Policy Advisory Capability in Papua New Guinea's Central Government: Evaluation, Implications and Lessons

<p>There has been mounting criticism (generally associated with the "weak state thesis") of the inability of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) public service to discharge its various policy formulation and implementation tasks. Such criticisms tend to be generalised in nature. Information about performance and the operational deficiencies of specific departments and policy domains derived from scholarly research has been sparse. Against this background, and using as a measure key elements of capability from the development administration literature, this study examines the state of policy advisory capability in three key central agencies within the PNG central government; identifies key constraints on the agencies' ability to provide comprehensive and reliable advice; and then proposes policy intervention measures aimed at strengthening capability. The agencies play a very influential and significant role in the government advisory machine and comprise the Department of Finance and Treasury (DF&T), the Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (DPM&NEC) and the Department of Personnel Management (DPM). Analysis is primarily based on the responses from the policy staff of the lead policy units in each department. Such responses have been gauged using a questionnaire survey and indepth interviews in early and late 2002 in Port Moresby. This study shows that the problems affecting policy advisory capability are, in most cases, pervasive and systemic. Such a loss in capability tends to arise from a variety of interlocking (and often interwoven) problems from both the political and the administrative and organisational dimensions within which policy advice is developed and delivered. On a broader level, the weakening of policy advisory capability raises important implications for the organisation and delivery of quality and timely advice. In particular, there is a risk that policy issues will not be comprehensively assessed taking into account the available evidence, views of parties concerned and, most important, the implications arising from various policy options provided to ministers and the National Executive Council (NEC) (cabinet). There is, therefore, a risk of ministers and NEC being ill advised on policy issues. This, in turn, may affect the executive branch's effectiveness in policymaking. The deterioration in the policy advisory capability of the three key agencies also gives rise to doubts about whether the three agencies can effectively maintain their key functions of control, monitoring and oversight and policy coordination across the PNG public service. There is a risk of the centre of the PNG government losing its ability to control and steer the government machine. This conclusion is consistent with the existing anecdotal evidence of a deteriorating capability of the PNG public service and, to some extent supports the weak state thesis advanced in the literature. This study on the ground of three key agencies demonstrates, however, that the political environment is not the only cause of weak performance by the PNG public service. That is a function of a variety of interlocking political and administrative and organisational capability factors. An improvement in policy advice capability in PNG will require attention to the several systemic factors identified in the study. Using insights from the policy transfer literature this study shows that policy lessons from other jurisdictions could be drawn on to improve capability in policy advice in PNG.</p>

Policy Advisory Capability in Papua New Guinea's Central Government: Evaluation, Implications and Lessons

<p>There has been mounting criticism (generally associated with the "weak state thesis") of the inability of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) public service to discharge its various policy formulation and implementation tasks. Such criticisms tend to be generalised in nature. Information about performance and the operational deficiencies of specific departments and policy domains derived from scholarly research has been sparse. Against this background, and using as a measure key elements of capability from the development administration literature, this study examines the state of policy advisory capability in three key central agencies within the PNG central government; identifies key constraints on the agencies' ability to provide comprehensive and reliable advice; and then proposes policy intervention measures aimed at strengthening capability. The agencies play a very influential and significant role in the government advisory machine and comprise the Department of Finance and Treasury (DF&T), the Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (DPM&NEC) and the Department of Personnel Management (DPM). Analysis is primarily based on the responses from the policy staff of the lead policy units in each department. Such responses have been gauged using a questionnaire survey and indepth interviews in early and late 2002 in Port Moresby. This study shows that the problems affecting policy advisory capability are, in most cases, pervasive and systemic. Such a loss in capability tends to arise from a variety of interlocking (and often interwoven) problems from both the political and the administrative and organisational dimensions within which policy advice is developed and delivered. On a broader level, the weakening of policy advisory capability raises important implications for the organisation and delivery of quality and timely advice. In particular, there is a risk that policy issues will not be comprehensively assessed taking into account the available evidence, views of parties concerned and, most important, the implications arising from various policy options provided to ministers and the National Executive Council (NEC) (cabinet). There is, therefore, a risk of ministers and NEC being ill advised on policy issues. This, in turn, may affect the executive branch's effectiveness in policymaking. The deterioration in the policy advisory capability of the three key agencies also gives rise to doubts about whether the three agencies can effectively maintain their key functions of control, monitoring and oversight and policy coordination across the PNG public service. There is a risk of the centre of the PNG government losing its ability to control and steer the government machine. This conclusion is consistent with the existing anecdotal evidence of a deteriorating capability of the PNG public service and, to some extent supports the weak state thesis advanced in the literature. This study on the ground of three key agencies demonstrates, however, that the political environment is not the only cause of weak performance by the PNG public service. That is a function of a variety of interlocking political and administrative and organisational capability factors. An improvement in policy advice capability in PNG will require attention to the several systemic factors identified in the study. Using insights from the policy transfer literature this study shows that policy lessons from other jurisdictions could be drawn on to improve capability in policy advice in PNG.</p>

Rethinking AI Magazine Again

I have been affiliated with AI Magazine for a long time. In 2010, David Leake, the then Editor-in-Chief of AIM, invited me to join the magazine’s editorial board. About five years later, David and Mike Hamilton, AIM’s Managing Editor, invited me to become the magazine’s next Editor-in-Chief. After serving as an Associate Editor for about a year and receiving approval from AAAI’s Executive Council, I became the Editor-in-Chief of AI Magazine on August 1, 2016. About that time, I wrote an editorial titled Rethinking AI Magazine (Winter 2016, pp. 3-4). Now, almost five years later, as I step down as the AIM’s Editor-in-Chief, I want to revisit the vision articulated in that editorial.

KULTURNO I EKONOMSKO POVEZIVANJE ALBANIJE I KOSOVA I METOHIJE 1967–1971.

Major changes in the position of Kosovo and Metohija’s autonomy in the late 1960s affected the province’s relations with Albania. In 1967, the Yugoslav State Secretariat of Foreign Affairs and the Yugoslav Federal Executive Council began to encourage cultural and economic ties between Kosovo and Metohija and Albania, justifying this as a strategy for the normalization of relations between Yugoslavia and Albania. Following the joint commemorations of the anniversary of Skanderbeg’s death in Priština and Tirana, an agreement was reached on the use of textbooks from Albania in the Kosovo and Metohija school system. The two sides organized mutual visits of folklore and art groups, as well as friendly matches of soccer teams. Kosovo companies were allowed small border traffic with Albania without any prior interstate agreements between Belgrade and Tirana. Constitutional changes in Serbia in 1969 enabled the expansion of economic and cultural cooperation between Kosovo and Albania. The University of Priština and the University of Tirana signed an agreement to hire professors from Tirana as lecturers at Priština faculties. In 1971, scientists from Tirana participated in the work of the Kosovo Archives, the Provincial Library, and the Priština Museum, while 41 Albanian professors gave lectures at the University of Priština. Reports by Albanian lecturers from Kosovo enabled the Albanian state leadership to be acquainted in detail with the political situation in Yugoslavia.

Procedural unfairness occasioned by unreasonable delay in finalising a disciplinary inquiry: Stokwe v Member of the Executive Council: Department of Education, Eastern Cape [2018] ZACC 3

“Justice delayed is justice denied” is a legal maxim which denotes that if legal redress is available to a party that has suffered, or is suffering an injustice but is not dispensed timeously, it has the same effect as having no redress at all (see Steenkamp J sentiments in Road Accident Fund v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration [2016] ZALCJHB 139 par 5; see also the definition at Definitions and Translations https://www.definitions.net/definition/justice+delayed+is+justice+denied (accessed 2019-09-12)). In this context, the maxim is used to emphasise that delays in finalising employment disciplinary processes may amount to a denial of justice. Research shows that unreasonable delays in finalising disciplinary cases affect the health and can even cause excruciating distress on the employees concerned (Van der Bank, Engelbrecht and Strumpher “Perceived Fairness of Disciplinary Procedures in the Public Service Sector: An Exploratory Study: Empirical Research” 2008 6(2) SA Journal of Human Resource Management 8).

South Africa’s DA will return to founding principles

Significance Interim leader MP John Steenhuisen and former DA Youth Leader and KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislator Mbali Ntuli are vying for the post. After a bruising few years, the DA is hoping to recover lost ground and project itself as a credible alternative to the ruling ANC. Impacts More high-profile black officials could depart the DA over the short term, further harming its public image. The DA and EFF may come into increasing conflict, including over contentious proposals such as land expropriation without compensation. Former leader Helen Zille's re-election as Federal Executive Council Chairperson would be a boon for Steenhuisen, but publicly problematic.

Does the Gender of Ministers Matter? A Critical Analysis of the Appointment and Performance of Women Ministers under President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration in Nigeria, 2011-2015

In a presidential system of government, the executive arm is the highest organ of policy formulation and implementation. This, to a large extent, is complemented by the oversight and law making functions of the legislature for a functional governance. In addition to the President and the Vice President who are often elected, several appointees of the President make up the executive council, and are responsible to the President who takes stock of their performance and determine their continued relevance in office. Researches on gender studies often highlight the roles of these appointees, especially in respect to parity issues and the need for equal representation. Surprisingly, however, scholarly works on gender and politics in Nigeria often fails to study the activities of women ministers and their impact on policy. The Goodluck Jonathan administration is credited for mobilizing the highest proportion of women into ministerial positions since the dawn of the Fourth Republic. It then becomes imperative to ask if the performance of the women ministers, considering the influence they wield under the regime, portrays them as acting in the interest of women in the country. Drawing largely on secondary data. The study seeks to answer this question by profiling the women appointees and investigating the factors that influenced the unprecedented increase in the number of women ministers under President Jonathan’s administration, with a view to assessing their impact on policy making especially with regard to women issues.