Public Management

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Features and constrains of distance education at UNAM
(1994) Keyter, Charles
Course development and practical sessions on the distance education mode. Paper presented at a workshop.
(1999) Keyter, Charles
The paper addresses the topic of distance education in general and how practical sessions could be incorporated and implemented as part of a course on the distance education mode.
Institutional open and distance learning collaboration in Namibia.
(Staff and Educational Development International., 2002) Keyter, Charles
Social and economic development depends to a large extent on applicable knowledge, skills and attitudes. In this regard the Government of Namibia has given the highest priority to education in the national budget of the country since Independence in 1990. Due to the fact that not all learning can be provided through formal education on campus, at schools, colleges and institutions of higher education, open and distance learning have become a viable alternative. In recent years Namibia has seen a rapid expansion of open and distance learning, which provides many thousands of Namibians the opportunity to study part-time to improve their qualifications. However, in order to provide an effective and efficient service to the open and distance learning students in Namibia, the four publicly-funded institutions involved in open and distance learning activities embarked on a mission to collaborate. The result of this collaborative effort is the establishment of the Namibian Open Learning Network (NOLNeT). This article gives an overview of this collaborative effort amongst the four Namibian publicly-funded institutions.
A managerial model of distance education for the NUST.
(2003) Keyter, Charles
Due to the fact that not all learning can be provided through formal education on campus or schools, colleges and institutions of higher education, distance education has become a viable alternative. In this regard we have seen a rapid expansion of distance education programmes at traditional face-to-face institutions, becoming dual mode institutions. Therefore, if students are to learn on the distance education mode, they need effective educational and administrative support. This implies that the management approach used by dual mode institutions will differ from conventional face-to-face institutions. The aim of this paper is to identify a managerial distance education model for the NUST. In order to develop a managerial distance education model, a distinction will be made between the macro and micro management level of distance education management. Each of these levels will be discussed in terms of certain distance education criteria identified. The current distance education model will be evaluated against the normative distance education model identified. The paper will be concluded in terms of a number of recommendations made to improve the current distance education situation at the NUST.
A normative distance education management model for dual mode institutions.
(Administratio Publica, 2003) Keyter, Charles; Schwella, Erwin
Due to the fact that not all learning can be provided through formal education on campus at schools, colleges and institutions of higher education, distance education has become a viable alternative. In this regard we have seen a rapid expansion of distance education programmes at traditional face-to-face institutions, becoming dual mode institutions. Therefore, if students are to learn on the distance education mode, they need effective educational and administrative support. This implies that the management approach used by dual mode institutions differ from conventional face-to-face institutions. The aim of this paper is to identify a normative distance education management model, which can be used in evaluating current distance education management models in operation. In order to develop a normative distance education management model, the open systems framework is used because it provides a bridge between the general managerial work and the key management issues as they relate to distance education institutions. The management functions related to distance education is identified and briefly explained. This paper concludes that the biggest challenge in the management of distance education institutions is that they remain flexible and innovative in their approach to student needs.
Institutional reform measures within the Namibian public sector to ensure accelerated service delivery.
(Journal of Public Administration., 2006) Keyter, Charles
During 2006, Namibia not only celebrated 16 years of independence, but the people of Namibia also witnessed a smooth transition of presidential power, in a peaceful, democratic and constitutional manner. The newly elected President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, committed himself and his government to accelerated service delivery. In contrast to all these positive developments within Namibia, the people of Namibia have also witnessed an increase in corruption, maladministration and poor service delivery over the last few years. In this regard this paper will briefly focus on service delivery within Namibia, as well as the positive and negative developments regarding service delivery that have taken place over the last 16 years. Thereafter a brief discussion will follow, which will identify the measures the government of the Republic of Namibia has implemented on institutional level to address these maladies and ensure accelerated service delivery. The measure put in place is the principle of ministerial accountability in accordance with the Namibian Constitution: addressing corruption directly; ensuring that public enterprises operate effectively and efficiently as socio-economic development catalysts; and to establish sound labour relations. The need to contain good communication lines between all social partners was recognised and amendments were made to the Public Service Act, 1995 (Act 13 of 1995) to streamline the disciplinary procedures under the Act.
International, African and southern African instruments and institutions driving and inhibiting reform.
(Association of Southern African Schools and Departments of public administration and Management (ASSADPAM), 2007) Coetzee, Johan
A number of international institutions and instruments are both driving and inhibiting reform. United Nations conventions play an important role in creating a moral framework for reform. However, ratification is mostly a slow process and the enforcement of provisions is discretionary and inconsistent. The World Bank took the first steps to exclude companies that were found guilty of corruption, from tenders. Financial support to developing countries to bring corrupt companies to court will strengthen the World Bank’s contribution. The Council of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development provides much needed access to a powerful database on corruption and good governance. The World Trade Organisation is indirectly supporting corruption by not enforcing the reduction of subsidies, that cause an unlevelled playing field. The International Monetary Fund can become a clearinghouse for allegations of corruption. The Millennium Development Account gives countries that qualify for financial support a say in aid-funded programmes and hold them accountable for achieving results, paving the way for increased accountability towards good governance. The International Chamber of Commerce is concerned about the provisions in the United Nation’s Convention Against Corruption that is discretionary, and hampers development of binding and consistent international rules. These concerns need to be turned into action.
Role of culture and change management in sustainable public service reform.
(Association of Southern African Schools and Departments of Public Administration and Management (ASSADPAM)., 2007) Coetzee, Johan
Culture and change is complex, unpredictable and cannot be managed but do have prospects for steering. This paper concurs with Van Tonder that change management is cultural management; and also with Bate that culture and strategy are substitutes. For understanding the concept of institutional culture, the Three Layered Diagram of Schultz, et al. was found to be simplistic but useful. The ‘new’ and ‘strong’ culture provides design parameter for cultural change or reform. This paper recommends design parameters for reform of public services in the Southern African Development Community (SADC); and complements the research of Bate in providing a more detailed roadmap for institutional cultural change consisting of the following integrated phases or dimensions: Structural (understanding); spatial and temporal (origins and trajectory); processual (life cycle); contextual (environmental context) and subjective (objectives and ambitions of role players). Amongst other, the following institutional cultural change applications are discussed: For understanding a specific institutional culture, the Organisational Checklist of the United Kingdom Civil Service College is recommended; and an in-depth knowledge and thorough cultural assessment. For strategy formulation, the 7-S Strategy Framework of McKinsey, is useful but not without its limitations. This framework can be combined with the Balanced Scorecard of Kaplan and Norton to provide balanced and cohesive strategies for reform.
New solutions, enduring challenges - The case for public sector reform in Sub-Saharan Africa re-examined.
(2007) Keyter, Charles
The main purpose of any service globally, is to promote the general welfare of the citizens of that specific country. The assumption can therefore be made that in order to promote the general welfare of the citizens: the public sector should be managed effectively, efficiently and economically. Over the last few years we have seen significant changes taking place in public administration and management in Sub-Saharan African countries. The main factors leading to public sector refor can be traced back to the following criteria, namely, the redefinition of the role of the state within society, secondly, measures were introduced to enhance public management performance and lastly it is expected from governments to adhere to the principles of good governance. Besides the above mentioned factors, the reforming of the public sector can be triggered by political scandals, corruption scandals and economic crises. The last part of the paper briefly deals with the approaches and requirements to sustain reform. Two approaches can be used, namely, a "big bang" approach which focus on massive changes at once, or an incremental strategy in which the steps are carefully designed to build support over time.
Factors, triggers and measures of public sector reform within transitional countries: Paper presented at the ASSADPAM Annual Conference and AGM, 29 May - 1 June 2007, NUST.
(ASSADPAM (Association of Southern African Schools and Departments of Public Administration and Management)., 2007) Keyter, Charles
Regional integration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC): A case study of Namibia's cross border migration issues in Oshikanga.
(2007) Niikondo, Andrew
The article is directly the product of research performed as part of the PhD dissertation on Politics and Public Management offered by the Department of Political and Administrative Studies of the University of Namibia. The main objective of this article was to investigate issues of cross-border migration and their effects on the project of the SADC regional integration. A case study of the border area around the Oshikango town at the Namibia/Angola border has yielded the empirical data. The data were gathered about the distribution of variables such as grassroots community’s understanding and attitudes towards implications of cross border migration as measured against the SADC project of regional integration. Other important variables that support investigation techniques are gender, age and education level of respondents. Informed by this investigation and based on the Oshikango case study this article has arrived at the conclusion that SADC is currently unable to achieve its goal of regulating free movement of persons in the region. The problematic seems to be that since SADC is state-based regime, member states take their refuge in the doctrine of state sovereignty, often at the expense of the common regional agenda, in other words they talk regionalism, but they act nationally. This characterised SADC as a shallow integration with limited involvement of civil society and local communities, and hence, cross-border migration control in the region became an issue. Induced by these conclusions, this article recommended encouragement of trans-frontier special development arrangements such as parks and corridors deeply integrated in trans-boundary grassroots communities.
Perceptions on the impact of Chinese businesses in Namibia: A case study of the retail and construction sector in Windhoek.
(Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2009) Niikondo, Andrew; Coetzee, Johan
There are conflicting perspectives on the increase of Chinese business in Africa and in particular in Namibia. This study hypothesized that in Namibia, local communities, political leaders, local business community and workers operate on distinct repertoires, i.e. local communities tend to regard Chinese traders as a most welcomed addition to the local market as providers of affordable goods and services. Government, which is a signatory of various bilateral agreements with the People's Republic of China, believes in economic liberalisation and attraction of foreign investment. The local business community on the other hand, feels the pinch of market threat by the influx of Chinese businesses in particular in the construction and the retail sector. There are claims of unfair competition by Chinese businesses, in particular with regard to state tenders. According to this view, Chinese businesses do not have to adhere to the same costly legal provisions as local or South African companies have to, due to political favouritism and alleged corruption benefiting the Chinese. Organised labour (trade unions) seems to be concerned by the frequent non-adherence of Chinese businesses to Namibian labour law and affirmative action legislation. There is also evidence that Chinese companies bring along their own low-skilled labour from China, thereby taking away work from Namibians. Namibian employees of Chinese companies are expected to compare their situation in terms of pay, working conditions (working hours, annual and compassionate leave, management style etc.), fringe benefits (medical aid, pensions) to their counterparts in other (Namibian and foreign) companies. The principal questions to which this study tries to find an answer are: (a) What are the characteristics and the consequences (positive and negative, short-term and long-term) of Chinese economic activity in Namibia's commercial and construction sector in particular? (b) What has been the local response to the increased Chinese presence? (c) What are the policy suggestions in order to, on the one hand, maximise the benefits to Namibia and, on the other hand, minimise the costs and negative impacts of the Chinese expansion into the Namibian society?
Perceptions of stakeholders involved in a public-private partnership arrangement: A case study of solid waste management in the City of Windhoek, Namibia.
(SAAPAM (South African Association for Public Administration and Management., 2010) Keyter, Charles
Public-Private Partnerships have become an important instrument in sub-national government’s development assistance because; it adds a new variant to cooperation between governments and the economy of their countries. It concerns the establishment of purposeful joint business ventures at programme level, which aims at providing a more efficient and effective service delivery. Furthermore, it aims to ensure that the approach being use is pro poor. In this regard the capital city of Namibia, the City of Windhoek, has embarked on such a public private partnership arrangement to enhance the living conditions of the residents within the city. In this regard the ward contractor project was launched and implemented. The main purpose of the project is to create a clean and healthy environment, to create an entrepreneurial spirit amongst small scale independent providers and to ensure that the most vulnerable groups within the Namibian society, especially women, benefit from this arrangement. The purpose of the research project study was to determine the perceptions of the stakeholders involved in the solid waste management public-private partnership arrangement in the City of Windhoek to ensure that the specific project lives up to its goals and objectives. Through the research conducted, knowledge has been generated that will be of benefit to decision makers, and scholars interested in public-private partnership arrangements within the Namibian, regional and global context. The article concludes by looking at the way forward for future improvement of the project.
Effectiveness and efficiency of a public-private partnership arrangement: A case study of perceptions on the Ward Contractor System in the City of Windhoek, Namibia.
(2010) Keyter, Charles
Public private partnerships (PPP) have become an important instrument in sub-national government’s development assistance. PPP also adds a new variant to cooperation between governments and the economy of their countries. It concerns the establishment of purposeful joint business ventures at programme level, which aims at providing a more efficient and effective service delivery. Furthermore, the aim of PPP arrangements is to ensure that the approach being use is pro poor. In this regard the City of Windhoek has embarked on such a PPP arrangement to enhance the living conditions of the residents within the city, create an entrepreneurial spirit amongst small scale independent providers and to ensure that the most vulnerable groups within the Namibian society, women, benefit from this arrangement. The purpose of this project is to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the ward contractor project based on the perceptions of the various stakeholders involved in the project. The ultimate aim is to investigate the link between the theory and the practice and that this specific project lives up to its goals and objectives. This project will generate knowledge that will be of benefit to decision makers, practionaries and scholars interested in PPP within the Namibian, regional and international context. The knowledge gain with this project will be disseminated at local, regional and international forums to enhance the subject field and practice of public-private partnership and entrepreneur ship.
Migrants to cities and towns in Namibia: What their interests are?
(2010) Niikondo, Andrew
This study suggests an investigation on the problem of urbanisation and shack dwelling in Namibia. A case of the City of Windhoek has been used. Findings in most literature led to unemployment as a major cause of urbanisation in Namibia. This study has probed the migrants’ (men and women) interest in urban life. The research question is: Do the rural-urban migrants feel like citizens of the city or town? The study pursues the main objective of investigating the relationship between personal interests and housing demands of rural-urban migrants in the City of Windhoek. It was hypothesised that immigrants to the City of Windhoek feel like transient residents rather than citizens, and as a consequence take no responsibility for their surroundings including buying formal houses. These phenomena could be the causes of various social problems such as shack-dwelling, crime and insanitation in Namibia’s urban areas.
Systematic corruption and corrective change management strategies: A study of the co-producers of systematic corruption and its negative impact on socio-economic development
(2012-12-12) Coetzee, Johannes Jacobus
The focus of the study is the socio-economic impact of systemically corrupt institutions on developing countries. The unit of analysis is systemic corruption. The study seeks to make a contribution towards the understanding of, and insight into, corruption in private and public institutions. Corruption is a subsystem of the social system that is embedded in the economy, politics, science and technology, ethics, and aesthetics. Systemic corruption is not only an impairment of integrity, virtue and moral principle(s), but a departure from the original purpose, processes, structure, governance and context of systems created with the intention to be pure and correct and to enable development. Systemic corruption is destructive for development. Corruption is a social pathology. As a systemic problem situation, corruption does not have root causes, but co-producers. These co-producers are obstructions to first-order-development of an institution and society. If these first-order-co-producers interact, e.g. when marginal groups are powerless and do not have any hope of being accommodated in formal society (that is synonymous with a better life) the impact thereof co-produces second-order-problems, e.g. alienation and polarisation. Alienated people organise themselves and for survival create their own values and culture that contradict those of formal society. For example, organised criminal groups are not accommodated within the formal structures of society; they are labelled, feared and detested. Marginal groups use the negative impact they experience during alienation and polarisation, i.e. absolute, relative, and total deprivation from goods, services, knowledge, influence, norms and identity, to justify their corrupt practices. Corruption cannot be solved with linear solutions, but should be addressed by a systemic approach, e.g. system dynamics, soft - and complex systems. This approach aims to change the „culture of corruption‟ by changing the environment that contributes to corruption, i.e. by eliminating programmes that co-produce corruption, by developing moral and transformational leaders and role models, and by developing innovative, transparent and accountable institutions. This dissertation is primarily a hermeneutic study. Exploratory research provided insight into and comprehension of the co-producers and impacts of corruption. Although a substantial volume of literature on corruption exists, very few employ a systemic framework that provides a holistic understanding of corruption and its relationship with other variables within the context of the developing world. The relationship with these variables is important to gain an understanding of the complexity of corruption. Corruption can be a concept, a condition, a manifestation, and a co-producer that contribute towards poverty and under-development. Corruption can also be a co-impact on poverty and under-development. The multidimensional dynamics of corruption to take on various „masks‟ make it an elusive phenomenon. As a complex subsystem, corruption takes on a life of its own that is self sustaining - corruption strengthens corruption. Corruption‟s co-producers, various manifestations and devastating impacts can at best be understood in terms of contextualising these from a systemic and complex system perspective. The dissertation offers a conceptual framework for identifying systemically corrupt institutions. Strategies were developed for change management to transform such institutions to international best practices. These strategies are based on the principles of good governance, institutional capital and trust, quality personnel, a culture of discipline, and sustainability. The concept of „quality‟ is central to the creation of social/institutional capital, an integrated institution and also in the control and management of these strategies. Strategies and processes were developed for a complete institutional change and transformation, by creating institutions that enhance participation, parity, organisation, adaptation and innovation. These strategies were developed by integration, e.g. developing social capital; differentiation, e.g. application of specialised knowledge and skills about procurement; coordination; and control of systemic corruption. For every level of differentiation, a minimum required level of integration is required. Therefore, all strategies „balance‟ opposing developmental aspirations. A discussion of developing countries‟ corruption problem situations, based on examples of real incidents of corruption, illustrates what can be done if reform of people and transformation of systems are applied systemically. Corrective change management strategies were tailored for suiting a unique context, governance, structure, purpose and processes. The discussion assessed the key drivers and key uncertainties with possible directions of how these alternatives can unfold in terms of the Namibian corruption problem situation. Leverage points describe how to implement the most effective containment strategies with the best outcome in the shortest time. Containing strategies include hard, formal and tactical-operational strategies. Dissolving strategies focus on soft, informal and long-term sustainable transformation.
Understanding systemic corruption
(2013) Coetzee, Johan
During the last two decades the debate about corruption and ways to understand and contain it acquired a new intensity and concentrated focus. However, applications to contain it sustainably are of mixed success. The World Bank (WB) defined corruption as “the abuse of public office for private gain”. This is one of the most commonly used definitions of corruption within the public domain. The expanded definition of the WB distinguishes between „isolated‟ and „systemic‟ corruption, World Bank Report (1997: 9-10). The WB‟s definition fails to accept the general nature of corruption as being systemic - a concept that suggests interdependence on deviate behaviour in public and/or private sector institutions. Corruption is a function of dishonesty, a lack of integrity and the abuse of private and/or public office for personal gain. In order to understand corruption systemically, it should be perceived as a subsystem of a social system that is embedded in ethics, the economy, politics, science and technology, and aesthetics. Systemic corruption is not only an impairment of integrity, virtue and moral principle(s), but a departure from the original purpose, processes, structure, governance and context of systems created with the intention to be pure and correct and to enable development. The multidimensional dynamics of corruption to take on various „masks‟, make it an elusive phenomenon. As a complex subsystem, corruption takes on a life of its own that is self sustaining - corruption strengthens corruption. Corruption is a pervasive social pathology with various co-producers that all contribute to corruption. In the absence of root causes, systemic corruption cannot be analysed but needs to be dissolved in the context of the particular environment, taking into consideration the interrelationships between its structure, purpose, governance and processes. To address corruption sustainably, corruption should be first be understood as a complex systemic phenomenon.
The impact of corruption on development: a comparative developmental perspective
(Nawa: journal of language and communication, 2015-06-01) Coetzee, Johannes Jacobus
Corruption has attracted increased and intensive consideration in discourse on development in recent years. Beyond being an ethical problem, corruption is also a governance and development challenge. To contextualise the impact of corruption on development, a comparative analysis of the outstanding development characteristics of developing as opposed to developed countries of 16 internationally accepted indices has been conducted. From analysing the indices, overall patterns emerge that demonstrate that developing countries such as Namibia and Kenya, with relatively low scores in terms of development indicators, present more obstructions to development that act as co-producers of corruption compared to a developed country such as Norway, which has fewer such obstructions. Such co-producers and their interaction increase the level and complexity of corruption as well as magnify its impact on development. As the drivers of corruption take different forms, emerging obstructions are less dominant in developed countries and, given all other possible co-producers, corruption can be managed more easily compared to the situation in developing countries. To change a culture of corruption requires that the environment must be developed to make problems impossible to arise and to dissolve corruption as a complex problem situation. Keywords: Corruption; development; perceptions; co-producers.
Comparative best practices to manage corruption
(Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2016) Coetzee, Johannes Jacobus
During the last two decades debates about corruption and ways to contain it have acquired a new intensity and concentrated focus. There are increasing attempts to construct a global framework of best practices to manage corruption. Because corruption is a systemic challenge that needs a long-term approach to manage, it is worthwhile focusing on best practices that have proved to be the most durable (most sustainable). Such practices that demonstrate elements of systemic reform include reforms in two newly industrialised and two developed countries. In all four cases there was no master plan and reform evolved over time. Ongoing successes reinforced the momentum of change, and these successes became institutionalised in government processes and the culture of participative governance.
The Role of the Private Sector in Tackling Corruption
(Institute for Public Policy Research, 2018-04) Coetzee, Johannes Jacobus
Corruption in the private sector is part of the total level of corruption in a country. It is necessary to investigate the level of corruption in Namibia in comparison with other countries. One of the most popular indices used by investors to provide them with an indication of the level of corruption in a country as a decision-making indicator for investment purposes is the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International (TI). The TI Index on corruption and good governance is compiled annually per country. Countries are classified as open economies or closed economies. Countries are rated out of 10 – with 10 being a perfect score, indicating no corruption and perfect good governance. The problem with international indices, however, is that they are simplistic indices and do not perceive and tackle corruption from a holistic or systemic perspective.

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