Institutions and service delivery in a developmental state

Abstract

Out of the failed experiences of the structural adjustment program of the 1980s and 1990s emerged a group of African leaders determined to turn around the widely held view that Africa was socially and economically a hopeless continent. That small but effective group of new leaders took radical steps that often put them at odds with the domineering neoclassical concept of development. They were convinced that free market forces alone would not lead to economic transformation, as they were purported to do under the program, but that the State must play a central role in resource allocation and the coordination of crucial economic activities. In a developmental State, the public service not only focuses on outputs but has to be keenly aware of outcomes and, in doing so, has to deliver services in ways that are efficient, effective, and maintain the dignity of citizens and respect their rights.