connections to skip the queue. Most clients complain about the long waiting times of local service facilities, the unconcerned staff and the petty corruption.
47. In some local service organizations, decision-making is delayed by lack of delegation of authority and responsibility.
Minor decisions that could have been solved at the lower level of the administrative hierarchy would find their way to the centre.
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Page 21 Lack of delegation is further aggravated by the fact that subordinates are not trained and competent enough to take or handle
even minor decisions. Worse of all, every body wants to avoid activities that entail responsibility and criticism. Delegation is
made difficult in situations where lack of trust is common. The limited time officials devote to their offices due to severalmeetings, official tours and ceremonies delays decision. In Ethiopia, the system of bureaucratic action bound up in laws, regulations and procedures with long administrative circuits are
major causes of inefficiency.(iii) Inappropriate Structures
48. There are different organizations giving similar services such as Commission for Higher Education and Ministry of Education in Ethiopia. The dispersal of similar functions among different
organizations results in duplication of effort and unnecessarycost. Dispersal of authority and responsibility among different
organizations also makes co-ordination difficult.(iv) Financial Constraints
49. The local service sector has suffered from financial difficulties due to the limited budget allocated to it. Political
instability in countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, Chad, etc.resulted in investing substantial sums on defence and much less on social services as shown bin Table 6.
Table 6: Central Government Expenditure: Percentage of Expenditure on Health and Education
Total
Source: Human Development Report 1990, UNDP
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50. Negash in the book of "The Crisis of Ethiopian Education"
explained that the 1988 budget of 350 million Birr earmarked to educate a student population of 3,726,000 was inadequate by any standard of measurement. The budget might be sufficient to educate about one third of the student population. The growth in student population and inflation rate aggravated the situation. The financial problems prevented the expansion of physical plants of local service organizations resulting in over-crowded class rooms and hospitals, poorly equipped laboratories, inadequate library resources, office and other facilities, low salaries and shortage of drugs and medical equipment. Budgetary shortages prevented quality service, proper supervision and progress in research.In education, the expansion of the local service sector far beyond the financial resources resulted in the decline of the service, specially primary education. This is a serious matter because the quality of primary education plays a major role in determining the quality of all higher levels of education. Shortage of fund resulted in poor supervision due to inadequate mobility. Out-dated vehicles, shortage of fuel and inadequate per diem made the mobility of the supervisory staff difficult. Another reason for a decline in educational quality is the high percentage of teachers who were compelled by the state to join the teaching profession.
Whether those engaged in the teaching profession have sufficient interest in their jobs depends greatly on their working conditions which encompass teachers' salaries, class size, student motivation and opportunities for professional advancement through further education.
51. In most African countries, there has not been enough concern over the waste of public funds resulting from the mismanagement of supply contracts, inefficient management of stores, careless handling of expensive materials. The importance of materials management will be recognized when due account is taken on the size of national resources devoted to the purchase and import of machinery, equipment, raw materials, and other stock needed for the provision of essential services. The administration of these materials constitutes major management task. Equally deserving attention is maintenance management in local service institutions.
This refers in particular to departmental vehicles on which foreign exchange has been spent.
IV. ANALYSIS OF MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY AND
EFFECTIVENESS OF LOCAL SERVICE ADMINISTRATION
52. Improvement of local services to meet their development oriented goals will require measures to increase efficiency and diversification of financial resources. While appropriate policy changes are necessary to improve local services, they alone will not suffice. They must be coupled with strengthening management.
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The most important measures involve improving the performance and skills of employees, decentralizing, streamlining government
regulations and operational procedures, strengthening non government provision of local services, enhancing quality and
increasing accessibility of services, developing management information system and introducing cost-effectiveness.i) Improving the Leadership and Administrative Skills of Local Employees
53. Measures should be taken to improve the performance and skills of local sector employees through better job classification which facilitates recruitment, training and evaluation, and changes in civil service regulations. Success in formulating and administering appropriate policies, as well as the efficient operation of a large number of local services will depend crucially on the availability of adequate number of professional, technical
and managerial personnel. Except in special cases, generaleducation needs to be followed by job related training to provide qualification for useful and gainful employment. The provision of
qualified staff and the upgrading of poorly qualified staff are matters which require attention and which are to be addressed.54. African governments should also actively seek to stem the drain of skilled persons which has occurred through emigration over the past decade. This pool of absent talent is a valuable potential source of qualified manpower. The principle of merit system must be used if the competence and commitment of the civil service is needed. The general principles of merit system are simple. Firstly, there must be equity. This means equal pay for