The Challenges of Public Administration under Inclusive Models of Governments The Case of Zimbabwe
Gideon Zhou
Abstract
Inclusive models of government entail executive power reconfigurations that invariably change the landscape and conduct of national administration and policy implementation. This article examines the dynamics of public administration under the inclusive government of Zimbabwe, particularly interrogating the ecological contexts, the structure of government bureaucracy, the distribution of executive powers, cabinet decision making, working relations within co-shared ministries as well as institutional capacity for policy implementation and monitoring. Research findings indicate that while the macro environmental contexts have substantially stabilized, the major frontiers of public administration are in a frail state, choked by a top heavy government bureaucracy, inter-party bureaucratic politics and patronage, weak fiscal resource base and lack of collective will at the levels of decision making and policy implementation. Observed scenarios underline the need to institutionalize a culture of complying with the fundamentals of public administration. Formal structures of authority need to be empowered against informal structures. Best practices of inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, merit, national focus and political neutrality should inform and guide the practice of public administration within the three arms of government.
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