from WACA following independence on March 6, 1957. After the military coup of February 24, 1966, the National Liberation Council (NLC), by Courts Decree, 1966 (NLCD 84) abolished the Supreme Court and vested judicial power in two sets of Courts: the Superior Court of Judicature and the Inferior Courts. This was reversed by Article 102(4) of the 1969 Constitution establishing the Second Republic. After the coup of January 13, 1972, the Supreme Court was again abolished by the National Redemption Council with the reason that the 1969 Constitution had been suspended and so there was no need for a court to interpret and enforce it. The functions of the Supreme Court were transferred to the Court of Appeal. This was again reversed by the 1979 Constitution when the Third Republic was established on September 24, 1979. The Supreme Court was left intact after the December 31, 1981 coup which brought the provisional National Defense Council PNDC into power. The Council however introduced certain changes to the judicial system by establishing Public Tribunals. Article 128(1) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that “the Supreme Court is made up of the Chief Justice and not less than nine other justices of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President of Ghana acting in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament. The other Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President acting on the advice of the Judicial Council and in consultation with the Council of State and approved by Parliament. The 1992 Constitution abolishes all the public tribunals established under the PNDC and created the Regional Tribunal whose chairman was equated with the High Court Judge.

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The Court has always been accused by the opposition as being under the control of the executive. However, in 1993, the Supreme Court upheld two suits filed by the New Patriotic Party that sought to nullify certain existing laws and decrees that the party claimed conflicted with the 1992 Constitution.

 In the first suit, the Court ordered the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation to grant the NPP “fair and equal access to its facilities within two weeks” to enable the party to articulate its views on the 1993 budget in the same manner as the ruling NDC. This ruling had far reaching consequences on the political landscape of the country. a. Government has found it very difficult to monopolize the GBC and its activities. b. The GBC has changed and adopted a policy of inclusiveness by giving adequate time to all the major political parties to campaign and present their issues and programmes to the people. c. Political parties have generally benefited from the dispensation by having the opportunity to explain their manifestoes to the electorate.

 In the second judgment, the Court ruled that certain sections of the Public Order Decree 1972 were inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution, which grants the individual the right to demonstrate or take part in a procession without necessarily obtaining a permit from the police. The NPP had challenged as unconstitutional the arrest and subsequent prosecution of some of its members for demonstrating against the 1993 budget on February 15, 1993. On that day the Accra police had assaulted the demonstrators, severely injuring many of them in the process. In a similar incident, the students of the tertiary institutions in the country had also embarked on nation-wide demonstrations to back their demand for an upward review of the student’s loans. One student, Vida Ofori of the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) was shot and had about 12 pellets buried in her body. The verdict in the NPP suit also applied to the shooting attack on university students by Commandos on March 22-23, as has been alluded to above the students were protesting the government refusal to meet their demand for an increase in student’s loan from 90,000 Cedi to 200,000 because of general rise in the prices of goods and subsequently high cost of living.

 The Supreme Court also ruled at the end of 1993 that December 31, marking the 31st December 1981 Revolution could no longer be declared as a public holiday. The NPP had been outraged when newly elected President Rawlings declared that any interpretation of the 1992 Constitution would by subject to the spirit of the June , 1979 uprising and the 31st December Revolution. For the opposition, these events had ushered in the most repressive and bloody decade in the country’s post-colonial history, and had no place in the new democratic constitutional order.

 Vetting of Presidential Nominees for Ministerial Appointment

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Article 78(1) and 256 of the 1992 Constitution obliges the President to appoint ministers of state with the prior approval of parliament. The NDC was determined to maintain the political dominance it had established in the two successive elections. The NPP was also desirous of using its 30.5% of Parliamentary seats, and the support from the 3%of the other opposition parties to check the overwhelming power of the NDC in the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic. The President decided to maintain a number of ministers who had served under him during his first term from 1993 to 1997. The majority insisted that since the retained ministers had been vetted by the previous parliament, they need not go through vetting again. This decision was challenged by the minority who held the position that the country had once experienced a life president with very dire consequences and therefore did not want to experience life ministers. The minority also held that ministers of state must be known to the law. They contended that the tenure of the minister was coterminous with that of the president and therefore when the president’s tenure expires the ministers who worked under him ceased to be ministers. On February 7, 1997 a writ was filed at the Supreme Court to seek a relief;

 To restrain the retained ministers from holding themselves as ministers

 Ascertain the constitutionality of the claim of the majority that retained ministers need no parliamentary approval because the previous parliament had vetted and approved them. The Supreme Court ruled that the tenure of office of the President was coterminous with that of the ministers and therefore when the tenure of the President expires, the ministers who worked under him also ceased to be ministers. It concluded that retained ministers still need prior approval from Parliament but the term prior approval was not a term of act. In other words, the term prior approval does not connote vetting. Assessing Judicial Policymaking Most people evaluate judicial policy making on the basis of result. They praise judicial policies that they favor and condemn those they dislike. There are two basic criteria for evaluating judicial policy making. These are legitimate and capacity of the judiciary. Judicial capacity and policy making Every governmental institution has its own characteristic approach to defining and dealing with policy issues. The particular approach reflects the background and expertise of the policy makers, the way they make their policy decisions, and the resources they command to ensure that their policies are carried out. Some commentators have concluded that compared to other governmental bodies, courts are relatively ill-equipped to devise and implement policy. The problems identified include:

 Timeliness of addressing problems. Timing is important in successful policymaking. If a problem is addressed too early, without adequate understanding of its dimensions or the range of possible solutions, remedial efforts are unlikely to succeed or they may generate new problems. Conversely, if a problem is addressed too late, it may be more difficult to

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solve. Courts do not usually control their own agenda. Rather they have to wait for litigants to bring policy issue before them for resolution.

 Inadequate information: the wisdom of policy choices often depends on the quality of the information that the policy makers receive and the uses to which they put it. Courts are less likely than other institutions to obtain relevant information ant use it effectively. Courts usually make policy without information about many situations that their policy will affect; the result of such ill-informed policymaking is likely to be a bad policy. In addition courts decide issues on the basis of law and therefore information they receive in the legal briefs and oral argument tend to focus on legal considerations rather that the desirability of a policy or likely consequences of other alternatives. Judges in general jurisdiction courts decide cases in a variety of fields, they approach cases that involve issues of public policy as generalists rather than as experts. In theory, this allows them to bring fresh perspectives to problems. But it also means that they lack the background that specialists in a particular field bring.

 Flexibility of response: the more flexibility policymakers have in devising solutions to problems, the more likely they are to solve them. Courts usually have fewer options than do other policymakers.

 Monitoring the effect of decisions: once a policy is established, policymakers must monitor its implementation to ensure that the policy is carried out and that it has the desired effects. Policy review also allows policymakers to modify their policies when earlier approaches have proven ineffective in achieving the desired results. Courts cannot effectively monitor the effects of their policies or respond to those effects as easily as can other policymakers no matter how small the target population is.

Legitimacy Even if judges cannot altogether avoid policymaking, this does not mean that all judicial policymaking is legitimate. Judges may announce decisions that have no basis in law but merely reflect their personal policy views. In some cases their ruling may clearly invade the powers and prerogatives of other branches of government. In such circumstances, few people would deny that the rulings were illegitimate. Political Parties Political parties are usually considered as ubiquitous in polities. It is unthinkable to talk about modern democratic politics without political parties. Apart from the fact that parties are usually formed to contest and win political power and use their position to implement the manifestoes, political parties generate a lot of information and organize lot of public education thereby raising the awareness of the citizenry. Political parties also encourage the people to participate in the policy making process. This encourages the people to have a sense of ownership of the policies and therefore become sympathetic evaluators of the policies and programmes.

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Even though there was no virile opposition in Parliament between 1993 and 1997, the opposition parties outside parliament particularly the New Patriotic Party (NPP) played and effective role and keeping the ruling NDC on its toes. The government Human Rights Records was constantly on the lips of the opposition as a way of checking the overbearing nature of the executive. Since 1997, Parliament has witnessed the presence of a very formidable opposition. The formation of shadow ministers by the opposition parties has to a very large extent helped these parties to hold the executive in check in the formulation of public policies and programmes. The opposition has spokesman for virtually every ministry examples include, Finance, justice, agriculture, foreign affairs, health, employment and social welfare, education etc (Ayensu and Darkwa, 1999). Other measures taking by the opposition to influence public policies include press conferences on policies and programmes, which it felt the government had not adequately explained to the public, and presented an alternative view. In 1993, 1996, 2003 the opposition party held press conferences to outline an alternate budget after the national budget had been presented. Secondly, the opposition boycotted parliamentary proceedings for some days to highlight their objection and to attract maximum public attention. For instance, when the minority did not agree to the decision of the majority not to take retained ministers through vetting, the minority boycotted the presentation of the national budget. Again, in 2001 debate on the National Reconciliation Bill, the minority boycotted parliamentary proceedings. The minority also boycotted the debate on the non-surrender treaty between Ghana and the United States of America. The minority decided to boycott the inauguration of the President John Dramani Mahama in January 2013 because; in their view the elections had been rigged in his favour. The minority subsequently boycotted the sittings of the Appointment Committee of Parliament for the same reason. Thirdly, on some occasions the opposition goes to court to seek interpretation to government acts of omission or commission. In 1997, the minority went to the Supreme Court to seek proper interpretation on the prior approval that parliament has to give to persons nominated as ministers. The Supreme Court ruled that all persons nominated for ministerial positions needed prior approval of parliament but that prior approval was not a term of act. The role of the minority group in parliament in influencing public policy has often been underestimated as not being effective because of the large number of government MPs who are usually bent on ensuring that they use their numbers to pass government bills. Major Capacity Gaps in Political Institutions in Ghana Although there has been significant capacity building and recovery among key institutions of governance in Ghana, serious gaps persist that constrain the performance of these institutions. With regards to the Legislature, despite the rights of members and even private citizens to initiate bills, no Private Member’s Bills have been presented except for one instance during the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic. It appears that Parliament has limited itself to the role of considering, amending and passing bills initiated by the Executive. The inability of Members of Parliament to initiate their own bills is attributed to dependence on the Executive, inadequate logistical and personnel support, the long period of military rule that inhibited parliamentary development and inadequate citizen involvement in the legislative process.

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The Judiciary is also beset with severe capacity constraints and is faced with credibility problems arising largely from widespread perceptions of corruption within it. In addition, the infrastructure is obsolete, there are not enough courts and judges, the caseload is heavy and case management is poor, leading to delays. Apart from the lack of modern equipment and infrastructure, the poor remuneration of judges and judicial staff makes the service unattractive to quality personnel. No adequate mechanisms exist to assess the professional competencies of judicial staff, and there is no consistent training policy for continuing legal and judicial education. Concerning the Executive capacity, its influence on the effectiveness and efficiency of the civil service has been a subject of debate over recent years. The selection and promotion procedures in particular have been questioned with respect to their meritorious criteria. Incidents of favoritism and political chicaneries have bred complacency and poor performance, and many newly employed staff are without job descriptions. In a study conducted by CDD-Ghana in 2000, some 41% of civil servants confirmed that they were without job descriptions on appointment. According to the Executive Secretary of the Civil Servants Commission, however, the most pressing problems affecting morale and performance of personnel are the poor conditions of service and low remuneration.

Despite the proliferations of civil society organizations and media voices over recent years, many non-governmental institutions suffer from severe capacity constraints. Although eager to participate in the policy formulation and governance processes, and demonstrating a strong passion for advocacy, especially on human rights and poverty issues, their information-gathering and analytical capacities are limiting their influence and ability to effectively intervene in the policy-making process. Insufficient information, technocratic weakness and lack of specialization are further compounded by the prevailing fragmentation of civil society that inhibits the sharing of expertise and information.

Activity 5.6 Explain the main instruments used by the judiciary to influence public policy making in the country. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Should judges take part in policy making in the country? Give reasons for your answer. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. With the support of relevant examples, discuss the role of political parties in the policy process in Ghana. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Summary

Well done for completing this section. In this section, I have indicated that judicial policy making is neither exception nor suspect. Through the use of remedial policy making, statutory interpretation and oversight of administrative activity, the judiciary plays a vital role as far as policy making is concern. The section also discussed some landmark Supreme Court cases and their public policy implications. On political parties, you observed that the use of press conferences, court action, demonstrations, and boycotts of parliamentary proceedings have had significant impact on public policies in Ghana.

Unit summary You have successfully completed Unit 5 so let us recap some of the salient points raised in the body of the text. I maintained that political institutions are collections of structures, rules and standard operating procedures that have a partly autonomous role in political life. They order the political system and legitimize public policies and programmes. I also argued that the President and his vice are prime movers as far as policy making is concern, even though the President is limited by the constitution in the performance of his duties. I further contended that the Council of State has been created to counsel the President the performance of his functions. I further discussed the major instruments available to parliament to influence public policies. These included but not limited to: motions, debating national bill and national budgets, discussing the state of the nation address and the use of question time among others. Weak capacity and institutional limitations hamper the smooth performance of it functions. You also learnt that the NDPC was created to advise the President on development Planning Policy and Strategy. On the Judiciary, it was argued that through the use of remedial policy making, statutory interpretation and oversight of administrative activity, the judiciary plays a vital role as far as policy making in the country. I finalized the unit by discussing the contribution of political parties to the policy process. In this connection, the use of press conferences, court action, demonstrations, and boycotts of parliamentary proceedings were identified as some of the instruments used to influence public policies in the country.

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Unit 6: Think Tanks and Policy Making in Ghana Introduction Welcome to unit 6 of this course. This unit is devoted to the treatment of private research institutions which have emerged with Ghana’s political liberalization and are attempting to influence policy making in the country. These think tanks exert a lot influence on policies affecting the functioning of the state. In this section, I intend to cover these all important actors in the policy process in the country. Specifically the following sections are covered in the unit. Section 1: The Origins and definition of Think Tanks Section 2: Many faces of Think Tanks Section 3: Who Do Think Tanks Work For? Section 4: Characteristics and the Proliferation of Think Tanks in Ghana Section 5: Think Tanks and the Dissemination of Information in Ghana Section 6: The Challenges of Think Tanks in Ghana

Objective

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:  Define think tanks and explain their origin  Identify and explain the types and importance of think tanks  Examine the beneficiaries of information generated by think tanks  Discuss the characteristics and the reasons for the proliferation of think tanks in Ghana  Explain the methods and procedures used by think tanks to disseminate information  Outline the main challenges faced by think tanks

Section 1: Definition and Origin of Think Tanks Introduction Welcome to section 1 of unit 6: Definition and Origin of Think Tanks. It is important for you to know what think tanks are and their origin. This will set the tone for the subsequent sections in this unit. I encourage you to pay attention to this discussion since the knowledge you gain from here will go a long way to benefit you in the subsequent section.

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Objectives At the end of this section, you are expected to:  Define think tanks  Explain their origin

The Origin of Think Tanks Since “think tank” is a term that has only found use since the 1950s, there is still some debate over what constitute the first think tank. One candidate is the Royal United Service Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI), founded in 1831 at the initiative of the Duke of Wellington. Another is the Fabian Society of Britain, founded in 1884 to promote gradual social change. The Brookings Institution, founded in the US in 1916 is another candidate for the first think tank. The term think tank itself, however, was originally used in reference to organizations that offered military advice, most notably the RANK Corporation, formed originally in 1946 as an offshoot of Douglas Aircraft and which became an independent corporation in 1948. During the Second World War, think tanks were referred to as “brain boxes”, after the slang term for the skull. The phrase “think tank” in wartime American slang referred to rooms in which strategists discussed war planning. The phrase think tank defies simple definition. The difficulty in defining the term stems from the inability of academics to classify their work, that is, functions, operations, influence and their relationship to those affected by such works. Until around 1970, there were no more than several dozen think tanks, mostly focused on offering non-partisan policy and military advice to the United States government, and generally with large staffs and research budgets. After 1970, the number of think tanks exploded, as many smaller new think tanks were formed to express various ideological views. Until the 1940s, most think tanks were known only by the name of the institution. During the Second World War, think tanks were referred to as “brain boxes” after the slang term for the skull. The phrase “think tanks” in wartime America slang referred to rooms in which strategists discussed was planning. The first recorded use of the phrase to refer to modern think tanks was in 1959, and by the 1960s, the term was commonly used to describe RAND and other groups assisting the armed forces or United Nations University. In recent times, the phrase “think tank” has become applied to a wide rand of institutions, and there are no precise definitions of the term. Marketing or public relations organizations, especially of an international character, sometimes refer to themselves as think tanks, for example. This confusion notwithstanding, it is important to get some working definition of think tank. This is the focus of our attention in the next sub-section. Definition of Think Tanks Around the world, the daily toil of making policy is affected by the persistent efforts of public policy research institutions better known as “Think Tank”. Acting independent of government,

118 their work is concentrated upon reconciling the needs of citizens with the realities of politics and limited resources-a job which is indeed consistent with that of government. In fact, think tanks can be viewed as a type of “innovation in government”. Some definitions of think tanks are worth considering here. An authority, Weaver, classifies or categorizes think tanks into three; (a) University without students, (b) Contract research organizations and (c) Advocacy tanks. Another authority, Yehezkel Dror defines think tanks as “islands of excellence applying full-time interdisciplinary scientific thinking to the in-depth improvement of policy making, as a main bridge between power and knowledge” (Johnson, 1996). S. Smith (1971) uses the term think tank to describe contract research institutions as well as non- profit organizations which are involved in the knowledge business but are not actually generating any hardware as the direct result of their work. While no country is home to as many think tanks as the US, quality is more important than quantity. In other parts of the world, the impact of think tanks has been phenomenal. Examples include:

 The Institute of State and Law, which is a part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was a key player in pushing for a decree that was signed by President Yeltsin to allow private ownership of agricultural holdings. This bold move overturned collectivized agriculture dating back to the Stalinist era.  The Institute of Economic Studies on Argentine and Latin American Reality has established itself as a major force in legislative debate. It was primarily responsible for the Cavallo Plan, which brought economic stability to Argentina in the early 1990s.  Hernando de Soto, founder and president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, not only initiated the macroeconomic reform programmes that Peru embraced in 1990, but his arguments for property rights as a necessary condition to economic growth have also gained wide recognition in the international community (Johnson, 1996). Despite their impressive track record, the diligent work of think tanks is relatively unknown to the general public. The explanation for this is that their efforts are primarily directed toward the policy elite. This includes not only legislators and the media but high-level bureaucrats and the media voices that shape public opinion.

Activity 6.1 What is a think tank? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Why are the diligent works of think tank relatively unknown by the public? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary Well done for the diligent work you are doing up till now. You have proven that you are committed to this course. In this section I have indicated that since “think tank” is a term that has only found use since the 1950s, there is still some debate over what constitute the first think tank. You have noted that think tanks are basically universities without students committed to improving the quality of public policies in the country.

Section 2: The Many Faces and Advantages of Think Tanks Introduction You are welcome to section 2 of unit 6: The Many Faces and Advantages of Think Tanks. It is important for you to appreciate the various types of think tanks and the contributions of these think tanks to the policy making process. It is important to encourage you to be diligent once more so that the presentation will benefit you.

Objectives At the end of the section, you should be able to:  State and explain the various types of think tanks  Explain the need for the adoption of eclectic method by think tanks

Think tanks use a broad range of approaches to the improvement of policymaking, some direct, others more indirect. Advocacy oriented groups represent one distinct approach. These think tanks make recommendations or offer criticisms of existing policies. Once proposals are made, they are typically pursued by think tanks staff members until a decision is reached. At the other end of the spectrum are the educated oriented groups. Their approach to influencing public policy uses means such as conferences and workshops, books and articles and interaction with the media. These activities do not aim to affect specific policy decisions, but rather guide scholarly debate and shape the perception of future leaders. One of the main considerations of think tanks is their relationship with government. Strong connection might limit the intellectual independence of researchers by politicizing their research priorities while too much distance between a think tank and government may result in research irrelevant to policy making. The following categories suggest a number of different functional areas in which think tanks are active (Johnson, 1996):

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Advocacy As a result of their financial independence, some organizations are able to freely advance their recommendations without the conflict of interest that accompanies the receipt of government funding. Research priorities can be set depending on the preferences of the organization’s leadership rather than the ruling party’s political agenda. Pure advocacy groups are rare outside of the US, mainly due to limited funding sources willing to support completely independent groups. Political Party Research To enhance their capacity to develop well-informed policies, large political parties will often create their own research institute- as the major parties in Germany have done. An example in Ghana is the Danquah Institute established largely to support the activities of the New Patriotic Party. In other countries, parties may simply call on the assistance of think tanks when required. Depending on the extent of a think tank’s reliance on the financial support of a political party, it may or may not have the ability to set its research agenda independently. The relevance of its research to the policy debate will also vary depending on the decision-making power of its political party affiliates.

Government Research and Policy Planning A variety of institutions with some of the functions of think tanks exists within the structures of government ministries and agencies. Some of these groups have independent governing mechanisms, but all are ultimately at the beck and call of policy makers. Still other groups lie outside of the bounds of government but are hired on a contract or advisory basis. Though these groups can make a real contribution, they have little room to develop their own policy agenda. Corporate Consultancy Think tank research and analytical functions can be used in profit-making ventures such as market studies and research projects relating directly to business operations. Freedom from government influence helps this sort of work, but it usually does not offer information of use to policymakers. Numerous examples of groups that operate occasionally on a non-profit basis exist in the areas of trade and investment.

Education These groups primarily produce academic studies. Their research is used to further scholarly debate, and thus offers little or ready use to policymakers. The ability to prioritize research without government intervention is potentially an asset with respect to developing innovative approaches to policy problems, but this advantage is infrequently exploited. Examples of these groups include research institutes within universities and institutions such as the Academies of Sciences in Central and Eastern Europe. The need for the use of eclectic Method by Think Tanks

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Please note that these categories suggests a number of areas in which think tanks might operate, most organizations defy categorization. Think tanks commonly utilize a “strategic combination” of all these types to create a diversified portfolio of projects. This mix of approaches allows organizations to protect their independence by not relying too strongly on government support while retaining the discretion to focus on burning policy issues as they arise. Finally, this eclectic approach creates greater financial stability by avoiding reliance on a single source of income which might, at some point, become unreliable (Johnson, 1996). Activity 6.2 What is the utility of the use of eclectic method by think tanks? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Identify and explain any four types of think tanks in Ghana. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary Congratulations for completing this section. In this section, you have learnt that think tanks use a broad range of approaches to the improvement of policymaking. Various categories of think tanks that we identified include: advocacy, political party research, government research and policy planning, corporate consultancy and educational think tanks. It is interesting to note that most successful think tanks adopt variety of categories to create a diversified portfolio of projects.

Section 3: Who Do Think Tanks Work For? Introduction Welcome to section 3 of unit 6: who do think tanks work for? With their intermediary role between power and knowledge, think tanks come into contact with a number of constituencies, some of these groups offer payment for services rendered, while others benefit directly from think tank work. In this section, I introduce you to the beneficiaries of the services rendered by think tanks and then discuss the general services they offer the government and the entire society.

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Objectives

At the end of the section, you should be able to:  Identify and discuss the beneficiaries of the services of think tanks  Explain the general services think tanks offer to the government and the general public

Beneficiaries of Services Offered by Think Tanks Within the last few years, think tanks have received a tremendous amount of attention in the literature due to their proliferation in both developed and developing countries. The importance of think tanks can be attributable to the fact that governments alone are incapable of making proper and well-informed decisions on national issues, as a result of the enormous volume of information they receive and the time constraints they face. Problems facing modern government have become so intractable that governments alone cannot solve them. Government tend to be too occupied with the orderly administration of today’s business to worry about either tomorrow’s problems or whether today’s business is addressed to the most important questions. Modern government is so complex an administrative enterprise, that seaworthiness inevitably takes pride of place over navigation. In developing countries, the administrative capacity of the state for collecting and analyzing data, as well as the personnel essential to make these informed decisions, are lacking, and this makes it difficult for governments to understand and develop solutions to problems facing their citizens. Indeed, in developing countries, public policymaking and analysis have been inauspiciously affected by weak and inadequate public sector institutions, as a result of the fragmentation of their structures and the lack of serious bureaucratization as a result of procedural problems (Ayee, 2000). Several institutions and agencies benefit from the services offered by think tanks. These are discussed below: The principal customer of think tank is government. Since their agenda focuses on the improvement of public policy, think tanks must strive for close relations with government. Even though some think tanks are careful to protect the independence of their research from government influence, they must still be capable of determining the priorities of policymakers. Otherwise, they risk producing policy recommendations that are either unpopular or irrelevant. Furthermore, a think tank must establish a level of credibility with policymakers that will allow its recommendations to be taken seriously. Also, think are very important in the areas of education and training. Through conferences, workshops and seminars, think tanks can offer policymakers the opportunity to build their knowledge in key issue areas. In countries that have recently experienced economic and political

123 transitions, think tanks are often called upon to educate policymakers about new concepts and technical issues. Then again, think tanks are very important in the area of draft legislation. When think tanks have demonstrated extraordinary competence with a given issue as well as the capacity to prepare documents in appropriate legal format, they are sometimes asked to draft legislation. This service is especially useful in countries where budget constraints do not allow government to employ an adequate supply of legal experts. Again in the area of human resources, think tanks offer governments a unique opportunity to recruit individuals who are already skilled in policy research, analysis and formulation. In many cases, newly-elected leaders draw heavily on think tanks to fill key positions. Also, given their close proximity to the policy process, think tanks provide comfortable homes for former policymakers who wish to continue their policy work from outside of the government bureaucracy. Another main customer of think tanks is the public. Think tanks not only communicate the desires of citizens to policymakers, but they also inform the people about the activities of government. In this role, they have been referred to as one of the “building blocks of civil society”. Think tanks directly contribute to the development of well-informed electorate. By reaching out to television, radio, newsprint, academia, and elsewhere, think tanks are able to educate people on important contemporary issues. With this information, citizens are better equipped to lobby for or against policies under debate. The public benefits significantly from the objectivity of information produced by think tanks. Government messages are often too tarnished by politics to ascertain their true nature. In countries where governments were previously not open to criticism, the function of think tanks as an “alternative voice” to that of government is all the more significant. Another way in which think tanks work for the people is through the assistance they offer to other non-governmental organizations. Although they have played a pivotal role in several countries for many years, NGOs have only recently assumed prominence in shaping public policy in other parts of the world. A third important consumer of think tanks is the media. In providing news and analysis for the people, media representatives often ask think tanks for clear and concise explanation of major policy issues. In radio and television, journalists often require brief “sound bites”, and think tank staff members are usually quite skilled in providing them. Indeed, their job demands it. In many cases, think tanks are more capable than academics and even government officials. In their analysis of government policies, the media also benefit greatly from think tank commentary and criticism. Journalists gather a great deal of their information from official government sources, but they are better able to analyze this information once they have listened to the alternative voice of think tanks. A final key customer for think tanks is the business community. Most think tanks outside industrialized countries tend to focus on economic issues. In countries undergoing the transition to free market economic systems, the advice of such groups is in great demand. Indeed, the basis

124 of a healthy market economy is an environment conducive to private enterprise. Thus it is not surprising that many think tanks consider the private sector their most important constituency. Regardless of the level of funding support think tanks receive from the business community, they act on its behalf in a number of ways. First, after determining the concerns of business representatives, think tanks conduct research and design recommendations which will address these interests. They often leverage their credibility and political connections to improve the chances that policies favored by business will be adopted. Many think tanks provide business representatives a regular service by convening briefings on current policy issues. Such meetings allow business leaders to keep abreast of upcoming legislation so that they can either prepare themselves of the effects of a new law or argue against its passage. Finally, some think tanks offer their services to corporations on a consulting basis. Other services offered by Think Tanks Think tanks contributions not only broaden the scope of policy alternatives available to decision- makers. These include the following: First, they are usually highly innovative in their approach to problems. Such creativity can also help policymakers to think about old problems in new ways. Second, their recommendations are deniable. In other words, policymakers can ask for advice on sensitive political issues with the confidence that unpopular policy recommendations can always be attributed to the think tank. Thirdly, as these definitions suggests, thinks tanks strengthen the decision making capacity of government by transmitting policy relevant information from a variety of sources to the ears and eyes of policy makers. Their work directly benefits policy makers by casting light on problems and providing alternative solutions. Equally important is the vital contribution which think tanks make to democratic society. They normally contribute to the policy debate thereby promoting participation in the policy process, which is a vital feature of democratic systems. Furthermore, the provoke or inspire public debate and add their high quality research and analysis to the voice of the people boosting their influence on the policies that shape their lives Also, think tanks also make policy making less democratic by providing policy makers with information back by legitimate research. Think tanks also allow leaders to make enlightened decisions using empirical studies, opinion surveys, and cost-benefit analysis among others. Finally, think tanks also develop objective proposals for the improvement of public policies. This is a service not only to policy makers but also to the society as a whole. Ultimately if the quality of public policies improves as a result of the involvement of think tanks, the whole society stands to benefit. Activity 6.3 Who are the key beneficiaries of the services of think tanks?

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……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… In what ways do think tanks improve the quality of public policies in Ghana? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Summary I am happy that you are still make phenomenal progress in this course. You once again finished another section. In this section you have learnt that think tanks offer a variety of services to government, the general public and the business community. You have also learnt that the existence of think tanks have generally improved the quality of oversight that is done on the activities of the executive to enhance the quality of public debate and public policies and programmes. In the next section, I introduce you to the characteristics and the reasons for the proliferation of think tanks in Ghana.

Section 4: Characteristics and the Proliferation of Think Tanks in Ghana Introduction Welcome to section 4 of unit 6: Characteristics and the Proliferation of Think Tanks in Ghana. It is important for you to appreciate the key characteristics of think tanks and the reasons for their proliferation in Ghana, especially after 1992. Objectives

At the end of this section, it should be possible for you to:  State and explain the various characteristics of think tanks in Ghana  Account for the proliferation of think tanks in Ghana

The Characteristics of Ghanaian Think Tanks The most important feature of think tanks in Ghana, as with their counterparts across the globe, is the quality of their personnel. A review of the staff of think tanks indicates that about 90% of the leading figures have Ph.D degrees. Most of these personnel are also teaching in the country’s universities. It is important to note that the respect these institutions have gained over the years is largely due to the caliber of their personnel. These individuals exhibit great skill and expertise in the areas of specialty. For this reason, they have become resource persons in the deliberations at workshops and seminars during policy discussions (Ohemeng, 2005).

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A second characteristic of Ghanaian think tanks is that unlike those in the developed word, particularly in the United States and Great Britain, they are non-partisan in nature. They do not work for political parties or for ministers of state or any government or public agency. They observe a strict non-partisan approach to their work. In the view of Dr. Baffour Agyeman-Duah formerly of CDD-Ghana, think tanks in Ghana are not in business of making it look like we are for or against this party or that government. In view of this think tanks have become mindful of the need to be transparent in their work so as to maintain a high level of integrity and credibility in the eyes of the public(Ohemeng, 2005). This non-partisan nature of think tanks is heavily contested by Ghanaians who believe that most of the think tanks have been hijacked by political parties. A third notable characteristic of think tanks in Ghana is their close relationship with international governmental and non-governmental organizations. One key reason for this close relationship stems from the need to obtain the resources necessary to carry out their work. Most of these institutions rely extensively on external sources for funding. These funds come from similar organizations based in the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA, the Bretton Woods Institutions, and other governmental organizations such as USAID, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and the European Union among others. CEPA for instance, is partially funded by USAID and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), a World Bank Institute based in Zimbabwe. It also receives some funding through a collaborative work with international institutions on various research issues affecting Ghana, Africa and the developing world generally. CDD receives funding from these aforementioned institutions as well as from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), the Ford Foundation, IBIS, the Swiss Embassy in Ghana, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Overseas Development Institute of UK, the UK Department for International Development (DfID). IEA stands out as the single most donor- funded organization in Ghana. This close relationship between think tanks and international donor agencies has created the impression that these institutions are under the heavy influence of these organizations. It is believed that such relationships have led to a situation where think tanks have become mere implementers of the policy agenda of these international organizations. It is, however, difficult to assess the level of influence that such organizations have on think tanks in Ghana (Ohemeng, 2005). The Proliferation of Think Tanks in Ghana As has been alluded to elsewhere in this course, Ghana’s political environment was liberalized through the adoption of liberal democratic values in 1992. This led to the emergence of civil society organizations with the aim of participating effectively in the policymaking process in the country and subsequently influencing governments. Think tanks were one of the most important groups that emerged after the liberalization of the political space in 1992. At the end of 2000, six major think tanks could be identified in Ghana. These were the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) 1989, the Center for Policy Analysis,

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(CEPA) 1993, Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) 1998, African Security Dialogue and Research (ASDR), 1995, Institute of Policy Alternatives (IPA), 2000 and Third World Network (TWN), 1994. Others such as the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), IMANI, Integrated Social Development (ISODEC), and the Danquah Institute among others have emerged since 2000. The main aim of these think tanks is to promote the marketisation of public service, and help establish other institutions that may facilitate the development of these ideas in Ghana. On the other hand, TWN’s interest is to force government to develop what may be perceived as the human face of adjustment and sustainable development. It is concerned, therefore with issues of social and economic policy that advances the needs and interest of marginalized social groups and promotes fair distribution of the world’s resources and forms of development which are sustainable and fulfill human needs (Ohemeng, 2005). The organization thus serves more as an advocacy group for the underprivileged in society. Essentially, these organizations serve as catalysts to supplement the government’s effort in developing appropriate policies and institutions, as well as educating the populace on public policies necessary for the promotion of good governance and socio-economic development of the country. In some cases, they serve as local or domestic policy entrepreneurs by initiating policies, which have been adopted by government. The CDD for instance, is dedicated to the promotion of society and government based on the rule of law, appropriate checks on the power of the state, and integrity in public administration…to promote democracy, good governance, and the development of liberal economic environment in Ghana. The IEA also aims at establishing and strengthening a market economy and democratic, free and open society in Ghana, and its ultimate goal is the promotion of good governance, democracy and a free and fair market economy in Ghana. For this reason the IEA has become a prime policy entrepreneur for the introduction and support democracy in Ghana. On the other hand, some institutions have become policy mediators for resolving policy conflicts or disagreements between government and opposition parties on issues of national importance. For instance, when the NPP government decided to constitute a National Reconciliation Commission to examine past human right abuses in the country, the largest opposition parties in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) wanted the period of the investigations cover all regimes since independence and not limited to the military regimes only. The National Reconciliation Bill was therefore vehemently opposed by the NDC. To resolve this conflict, the CDD conducted independent research on national reconciliation across Africa and other parts of the world and used the findings or organize an international conference in Ghana with the full participation of the government, all political parties, some civil society organizations, and certain individuals. The outcome of the conference was a new bill introduced by government which had some window of opportunity for persons who had been aggrieved under both constitutional and unconstitutional regimes since independence. The bill also granted more discretionary powers to the Commission to investigate matters brought to its attention (Ohemeng, 2005). Why the Proliferation of Think Tanks

 Government alone is incapable of making proper and well-informed decisions on national issues, as a result of the enormous volume of information (in the case of

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industrialized countries) makes it difficult for proper synthesis to arrive at acceptable solutions to problems facing the society. In the case of developing country, the paucity of information and the time constraints they face makes it very difficult for government have full control over the formulation and implementation of public policies and programmes. In Africa information critical in the policy making process is generally in short supply and is often unreliable.

 Problems facing modern societies are complex and diverse and therefore require people and institutions with the requisite knowledge and experience to assist in formulating enduring public policies.

 In developing countries, the administrative capacity of the state for collecting and analyzing data as well as the personal to help make informed decision is lacking.

 Weak and inadequate public sector institutions. According Ayee, public sector institutions in Ghana are generally weak as a result of the fragmentation of their structures and the lack of serious bureaucratization as well as procedural problems.

 Think tanks are predicated on the notion that ideas count. To maximize the effectiveness of any government that is directly accountable to its citizens, ideas must emerge from all sectors of society, whether private or public. Without this type of input, policy makers must bear the full burden of designing policies that make the best use of existing conditions and meet the needs of all relevant parties. Activity 6.4 What are the basic characteristics of Think tanks in Ghana? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Do you agree that think tanks in Ghana are non-partisan? Give reasons for your answer. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Account for the proliferation of think tanks in Ghana since 1992. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary

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I am happy that you have finished another section of this course. In this section you have been introduced to various characteristics of think tanks in Ghana such as the quality of personnel, close relationship with international donors and non-partisan nature of the institutions. You have also realized that the need for more information and generally weak state capacity to formulate enduring public policies and programmes partly explain the proliferation of think tanks in Ghana. Let us turn our attention to the methods of disseminating information in the next section.

Section 5: Think Tanks and the Dissemination of Information in Ghana Introduction Welcome to section 5 of unit 6: Think Tanks and the Dissemination of Information in Ghana. We have covered extensively the work and activities of thinks in Ghana and the rest of the world in the preceding sections of this unit. It is important to know how think tanks disseminate the information they get through their diligent researches. This section is therefore devoted to the methods used by think tanks to disseminate information in Ghana. Objectives

At the end of this section, you are expected to:  Identify the methods used by think tanks to disseminate information in Ghana  Assess the viability of the method used in information dissemination by think tanks

Factors that shape the methods used by think tanks to disseminate information Ghanaian think tanks rely on a extensive array of methods and approaches to disseminate reform ideas and research findings with the aim of influencing policy in the country. The approach used at any point in time is dependent on a number of factors. These include but not limited to the following:

 The type of audience  The type of policy  The timing of the information Think Tanks and Information Dissemination in Ghana About five methods can be discerned as the most prominent means for think tanks to influence policymaking in respect to the administrative state. These include research publications, seminar, conferences, workshops, roundtable discussions, use of the media and advocacy. These approaches are not mutually exclusive. Depending on the contingencies noted above, a think tank may adopt or employ one or more of them as it attempts to change the way the state functions and address the problems of society.

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One of primary tools used by think tanks in disseminating reform information and policies that seek to address certain problems of society is the publication of surveys and reports. Many such publications, nevertheless, are meant for policymakers and academics and do not necessarily fall into the hands of the larger public. There are a number of interesting findings in these publications, which significantly inform policymakers of the needs of society. They also offer very important policy alternatives that policymakers might consider as they deliberate on policy issues. IEA, CEPA and CDD have the following outlets for dissemination of their policy ideas.

 IEA- Legislative Alert and Governance, Indicator Monitoring Series, Quarterly Highlights, Mid-year Economic Review and Monographs.  CEPA- Economic Review and Outlook and Selected Economic Issues

 CDD- Critical Perspectives, Briefing Papers, Democratic Watch, Research Papers and Proceeding of Seminars and Workshops. Seminars, roundtable discussions and workshops are the most common platforms used by think tanks in Ghana to disseminate administrative reform ideas. Through these platforms, most think tanks have become very active in changing the administrative state. The seminars, roundtable discussions, and workshops are held for government officials, politicians and bureaucrats, political parties, the private sector and civil society organizations. On such occasions, results of research findings are presented to the targeted groups, and most of these research findings influence the policy framework developed for sector ministries. The media, particularly the print media, have become another important primary conduit for think tanks in their quest to influence policy making in Ghana. Through this medium, think tanks are able to reach a broader audience when disseminating information about government policies and programmes. The activities of think tanks, particularly seminars, workshops and roundtable discussions, are covered by almost all the media establishments in the country. In this way, the general populace is informed as to the kinds of issues being raised and discussed by these organizations. Secondly, radio and television stations have developed talk show programmes in which issues of national importance, principally the role of the state in national development, are discussed by experts, mostly from think tanks (Ohemeng, 2005). Another method used by think tanks is advocacy, which in Ghana, however, only used by TWN. TWN believes that the ordinary Ghanaian is vulnerable to the forces that shape public policies and programmes. It is therefore important for them to intervene to influence public policies in favour of the people. To TWN, the use of other methods other than advocacy has left most people excluded from the discussions on policies to change the state, even though such groups are considered as best qualified to inform policy decision-making and project development. The difficulty with advocacy is that it sometimes leads to confrontation with the government, especially in controversial policy areas such as the environment, water, education, electricity, health etc. Activity 6.5

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Identify and explain any two factors that shape the type of methods used by think tanks to influence government policies and programmes. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Discuss the efficacy of any two methods used by think tanks in Ghana to influence public policies. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Summary Well done for completing this section. Let us recap some of the salient issues raised in the section. You noted that the type of audience, the type of policy, and the timing of the information are the factors that influence the method used by a think tank to disseminate information. You also learnt that publications, seminars, workshops and roundtable discussions, the media and advocacy are the main methods used by think tanks in Ghana to influence public policies.

Section 6: The Challenges of Think Tanks in Ghana Introduction Welcome to section 6 of unit 6: The Challenged of Think Tanks in Ghana. After discussing the major dimensions of the operations of think tanks in Ghana, we devote this section to the discussion of the major criticisms and challenges confronting think tanks in the country.

Objectives

At the end of this section, you should be able to:  Analyze the criticisms leveled against think tanks in Ghana  Discuss the major challenges confronting think tanks

Criticisms Leveled Against Think Tanks Generally, think tanks make vital contribution to democratic society. They inspire public debate and add their quality research and analysis to the voice of the people, boosting their influence on

132 the policies that shape their life. In spite of these phenomenal contributions made by think tanks, they have come under several attacks. Let us consider some of the criticisms here.

 Ralph Nader has suggested that because of the private nature of the funding of some think tanks, their results are biased to a varying degree. Some have argued that think tanks will be inclined to promote or publish only those results which ensure the continued flow of funds from private donors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_thank).  Some argue that think tank is propaganda tools for promoting the ideological arguments of whatever group that establish them. They charge that most think tanks, which are usually headquartered in state or national seats of government, exist merely for large- scale lobbying to form opinion in favour of special private interests.  It has also been argued that most think tanks in Ghana are affiliated to one political party or the other and therefore affect the objectivity of their analysis. The issue that think tanks in Ghana are non-partisan is dismissed by the public.

The Challenges facing Think tanks The reality of policy work is that it does not always bear fruit. Weeks, months, and even years of research, analysis and advocacy can be lost in an afternoon’s parliamentary debate. This is the nature of the work, but it nonetheless discouraging at times. While there are a variety of different problems facing think tanks, there are a few major issues which are of universal concern. These include: First, changes in political leadership either due to election or ministerial reshuffling, think tanks may suffer. Forging relationship with newly appointed officials inevitably takes time. As they nurture new relations, it is more difficult for think tanks to assess the interests and priorities of a new government. In the end some think tanks may lose influence with new government. The second challenge is changes in the policy agenda. While think tanks may benefit from the arrival of policymakers sympathetic to their view, it is also possible that they may be shut out of the political process. This is a two-edged sword. If the priorities of a given government are too close to those of a think tank, the work of that organization could become redundant. On the other hand, while a government with conflicting view is more difficult to influence, it might also give the think tank a new cause to fight for. The third challenge is financial instability. A lack of secure funding can be extremely damaging to a think tank. As in any NGO, this situation forces the organization to spend greater amount of time in search of funds necessary to ensure its survival. Considering the fact that the availability of private funds is limited, financial crisis could lead think tanks in many different directions. They might move closer to government and sacrifice their independence, adapt their operations to the commercial setting or simply dissolve. Another challenge which is a follow-up on the third one is the independence or autonomy of the think tank in their relationship with the government. If the think tank is too close to the government, it can be perceived as pro-government and this will undermine its ability to survive in the event that there is a change of government. On the other hand if the think tank stays far

133 away from the government, it may soon find out that its policy prescriptions are out of tune with the public policies of the day. Think tanks whose publications do not favour the government of the day are tagged as anti-government and subsequently denied participation in the policy making process. Research assistants of such think tanks are often denied access to government officials and functionaries of the ruling party. In spite of the challenges facing think tanks from day to day, they continue to enjoy considerable success in improving public policy across the globe and are therefore worth supporting. Activity 6.6 Do the critics of think tanks undermine the utility of these institutions fundamentally? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Discuss the major challenges confronting think tanks in Ghana ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

How can the challenges you have identified above be remedied? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Summary Well done for completing the last section in this course. You have been very diligent and I must commend your effort. It is my hope that you have benefited from signing up for the course. Let us now consider some salient issues I raised in this section. I indicated that think tanks are criticized for partisanship, serving the interest of donors and acting as propaganda tool of political parties. You also noted that the operations of think tanks are hampered by financial instability, changes in political leadership and the uncertainty about the nature of relationship with the government. UNIT SUMMARY You have demonstrated tremendous capacity up to this point. I wish you well. In this unit, I discussed the overall contribution of think tanks to the policy process in Ghana. I posited that

134 think tanks are basically institutions committed to improving the quality of public policies in the country. Some of the categories we identified include: advocacy, political party research, government research and policy planning, corporate consultancy and educational think tanks. In addition, I indicated think tanks offer a variety of services to the government, the general public and the business community. The existence of think tanks generally improves public debates and the quality of public policies and programmes. I also introduced you to the general characteristics of think tanks which include: quality of personnel, close relationship with international donors and non-partisan nature of the institutions. You also learnt that publications, seminars, workshops and roundtable discussions, the media and advocacy are the main methods used by think tanks in Ghana to disseminate policy ideas and subsequently influence public policies and programmes. Finally, I concluded this unit by identifying some of the criticisms usually leveled against think tanks such as partisanship, serving the interest of donors and acting as propaganda tool of political parties.

COURSE SUMMARY Congratulations for finishing this course in good time. I am happy that you have diligent and meticulous in your outlook up to this point, well done. In this course attempt has been made to let you appreciate the public policy making process as complex phenomenon in Ghana. Specifically, the following broad issues have been covered. First, you considered that public policy involves both action and inaction of government and that it is action-oriented and involves several actors both official and unofficial. In the course of unit, we identified scientific, professional and political purposes as the main motivators for studying public policy. I discussed the distinction between policy advocacy and policy analysis. I further indicated that distributive, regulatory, self-regulatory and redistributive policies are the various category policies that exist in Ghana. Secondly, we discussed the policy cycle and identified the utility of the various phases of the policy process to public policy making generally. I pointed out that in the agenda-setting phase problems come to the attention of government. Policy formulation consists of the development of pertinent and acceptable proposed course of action for solving a problem. The decision-making phase involves a government adopting a particular course of action or non-action. Implementation is the action stage of the process. An evaluation is vital in order to help policy makers assess the effects of policies and if necessary put in place to guide changes, continuity or termination of policy. Thirdly, we discussed the economic deterioration between 1973 and 1983, and the introduction of ERP in April 1983. The role of the Directive Principles of State Policy in guiding all citizens, Parliament, the President, the Judiciary, the Council of State, the Cabinet, political parties and other bodies and persons in applying or interpreting this Constitution or any other law and in

135 taking and implementing any policy decisions, for the establishment of a just and free society was also examined. The critical linkage that exist between the central government, regional, districts and sub-district level was discussed.

Fourthly, role of civil service the governance process in general and public policy making in particular was also outlined. The vital role of the civil service in the development and establishment of certain essential national monuments and landmark programmes such as the construction of the Akosombo Dam, the organization of major conference such as the OAU conference in 1965 among others were highlighted. Reform aimed at dealing with the debilitating features such as low morale, poor remuneration among others to re-invigorate the civil service was also treaded.

Furthermore, the certain critical institutions of state were identified for discussion. I pointed out that political institutions are collections of structures, rules and standard operating procedures that have a partly autonomous role in political life. They are important because they give order and predictability to the actions of government. The role of the President and other buffer institutions such as the vice-president, the Council of State, the NDPC and the Cabinet were examined. I also discussed the critical role of parliament in the policy making process and hinted that the use of instruments such as motion, debates of bill, state of the nation address, question time are vital in influencing public policies and programmes. The crucial role of the Judiciary and political parties were also singled out for examination. Finally, I introduced you to the role of think tanks in the policy making process in Ghana. I argued that think tanks are institutions committed to improving the quality of public policies in the country. The services of thinks are normally used by the government, the general public and the business community. The existence of think tanks generally improves public debates and the quality of public policies and programmes. I noted that the need for continued funding and policy relevance sometimes makes think tanks draw too close to government which inevitably compromises their independence and the quality of policy prescriptions they give.

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