Richard I.C. Tambulasi

Who is fooling who

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the impacts of the new public management (NPM)‐oriented management accounting on political control at the Malawian local government level. The objective is to investigate the extent to which NPM‐based management accounting practices have increased managerial autonomy and reduced political control.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an empirical study conducted in six local government assemblies in Malawi. These include Salima Town Assembly, Blantyre City Assembly, Lilongwe City Assembly, Mzuzu City Assembly, Mzimba District Assembly, and Zomba Municipal Assembly. It is based on qualitative research methodology. The qualitative data were mainly collected through personal interviews with assembly managers and councillors. In addition, the study also relied on a review of various literature and newspaper articles providing insights to the subject under study.Findings – The paper has found that the NPM‐based management accounting has led to loss of local p...

Decentralization Opening a New Window for Corruption An Accountability Assessment of Malawi's Four Years of Democratic Local Governance

This article evaluates the first four years of decentralized local governance in Malawi with special focus on accountability of local assemblies. The article mainly relies on primary sources such as newspapers, governmental and non-governmental reports and a comparative literature survey. We argue that decentralized local governance in Malawi has enhanced corruption among the local assemblies in relation to their election, awarding of contracts and other related acts. This has consequently led to, inter alia, financial mess in local assemblies, loss of citizen and donor trust as well as low-quality infrastructures. Meanwhile, the democracy and good governance that were envisaged in the creation of local assemblies through the Local Government Act 1998 and the Malawian constitution have seriously been undermined.

All that glisters is not gold: new public management and corruption in Malawi's local governance

This paper examines the impact of the new public management (NPM) on corruption at the Malawian local government level. The study was based on interviews conducted in six local government assemblies in Malawi. Qualitative data were collected mainly through in-depth personal interviews with Assembly managers and councillors. The study also relied on insights gained from a review of various government literatures. It found that NPM reforms in Malawi have led to increased levels of corruption. It is feared that this situation could have massive negative impacts on economic development. To address these problems, the paper recommends the implementation of the public governance model, since this has built-in mechanisms that could considerably mitigate the corruption that has resulted from the introduction of NPM.

The Malawi 1964 cabinet crisis and its legacy of ‘perpetual regression of trust’ amongst contemporary Malawian politicians

Malawis cabinet crisis was one of the most critical incidents in Malawis political history. The crisis emanated from a disagreement between the Prime Minister and his six cabinet ministers over domestic, as well as foreign policies. The end result was that the six cabinet ministers resigned or were fired from government. While this article acknowledges that the link between the cabinet crisis and Dr Bandas leadership style during the one party era is undisputed, it argues that a further link between the crisis and contemporary Malawian politics has remained unexplored. The central argument of this article is that the cabinet crisis did not only determine the nature of political relations during the Banda era, but also that of contemporary Malawian politics in what may be identified as the legacy of ‘perpetual regression of trust’ among politicians.

Ubuntu and corporate social responsibility: the case of selected Malawian organizations

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to operationalise the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the framework of Design/methodology/approach - The paper is a result of a qualitative research study conducted amongst nine sampled Malawian organisations. It utilized a semi-structured interview guide in the collection of data whereby key research questions were exploratory and descriptive in nature. Findings - This paper finds that in the cases under study, the concept of CSR is being applied within the framework of Research limitations/implications - CSR does not operate in a vacuum. Its application depends on the prevailing cultural context. In the cases under study, Originality/value - Despite the envisaged significance of

The public sector corruption and organised crime nexus : the case of the fertiliser subsidy programme in Malawi

The article argues that there is a direct link between corruption and organised crime. A case study of the Malawi fertiliser subsidy programme is used to highlight the fact that corruption not only gives rise to organised criminal groups but also acts as a lubricant for the effective operation and survival of such groups. In this regard, the prevailing corruption has given rise to organised criminal groups who have hijacked the whole process and either smuggled the subsidised fertiliser to other countries or took it for their personal use. The problem has been exacerbated by the international dimensions of the crime and the fact that traditional leaders, politicians and government officials have been key players in the process, thereby intensifying the corruption / organised crime nexus.

Thriving on the Edge of Chaos: An Alternative Explanation to the Management of Crisis in Malawi's Decentralization Program

After Malawi adopted a multiparty system of governance in 1994, the country went about setting institutional frameworks that would promote good governance and democratic principles. Among other things these were to create strong local institutions that would promote local development participation and accountability and enhance delivery of services. . However, the transformation of the local assemblies posed a very serious challenge to manage. It is not surprising therefore that more than 10 years after initiating the changes, several studies have concluded that the decentralization process in Malawi is hugely disappointing. The situation in most local assemblies has almost reached the crisis point and is seemingly unredeemable. Despite this chaotic and complex scenario, the decentralized local assemblies still continue to deliver their services to the public, though with some reservation. This article utilizes the Chaos and Complexity theory in order to explain why the decentralized sector still manages to survive and show resilience despite the great challenges it encounters. Ultimately, through chaos and complexity theories, the article provides the framework for understanding the change management process in the assemblies which has not been explored adequately in previous studies. The article recommends that when introducing interventions in transitional systems such as decentralization programs, special recognition should be given to emerging dynamic and evolving occurrences that are beyond the control of policy makers.

Big Brother or Big Opportunist? South Africa's Enthusiasm for a Multifaceted Relationship with the Rest of Africa

South Africa had been a pariah state for many years before its democratic elections in 1994 enabled it to start playing a significant role on both the continental and international scenes. Its continental role is the aspect that has preoccupied most of its national and foreign policy since then, and many observers have welcomed this development. Among others, Chinsinga (2002, 1) argues that South Africa, as a major economic and political power in Africa, is ‘better placed to guide the integration of the southern Africa sub-region towards ... highly competitive and volatile global markets’ than any outside power. Like many other scholars, he believes that by ‘spearheading trade and investment’, South Africa can significantly assist in bringing about development in the region. Despite some reservations, Adebajo (2007, 36) admits that soon after the political transition South Africa had ‘one of the most representative political systems on the continent, arguably its best army, and Africa’s largest economy’. More importantly, there is ‘clear evidence that, since 1994, South Africa is not only within but also for Africa’ (Adedeji & Landsberg, 2007, 3) and ‘it is an undisputed hegemon within its own regional backyard, southern Africa’ (Lukas, 2008, 1).

Conditionality, Path Dependence and Veto Points: The Politics of Hospital Autonomy Reforms in Malawi

This paper argues that policy space ownership dynamics, political and historical institutional variables determine the implementation of reforms advocated within the context of the international transfer of public sector reform models to Africa. Through the case of the Malawi Hospital Autonomy reforms, this paper demonstrates that although policies transferred by international donor organisations to African countries through aid conditionality may be initially adopted so as to secure the much-needed developmental aid, the actual implementation of such reforms is not an automatic process. This is due to contextual factors, which in part include the neo-colonial struggle for policy ownership in the face of conditionality, path dependency tendencies and veto players that are constrained by deeply entrenched political and historical institutional proclivity that lead to policy stability even in the context of coercive policy transfer pressures. Taking a qualitative approach, the analysis combines the use of primary and secondary data. The study findings show that while other African countries successfully implemented such reforms, Malawi has not, due to specific implementation, historical, political and institutional factors.

Holding the brains back in: An assessment of measures against brain drain in the Malawian health sector

Migration studies especially in developing countries have fallen short of analysing the impacts of the mitigating variables. This paper therefore fills the lacuna by analysing measures against brain drain in the Malawian health sector. Migration of health workers has been affecting health service delivery in the country. However, although some measures to curb brain drain or minimize its impacts have been implemented, little is known about their effectiveness. The problem with this knowledge gap is that it makes various stakeholders and experts fail to make interventions in an informed, well-focused and coordinated manner. This is a qualitative study based on data collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with various key stakeholders and health service deliverers. The paper finds that various measures to control brain drain or minimize its impacts in Malawi have been applied. Some of these include salary top-ups, provision of various forms of training, bonding contracts, housing schemes and other external arrangements. However, the study finds that although these measures have the potential to control brain drain or minimize its effects, they face several implementation, institutional and organizational challenges that affect their effective execution and hence make gains obtained to be fragile and unsustainable. The paper contributes to the understanding of organizational, institutional and policy challenges that affect the effectiveness of measures to curb brain drain in a developing context environment. To this end, the study informs policy-makers and public sector managers the need to address these if interventions are to obtain effective results.