An attempt is made here to bring together diverse writings on bureaucratic morality from different African countries. We examine the evidence of low bureaucratic morality and take a critical look at the different attempts to explain and prescribe for this problem. As a step towards the synthesis of these diverse perspectives, we suggest that the critical issue in most African countries is how the use of power is constituted. This influences the effectiveness of regular institutions in ensuring bureaucratic morality and responsibility. A case is made for a review of African constitutions in the light of this analysis and discussion.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AAPAM (African Association for Public Administration and Management) (1979). A Profile of an African Public Service in the 1980s, Document 79-1638. Addis Ababa: AAPAM.
2.
Adamolekun, L. (1983). "Synthesis of research reports on evaluation of ENAs/IPAs." African Training and Research Center in Administration for Development Document No. 6. Tangier: ATRCAD .
3.
Adamolekun, L. (1986). Politics and Administration in Nigeria . London: Hutchinson University Library for Africa (in collaboration with Spectrum Books, Ibadan, Nigeria).
4.
Adu, A. ( 1964). The Civil Service in New African States. London: Allen and Unwin.
5.
African Studies Review (1984). Special Symposium on "The World Bank's Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," December, Vol. 27(4).
6.
Aina, S. (1982). "Bureaucratic corruption in Nigeria: The continuing search for causes and cures." International Review of Administrative Sciences68(1): 70-76.
7.
Ake, C. ( 1984). A Political Economy of Africa. Harlow, UK: Longman.
8.
Ake, C. ( 1985). "Why is Africa not developing?" West Africa (London: June): 1212-1214.
9.
Andreski, S. (1970). "Kleptocracy as a system of government in Africa ." In Political Corruption: Readings in Comparative Analysis (A.J. Heidenheimmer, ed.), pp. 346-360. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
10.
Appleby, P.H. (1969). Morality and Administration in Democratic Government . New York: Greenwood Press Publishers (reprinted from the 1947 edition).
11.
Burke, F.G. (1969). "Public administration in Africa: the legacy of inherited colonial institutions." Journal of Comparative Administration1(3): 345-378.
12.
Carter, G. and P. O'Meara, eds (1985). Africa: The First Twenty Five Years of Independence. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
13.
Decalo, S. (1985). "African personal dictatorships." Journal of Modern African Studies23(2): 209-237.
14.
Dudley, B. (1982). An Introduction to Nigerian Government and Politics . Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
15.
Dwivedi, O.P. (1978). Public Service Ethics. Brussels: International Institute of Administrative Sciences.
16.
Ekeh, P. (1975). "Colonialism and the two publics in Africa: a theoretical statement." Comparative Studies in Society and History19(1): 91-112.
17.
Eker, V. (1981). "On the origins of corruption: Irregular incentives in Nigeria." Journal of Modern African Studies191(1): 173-182.
18.
Ekpo, M.U., ed. (1979). Bureaucratic Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: University Press.
19.
Emerson, R. (1971). "The prospects of democracy in Africa." In The State of the Nations: Constraints on Development in Independent Africa (M.F. Lofchie, ed.), pp. 239-257.
20.
Esman, M.J. (1963). The Politics of Development Administration . Bloomington, IA: International Development Research Center.
21.
Gboyega, A. (1984). "The 'federal character' clause or the attempt to create representative bureaucracies in Nigeria." International Review of Administrative Sciences50 (1): 17-24.
22.
Gellar, S. (1972). State-Building and Nation-Building in West Africa . Bloomington, IN: International Development Research Center.
23.
Gerth, H.H. and C. Wright Mills, eds (1946). From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Translated by the editors). New York : Oxford University Press.
24.
Gould, D.J. (1980). Bureaucratic Corruption and Underdevelopment in the Third World: The Case of Zaire. New York: Pergamon.
25.
Gould, D.J. and J.A. Amaso-Reyes (1983). The Effects of Corruption on Administrative Performance: Illustrations from Developing Countries . Washington, DC: World Bank Staff Working Papers, No 580.
26.
Heidenheimer, A.J., ed. (1970). Political Corruption: Readings in Comparative Analysis. New York: Rinehart and Winston.
27.
Home, R.K. (1983). "Town planning, segregation and indirect rule in colonial Nigeria." Third World Planning Review5(2): 165-175.
28.
Huntington, S.P. (1968). Political Order in Changing Societies . New Haven: Yale University Press.
29.
Hyden, G. (1983). No Shortcuts to Progress: African Development Management in Perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press.
30.
Hyden, G. and A.H. Rweyemamu (1975). A Decade of Public Administration in Africa . Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau.
31.
Islam, N. (1985). "The accountability of the bureaucracy." In Bureaucracy in Developed Democracies: Comparative Essays (D.C. Rowat, ed.), pp. 159-181. Ottawa: Carleton University.
32.
Jabbra, J.G. and N.W. Jabbra (1983). "Public service ethics in the Third World." In Ethics in the Public Service: Comparative Perspectives (K. Kernagham and O.P. Dwivedi, eds), pp. 131-148. Brussels: International Institute of Administrative Sciences.
33.
Kasfir, N. (1969). "Prismatic theory and African administration." World Politics21(2): 295-314.
34.
Kingsley, J.D. (1944). Representative Bureaucracy. Yellow Springs, OH: The Antioch Press.
35.
Kinzounza, K. (1985). "Déontologie de la fonction publique et développement économique et social." Cahiers africains d'administration publique25: 15-25.
36.
Krislov, S. (1974). Representative Bureaucracy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
37.
Leys, C. (1975). Underdevelopment in Kenya: The Political Economy of Neo-Colonialism, 1964-71. London: Heinemann.
38.
Lofchie, M.F. (1976). "Representative government, bureaucracy and political development: The African case." African Administrative Studies16: 129-138.
39.
Macmullan, M. (1970). "Corruption in the public services of British colonies and ex-colonies of West Africa." In Political Corruption: Readings in Comparative Analysis (A. J. Heidenheimer, ed), pp. 317-330. New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston .
40.
Mawhood, P., ed. (1983). Local Government in the Third World: The Experience of Tropical Africa. Chichester : Wiley.
41.
Moris, John R. (1976). "The transferability of the western management traditions to the non-western public service sectors: An East African perspective ." Philippine Journal of Public Administration20(4): 401-427.
42.
Myrdal, G. (1970). The Challenge of World Poverty. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.
43.
Okoli, F.C. (1980). "The dilemma of premature bureaucratisation in the new states of Africa: The case of Nigeria." African Studies Review23(2): 1-16.
44.
Olowu, D. (1983a). "The nature of bureaucratic corruption in Nigeria ." International Review of Administrative Sciences69(3): 70-76.
45.
Olowu, D. (1983b). "Development administration in Africa: A critical appraisal of administrative reforms in Nigeria." Journal of African Administrative Studies23: 89-106.
46.
Olowu, D. (1985a). "Some cases of bureaucratic corruption in Nigeria and implications for the search for a panacea." In Issues in the Management of the Public Sector in Nigeria (A. Hashim, ed.), pp. 153-161. Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University Press.
47.
Olowu, D. (1985b). "Bureaucratic behaviour patterns in Nigeria and implications for national development." Mimeo. Ile-Ife : University of Ife.
48.
Olowu, D. (1987). African Local Governments as Instruments of Economic and Social Development. The Hague: International Union of Local Authorities.
49.
Ostrom, V. (1971). The Political Theory of a Compound Republic: A Reconstruction of American Democracy as Presented in the Federalist . Blacksburg, VA: Public Choice.
50.
Owusu, M. (1970). Uses and Abuses of Political Power . Chicago: University of Chicago Press .
51.
Ozgediz, S. (1983). Managing the Public Service in Developing Countries: Issues and Prospects. Washington, DC: World Bank Staff Paper No 583.
52.
Quah, J.S.T. (1982). "Bureaucratic corruption in the ASEAN countries: A comparative analysis of their anti-corruption strategies." Journal of South-East Asian Studies13(1): 153-177.
53.
Riggs, F.W. (1962). "An ecological approach: The 'sala' Model." In Papers in Comparative Public Administration (F. Heady and S. Stokes, eds), pp. 19-36. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
54.
Riggs, F. (1964). Administration in Developing Countries: The Theory of Prismatic Society. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin.
55.
Riggs, F.W. (1973). Prismatic Society Revisited. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
56.
Riley, S. (1983). "The land of waving palms: Political economy, corruption inquiries and politics in Sierra Leone." In Corruption, Causes, Consequences and Control (M. Clarke, ed.), pp. 190-200. London: Frances Pinter.
57.
Roberts, H. (1982). "The Algerian bureaucracy." Review of African Political Economy24 (May-August): 43-45.
58.
Rothchild, D. and V. Olorunsola, eds (1983). State versus Ethnic Claims: African Policy Dilemmas. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
59.
Sandbrook, R. (1985). The Politics of Africa's Economic Stagnation . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
60.
Schumaker, E.J. (1975). Politics, Bureaucracy and Rural Development in Senegal. Berkeley: University of California Press.
61.
Scott, J. (1972). Comparative Political Corruption. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
62.
Selassie, B.H. (1974). The Executive in African Governments . London: Heinemann.
63.
Sharwood-Smith, B. (1968). But Always as Friends. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
64.
Smith, J.H. (1968). Colonial Cadet in Nigeria. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
65.
Szeftel, M. (1983). "Corruption and the spoils system in Zambia." In Corruption, Causes, Consequences and Control (M. Clarke, ed.), pp. 163-189. London: Frances Pinter .
66.
United Nations (1985). Reforming Civil Service Systems for Development: Report of an International Seminar . New York: Department of Technical Cooperation for Development.
67.
Vengroff, R. (1983). Development Administration at the Local Level: The Case of Zaire. New York: Syracuse University.
68.
Waldo, D. (1980). The Enterprise of Public Administration: A Summag View, pp. 99-116. Novato, CA: Chamber and Sharp.
69.
Werlin, H.H. (1972). "The roots of corruption-the Ghanaian enquiry ." Journal of Modern African Studies10(2): 247-266.
70.
West Africa (London) of 1 and 8 December 1975 on "Public sector corruption in Ghana," 5 July 1982 and 24 January 1983 on "Contracts and fraud in Nigerian government;" and 2 April 1984 on "Bureaucratic corruption in Sierra Leone."
71.
World Bank (1981). Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Agendafor Africa, especially, pp. 24-44. Washington DC: World Bank
72.
. World Bank (1984). Toward Sustained Development in Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.
73.
Wraith, R. and E. Simpkins (1963). Corruption in Developing Countries . London: Allen and Unwin.
74.
Zolberg, A. (1966). Creating Political Order: The Party States of West Africa. Chicago: Rand McNally.
