Re-Engineering Public Service Delivery in Africa Post COVID-19

Public service delivery in Africa is not meeting the demands and needs of the citizens. Research prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shows that African citizen's satisfaction with the provision of basic public services appears to have diminished over the last decade. This indicates that governments are not meeting public demand in areas such as health, education, justice, and safety and security.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) indicates progress in overall governance performance on average in Africa. Unfortunately, it demonstrates a concerning trajectory, with measurable declines in the provision of core public services, such as education.¹

According to the report contributor, Afrobarometer, 12.7 percent of people surveyed in 2014–2015 stated that it was "very difficult" or "difficult" to obtain the services needed from teachers or school officials.²

With Africa's population set to double by 2050, efficient public service delivery in this area is vital to the continent's ability to deal with new challenges in the future.

As of December 13, 2020, Africa had reported 1,606,252 COVID-19 cases and 24,000 fatalities according to World Health Organization estimates.³ The COVID-19 pandemic put public service delivery around the world in focus, particularly in Africa, because of inherent general system inefficiencies.⁴ The public service sector is a recent phenomenon in Sub-Saharan Africa's nation-states. Now sixty years old, the sector is a legacy of European colonialism and far younger than Asian societies whose bureaucratic traditions predate those of Western countries.

Many scholars have conducted quantitative studies on the performance of service delivery and how governments can ensure effective service delivery. Achieving efficient and effective service delivery is a cardinal pillar in the act of governance through relevant Ministry Department Agencies (MDAs).⁵

Criticism over public sector expenditures on service delivery led to the drafting of the New Public Management (NPM) concept in 1982. The concept embraces new innovations such as managerialism, market-based governance, entrepreneurship, and reforms that bring about effective and efficient delivery of welfare, social, and essential services. The NPM was discussed as a major trend towards a politically neutral movement out to⁶ ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in infrastructural development and social/welfare services.

Governments of emerging and developing economies are still searching for new ways of improving public sector efficiency. A departure from traditional public administration to public management model will impact the way the public sector operates in terms of service delivery.⁷ Key questions on accountability, measurement of public service outputs and the role of elected officials remain of topical concern.⁸

Despite the continent's young public sector, reengineering it to rely upon digital technology in response to the COVID-19 pandemic offers great promise.

The COVID-19 factor in public service delivery

The abrupt and brutal disruption by the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the public service and its work force into a frenzy, forcing them to fight the pandemic's spread and manage its accompanying socioeconomic fallout simultaneously. Corruption cases involving the pilfering of donor funds, procurement procedures, and overpricing of tools meant to fight the pandemic have dealt a major reputational blow to both governments and public service in general.⁹ While the pandemic catapulted public servants onto the frontlines, it also put the public servants and service under scrutiny in terms of accountability on both data and management of funds.

Funding, management of resources, transparency, and accountability are major issues in public service delivery. Developing countries with weak governance institutions face a greater challenge of fund misalignment. Governments tend to fund the wrong goods—funds end up in private use rather than public and wrong target—service to rich people rather than poor people.¹⁰

It behoves government to be accountable to the entire citizenry as opposed to a few stakeholders. Peters (2001) notes the importance of equality and accountability for finances and responsibilities. Government is expected to ensure prudence, fairness and accountability in public service delivery.¹¹ Dehn (2002) observes that while existing institutions of accountability overemphasize accountability for finance and fairness, they undercut performance and the...