African Journal of Public Administration and Environmental Studies (AJOPAES) Volume 1, Number 1, June 2022
About This Edition
ISSN : 2753-3174 (Print) ISSN 2753-3182 (Online)
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This edition has some five (5) very interesting articles; the first one is on Uganda, the second one is general, the third one is on Africa, the forth one is on Malawi and the fifth one is also just general. Peter Adoko Obicci examines Authentic Leadership and Physical Asset Management Practices in Uganda. In his article, ‘Authentic Leadership and Physical Asset Management Practices: Mediating Role of Institutional Framing in Local Governments in Uganda,’ he scrutinizes the mediating role of institutional framing in the relationship between authentic leadership and physical asset management practices in local governments in Uganda. The central theme of the paper is the fact that while institutional framing fully mediates the relationship between authentic leadership and institutional framing in local governments in Uganda, there is no atmosphere that promotes authentic leadership in local governments in Uganda. Using primary data, he examines the effect of authentic leadership on physical asset management practices and indicates that such goes through institutional framing to cause an impact on physical asset management practices in local governments in Uganda. This debate therefore encourages creation of an atmosphere that promotes authentic leadership in local governments in Uganda. And, this article is a major contribution to this debate as it advocates for making good use of available resources like physical assets in local governments in Uganda. This is indeed an interesting article to read.
Another interesting article follows; this time on Information Communication Technology which has become a source of innovation in public sector during covid 19 pandemic. This article ‘The extent and degree to which ICT has emerged as potential remedy to the improvement of operational and management efficiencies in the public services in the current and post Covid 19 era’ by Bokani Lisa Motsu examines the impact that Information Communication Technology has generally had on improving efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services to the citizens during covid 19 pandemic. Using primary data, the author argue that digitalization of Public Administration for sustainable development increases transparency in the management of public funds during covid 19 pandemic. It also suggests that establishment of digitalized financial processes promotes better accountability mechanisms for the use of public sector resources during covid 19 pandemic. And, this is why the article is calling for the investing in advancing Information Communication Technology in terms of improving Information Communication Technology infrastructure as well as Information Communication Technology training so that in the future, the rendering of public services is not jeopardized by a similar outbreak like the COVID-19 pandemic. With Information Communication Technology now on the increase in public sector as a result of Covid 19 pandemic, ICT has demonstrated a tremendous digital transformation in terms of operational and management efficiencies in the public services in the current and post COVID-19 era.
‘Food Security: The Application of Public Private Partnerships to Feed the Hungry and Prosper Africa is another interesting article but this time on how PPPs can add value to improve quality and quantity of agricultural production in Africa. Alex Nduhura, MT Lukamba, Benedict Mugerwa, Innocent Nuwagaba, Ivan Twinomuhwezi, Faith Kadondi and Maureen Mbabazi attempt to explore the how public-private partnerships function as an innovative policy instrument in improving food security in Africa. Based on a systematic review of literature and bibliometric analysis, the article navigates on the application and conditions for success of PPPs in agriculture sector since the public agencies do not have the capacity to deliver alone the required services to improve food security in Africa. The article concludes that while PPPs have worked in other sectors providing benefits and critique, there has been limited knowledge on the application and conditions for their success in agriculture sector yet full-scale agro production relies on capacities that the public sector cannot deliver alone. Slightly related to this debate is the need for providing the conditions for the successful deployment of PPPs specifically in the agriculture sector. The articles also recommends the adoption of a new model of PPP that is termed as Buy Own Distribute (BOD) to commercialize and distribute new high yield seed varieties and animal breed technologies by national agricultural research organizations. This is necessary for food security for the poor, import substitution, improvements in exports technology, employment, entrepreneurship, increased yield per acre, and prosperity. For sure, it is a very interesting and timely article.
In addition, we also have article on Fiscal Decentralization: In this article, ‘Interrogating Efficacy of Fiscal Decentralization: Role of Bus Depot Fees in Provision of Basic Local Services in Malawi’ by Allan Mhlanzi, Dan Banik and Happy Kayuni, there is an exploratory mission on the necessity of analyzing how bus depot fees is collected, allocated and used in provision of basic local services with focus on Limbe bus depot in Malawi. Using primary and secondary data, the authors attempted to; investigate depot users’ views on fees importance, examine collection enforcement tools, discover the challenges facing fees collection and have establish how effectively the district council utilizes bus depot fees. The main debate in this article is the fact that despite introducing decentralization with good intentions of empowering district councils to raise their own revenue, the role of bus depot fees in Malawi has been minimal. They also argue that a number of challenges such as lack of political commitment, negative attitudes and the use of manual ticketing were identified as hampering progress towards achieving the anticipated role of bus depot fees. And, along these lines, the authors argue that, such factors therefore helped in filling the knowledge gap on why bus depots fail to register the intended role in Malawi. The article therefore recommends that public authorities in Malawi should embark on e-government in local revenue collection for improved service provision on revenue collection.
The last article in this edition is ‘Environmental Stewardship: Perspectives from the Islamic Teachings’ by Shazia Chaudhry. The article examines Islamic teachings on environmental stewardship for preservation and sustainable management of nature’s resources. Using secondary data, the authors argue that the Prophet Mohamed encouraged his followers to plant trees, conserve resources (especially water), and not over spend. The central theme of the article, however, is the fact that numerous verses of the Holy Quran directly mention these resources in a variety of contexts, which over time have been interpreted and discussed by scholars to find inter-connections between Islamic teachings and environmental conservation. This article therefore sheds more light on how Islamic teachings approach environmental preservation, which also hold great deal to reach the hearts and minds of millions of humans, especially to raise environmental awareness and consciousness. The article recommends that the concept of environmental stewardship be integrated in the global, regional and national environmental protection plans, movements and strategies, particularly in the Muslim majority states. This, consequently will contribute to the provision of moral and ethical solutions to mitigate growing environmental crises all over the world.