What Can Be Done?

Abstract

Over the last two decades, most sub-Saharan African countries embarked on a series of reforms as a way of improving public sector delivery. While the said reforms are still ongoing in many of these countries, they should be seen as a part of the wider public sector agenda (Peters 1999, 381).¹ While it may be too early to predict their successes or failures, it is clear that they have not been able to achieve their desired results. In a number of African countries, the reforms have not succeeded owing to lack of political will. In the case of Rwanda, there continues to be political will that has resulted into implementation of some of the reforms. Beyond political will and resources, focused leadership is critically important. PSR is an art and not a science (Westcott 1999). The reformers know what they want and how to get there.