Need as a tool for a more efficient and responsive public sector: A critical analsis

ACKNOWLDEGEMENT
I wish to express through this medium, my profound appreciation of the effort of all whom in any way contributed to making the completion of this task a reality, especially staff of UNEC library and some colleagues.
I also would love to say a big thank you to my (BF451) lecturer, Mumuistic Mummy, N.J Modebe for like Prof. Soludo, forcing a merger and sterilization of ideas and the building of that spirit of co-operation and synergy.
I also express my appreciation to the typist who painstakingly took her time to make meaning of my work.
Finally, i thank my parents for their unflagging commitment to my well being
Thank you all.

PREFACE
Nigerian nation has been acknowledged as one huge, bad operating environment. It has led to what is called Nigerian factor, which is an elusive genie that frustrates things that have worked well else where; it has many identifiable manifestation. It grows on the soil of corruption. That in what is at work when a confirmed offender cannot be punished, when equipment is imported before the building to house them is put up, when engineers and metallurgist employed in ajaokuta have since retired and drawn pension without seeing any steel produced, when primary election produces three “consensus” candidate.
It is this malaise that the NEEDS programme sets out to eradicate. This term paper is particularized to its provision for revamping the public sector.
Chapter one starts with an introduction that gives a general view of the economy, going back into the past to x-ray other similar programmes, if includes definition of basic term.
Chapter two gives a summary of the NEED document as it relates to the public sector.
Chapter three is a critical analysis of the provision to determine it effectiveness so far as to a tool for making the public sector more efficient and responsive. This is also a conclusion, which proffers solutions aimed at making it more efficient.
It is the hope of this writer that this paper would be of benefits to the generality of Nigerians, especially students, teachers, analyst and collectors of academic papers.

ILOBI DAC
2007

TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page ………………………………………………………i
Acknowledgement…………………………………………….ii
Preface…………………………………………………………..iii
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Introduction……………………………………………..1
1.2 The Meaning of Economic Development Theory…………………………………………………….2
1.3 Public Sector……………………………………………3
1.4 Economic Planning in Nigeria-A Historical Insight…………………………………………………….4
CHAPTER TWO
Needs as a tool for Creating a More Efficient and Responsive Public Sector A Summary……………………7
CHAPTER THREE
A Critical Analysis of the Provisions of the Needs Documents as a Tool for a More Efficient and Responsive Public Sector……………………………………9
3.2 Conclusion……………………………………………..15
REFERENCES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Since the inception of the democratic government of President Obasanjo in 1999, he has left no one In doubt about his resolve to chart a new course for the Nigerian nation; he has been at the forefront of maintain, restructure, reform and improve Nigeria’s ailing economy, anchored on the NEEDS[i] programmes which emphasizes macro-economic stabilization and pursuance of a massive trade and investment liberalization programmes coupled with competitive bidding in the award of contracts, to encourage foreign direct investment and stamp out corruption in the country’s governance. In achieving this, many special purpose institutions and policies have been created and formulated. These include the EFCC[ii], ICPC[iii] Banking sector consolidation programmes of 6th July, 2005, right sizing of the civil services, new pension scheme, health insurance scheme, massive privatization of state-owned ventures through BPE[iv] and the BMPIU[v].
This paper therefore, seeks to x-ray the fundamental documents upon which the economic activities of the Obasanjo’s administration are founded. The NEEDS documents as it relates to the public sector. It starts by way of definition of certain related terms and other similar economic development plans of past governments, it then attempts a summarization of the NEEDS documents before moving to critically analyzed its provisions drawing from opinions of informed commentators, achievements from implementations so far It draws flaks and commendations as appropriate.
1.2. MEANING OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
Economic development strategy can be described as an institutional arrangement of economic activities considered in advance (A.M.O. ANAYAFO, 1996). By economic development strategy is meant the conscious and deliberate use of resources endowments of a country to achieve predetermined national development objectives. It involves the making of major economic decisions as to what and how much to produce and to whom it is to be allocated on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the entire economy.
National economic development strategy has to do with conceiving, initiating, regulating and controlling the national economic endeavors in accordance with established national goals and priorities in order to achieve within a specified time those goals.
1.3. PUBLIC SECTOR
The public sector is essentially the sector that is created by the Nigerian constitutions; it is made up of the federal, state and local government and their ministries, ministerial departments and parastatals. The activities of the sector are conducted through ministries, extra ministerial departments local councils, parastatals. While the ministries, department and local councils are organized through the civil service rules with civil servants as workers, the parastatals are run either as corporations, authorities, boards, councils and limited liabilities companies in which the government has either full controlling interest. Workers therein are called public servants.
1.4. ECONOMIC PLANNING IN NIGERIA- A HISTORICAL INSIGHT.
The first recorded economic plan in Nigeria dates back to 1946 when following the initiative of the secretary of state for the colonies in 1944, the ten-year plan of development and welfare came into operation. Just like the NEEDS documents, the formulation and implementation of the strategies were highly centralized, the strategies been actually prepared under the general direction of a small central development board consisting exclusively of senior colonial government officials.
[vi]The introduction of the federal system of government in 1954 brought to an abrupt end the 1946-1956 economic development strategy. The estimated total cost of the 1955-1962 programmes after a series of reviews was about $164m. Actual expenditures (mainly on highways, bridges, public works postal and telegraph) amounted to only ₤ 85m
The first plan after independence covered the six years 1962-1968 and involved a capital expenditure of N 2.2b. The second plan, which was launched soon after the end of the civil war in 1970, involved a capital expenditure of N3billion it was originally meant to cover the four years period 1970-1974. However, this period was later extended to include the financial year 1974-1975.
Third national development strategy (1975-1980) was finally launched on March 20, 1975. The original aggregate projected expenditure was N30b. the plan was later revised in May 1977 with aggregate projected expenditure at N43.3b. Seventy percent of the aggregate projected expenditure was in the public sector. The fourth national development plan 1981 –1985 officially launched on the 12th January 1981 had a total planned expenditure of N82b. The plan was extended year by year until 1990 when the national rolling plan was launched (1990-1992). The implication of the national rolling plan was the abandonment of the erstwhile system of fixed five years development plans strategy and adopted in its stead, two types of national plans, namely the perspective plan designed to span a period of fifteen to twenty years and the rolling plan which covers three years at a time, subject to review every year to evaluate performance and ascertain whether the economy was on course. The size of the first national rolling plan 1990- 1992 was N144.26
Abacha’s vision 2010 programmes were the harbinger of the NEEDS documents. It was similar to other programmes before it in every material respect.

CHAPTER TWO
The NEEDS documentation in repositioning public sector to provide the support structure needed to grow and expand the economy identifies weakness in the public services as a result of corruption and to deal with the identified weakness, aimed at returning professionalism to the civil service. It aims at bridging the wide gap between national budgets and rolling plans through refocusing the traditional planning process and strengthening of the budget process as instruments of development and control.
An highlight of the reform agenda for the public sector includes:
i. Right sizes the sector and eliminates ghost workers;
ii. Restore the professionalism of the civil service;
iii. Rationalize, restructure and strengthen institutions;
iv. Privatize and liberalized the sector;
v. Tackle corruption and improve transparency in government accounts, accounts of government agencies and joint ventures oil Co;
vi. Reduce waste and improve efficiency of government expenditure;
vii. Enhance economic coordination.
Institutions and structural measures already in place to aid the achievement of the agenda includes
i. Open and competitive tender arrangements for government contracts.
ii. Establishment of a due process mechanism to vet and eliminate fat from government contracts.
iii. Massive anti corruption campaigns involving all public officials, including the president.
iv. Public sector reforms to reduce; if not completely eliminate opportunities for corruption, especially through the comprehensive monetization of benefits for public officers.
v. A committed focus on privatization and allocations for government licenses (leading for example, to the liberalization of the telecommunication sector)
vi. Establishment of an independent anti corruption agency and an economic and financial crimes commission
vii. Establishment in the president’s office of a policy and programmes monitoring unit to build a comprehensive policy database to follow up on all decisions of the president and monitor programmes in ministries and public enterprises.
CHAPTER THREE


A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE NEEDS DOCUMENTS AS A TOOL FOR MORE EFFICIENT AND RESPONSIVE PUBLIC SECTOR
According to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, “Anything that is good on paper must be good in practice, unless there is a variance between both.” The NEEDS document is no doubt good as has been attested to by renowned experts both nationally and internationally as been capable of getting the country back on the part of industrialization and economic recovery. An obvious fundamental flaw with the document is in its formulation; with the top-bottom approach adopted, an essential ingredient, which is the “participation” of the people, is lacking. Instead of horizontal approach, a vertical approach has been adopted which leaves understanding of its objectives and aims fragmented and prone to self-interpretation. This has made it to remain a “government programme” for the recovery of the nation’s economy. On this score, it will be safe to submit that it lacks an essential requirement of good planning- involvement of the people for whom it is primary designed. It is also to be stated that some of the policies are merely academic, impressionistic, transcendental and secondary to the people’s welfare. These are policies which if implemented to the letter, will with or without intent, entrap, beguile and immoderate the peoples of the country. For instance, one of the things it intends to do to get the public sector to be more efficient and responsive is to fight corruption which has been acknowledge to be the bane of Nigeria’s march towards greatness; but in doing this, it has employed abecedarian infective methods to fight a deep seated problem by hoping to stamp it out by merely using the EFCC to harass those who perpetrate it. A lot of factors give room for corruption in Nigeria. Apart from some of our laws, which have loopholes, that many Nigerians exploit, the government has not done much in terms of empowering the people to reduce their craving for economic survival; where there is hunger, it only make sense that crime will thrive. How do you hope to win the war if one understands that at retirement one is .
most likely not going to be paid ones stipend, not even one’s terminal benefits. The dreadful sight of pensioners around Abuja is enough to make one find any crooked way to save for the rainy day.
This brings us to another provision of the document, which is the right sizing of the Public Sector.
Nobody is quarrelling with the government plans of making the Public Sector more compact; but the government should equally recognize that its primary responsibility is the welfare of the citizenry and as such should not be been seen to be putting the cart before the horse. The government ought to have started by creating the necessary atmosphere that would have enabled the private sectors to grow and expand, thereby be in a position to absorb the many hands that would be off loaded into the already saturated unemployment market. The government ought to have given itself adequate time to increase the infrastructure stock of the country to the level that would support drastic reduction in the cost of doing business in Nigeria and make finished product from the country competitive on the global scene in terms of price and quality. That it has not done so and gone ahead with massive retrenchment across board is simply asking for trouble. The (3)spiral effect of an army of unemployed physically fit citizenry on the nation body polity would be just too much for imagining. The government right from the independence era to the 90s had always taken it upon itself to provide every imaginable comfort. This made it the dominant player in every sector of the nation’s polity, in some instances; it has arrogated to itself the sole right to provide certain essential services. The NEEDS programmes obviously has admitted the failure of the government on this score and has therefore chosen privatization and deregulation as an exist option for the government from economic activities and concentrate on their statutory role of policy formulation and supervision. Privatization and deregulation has obvious advantages which includes better management process, faster corporate response to emerging changes and challenges, dynamic business orientation, programmatic attitude to business, training, customers’ relations, and competition. It also engenders flexible market driven investment focus, acquisition of up to date tools and attraction of local and foreign investment. The question however, that the privatization aspect of the reform agenda readily throws up is if in all the alternative available, it is the superior option for making public enterprises more responsive to global challenges. What about the security implication of handing over these national assets to mostly foreign investors? Are commercialization and deregulation and even concessioning, which ensure that the government retains ownership inferior to privatization and if so, is the process transparent and fair? Is it just about transferring government monopoly to the private sector?xx Obviously, the deregulation of the downstream sub sector of the petroleum sector has not made it more responsive and efficient in any form. There has been a strange combination of deregulation and subsidy, whereas it was suppose to have introduced a free- market economy with the deregulation. NNPC still imports over 80% of the fuel needs of the nation spending N210bn so far in 2006 on importation and another N100b on subsidy to major marketers (Daily Independent, Friday 1st December 2006)
The foregoing observations of perceived inadequacies of the NEEDS programmes notwithstanding it must be admitted that it has made remarkable progress in all spheres of our national life. It has been pragrammatic in implementing one of its aims in the public sector, which is the reduction of waste and improved efficiency in government expenditure through the budget monitoring and price intelligence unit known more as “due process”; within two years of its establishment, it was able to save the nation the sum of N125b from inflated contracts at the federal level. There has also been a better co-ordination of the government economic policies implementation through the weekly federal executive council meeting and the constitution of an economic team headed by the finance minister. There is also servicom initiative aimed at keeping the public sector workers on their toes and incentives like the monetized fringe benefits.

3.2. CONCLUSION
All the warts and carbuncles of the Obansanjo’s presidency notwithstanding, it must be given to it that unlike previous regimes, his, has made a more definitive moves, adopting tigrish steps to the path of economic recovery and industrialization. However, for the NEEDS programmes to serve as a tool for a more responsive and efficient public sector, the government would do well to involve the people in the formative stages of the programmes. It is the failure of the government to involve stakeholders that has resulted in the present resistance of the reform in parastatals like, PHCN, NNPC and the ports. The war on corruption should start from tackling the factors which gives rise to it and should be total and capturing every individuals; it should not be at the whims and caprices of the president. The government should start the right sizing of the sector by making available quick impact projects to absorb those to be eased off. The privatization and liberalization programmes should be pursued in a transparent manner and financial crises that might arise from foreign direct investment into privatized firms envisaged and plans made to mitigate it. (The investors might withdrew from the economy when it does not meet their projections)
Moreover, it is imperative that legislative backings by way of Act be enacted to preserve the modest achievement of the programmes on the public sector to guard against another regime wantonly and capriciously reversing the recorded achievements. The Judiciary must be strengthened to adjudicate on disputes arising from the implementation process. 1


REFERENCES;
Agidan Ade “The Problems with Nigeria’s Economy and its
Operations” (Akungide Richard)
The Guardian, 30, August 2004 P65
A.M.O. Anyafo “Public Finance in a Developing Economy”
(1996) Department of Banking and Finance,
University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
Les Leba, “What Happened to Deregulation”?
Vanguard January 22, 2006 p 17
Mike Ekuno Public Office: “What has I.Q to do with (2)?”
Daily Independent April 10 2007 P B5
Moses Segun, “A Sustainable Direction for the Economy”.
The Guardian November 22 2004 P 65
NEEDS, nigeriaeconomy. Com
Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit.
nigeriafirst. org July 25 2003
Olu Emmanuel, “For Us to Fall in Line”
Daily Sun April 13 2007 P 8
R.O. Ugwuoke (2007). “Public Sector Accounting”:
The Nigerian Perspective (Enugu) Kinsman
Publishers.

[i] NEEDS – National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy.
[ii] EFCC; The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, a deterrent promoting institution which have been waging a relentless battle against money laundering, fraudsters and other economic misconduct.
[iii] ICPC; Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Crime Commission.
[iv] BPE: Bureau of Public Enterprises. In charge of selling, commercialization, leasing and concessioning of public enterprises.
[v] BMPUI- Budget monitoring and price intelligence unit also known as Due process. Oversees contract award review, Oversight and certification.
[vi] The introduction of the federal system of government brought with it regional government in the North, East and west as well as Southern Cameroon and the federal territory. The country thus had virtually five development programmes with varying goals.
(3) The Federal Government recently sacked 10,000 trained police officers without any plan B to take care of them. These are men and women who are competent in handing weapons.
xx NNPC imported 7.976bn liters costing N201.026b between January and October. All the independent marketers combined brought 1.936b liters, less than 20% of the total import.
1 The government disclosed recently that the development of NEEDS2 was at an advanced stage. That like NEEDS1, it also lacks the input of the people and most likely going to suffer similar fate.