Administrative Structures and the Implementation of Development Plans
| Date | 01 April 1967 |
| Published date | 01 April 1967 |
| Author | Nigel Heseltine |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1967.tb00660.x |
Administrative Structures and the
Implementation of Development Plans
By
NIGEL
HESELTINE
Mr. Heseltine is Director of National Planning, Government of the Republic of
Ma
Zambia. He was formerly Development Adviser to the President of the Republic
of
dagascar.
THE
purpose
of
this paper is to examine the role
of
administrative structures
at the regional level in the execution
of
development programmes.
The
Writer,
having worked in administrations in Africa
of
both French and
British inspiration, will attempt to compare the functions
of
administrative
structures as they have been set up in both an independent francophone and
anglophone country, Madagascar and Zambia.
It
is stressed that the purpose
of this paper is strictly analytic and, therefore, no value-judgements should
be looked for in comparing these administrations of different origins.
The
role of administration in economic development has seldom been
given detailed attention by economists beyond general statements that a
stable government and an efficientadministration are an essential foundation
for economic development. Far more attention has been given to the avail-
ability
of
capital or the role
of
managerial and technical personnel. It is,
however, generally accepted that the efficiency of the administrative frame-
Work
can determine whether or not economic development takes place.i
The quality
of
the administration will determine the capacity of the economy
to utilise capital and skilled manpower.
1ltisis immediately evident in the failure
of
many development plans to
have the required impact on the societies they were designed to change.
Many plans have been drawn up by highly qualified, mainly expatriate,
teams
of
specialists, of which the implementation phase is almost negligible.
These development plans were drawn up on a sound theoretical basis, but
re1llained
quite unrelated to the political and social realities for the country
for
Which
they were designed.
In the Peoples' Democracies the role
of
administration is accepted as
paramount in the formulation and implementation
of
development plans.
The role
of
government in the western democracies has been accepted more
ｾ､ｵ｡ｬｬｹ
in the post Keynes era, and planning is still regarded as an in-
dicativeor permissive process.
The
situation in a developing country is that
ｾ･ｲ･
is virtually no alternative to a fairly vigorous centrally-conceived
. evelopment plan.
The
economies of these countries are usually character-
ISed
by:
(a) a large mainly unproductive rural sector;
(b)
a weak indigenous private sector;
(c)
a strong foreign-based private sector covering extractive or distribut-
ing industries.
----------------------------
1See Lewis, W. Arthur. The Theory of Economic Development (1955).
75
To continue reading
Request your trial