NPM Reforms in Ghana’s Public Sector Management & Administration: Changing Trends in MDAs & MMDAs Functions

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the new public management (NPM) reforms in Ghana’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and at the local government level in terms of key changes implemented and its successes. The study also examines the challenges that have been encountered in the implementation process and recommendations to address the weaknesses in the system. The methodology used is based on the qualitative approach and the descriptive method. The findings in the study show that regardless of the in-roads made since the introduction of the NPM reforms, a number of challenges such as lack of expertise, lack of political will, inadequate resources among others, continue to affect the performance of Ghana’s civil service, which in turn, impact the delivery of public services. The study recommends that NPM reforms must seek to increase levels of accountability because monitoring the performance of key institutions will go a long way to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the public service. The significance of the study is that it provides key insights into important issues in Ghana’s NPM reforms, which can serve as useful tools for decision makers in moving the reforms towards accomplishing its goals more successfully. The outlined challenges and recommendations will inform the government, key policy makers and local government officials to enable them address the challenges affecting the effective implementation of NPM reforms. This study further contributes toward academic discussions relating to the impact of NPM reforms in Ghana and Africa in general.