Description
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Approval page ii
Certification page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of content vi
List of Tables vii
Abstract viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study 1
1.2 Statement of the problem 2
1.3 Objectives of the study 3
1.4 Scope of the study 4
1.5 Significance of the study 4
1.6 Research hypotheses 5
1.7 Research questions 6
1.8 Methodology 6
1.9 Limitations of the study 6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.1 Policy: A conceptual discourse 8
2.1.2 Policy implementation 11
2.1.3 The policy process 13
2.2.2 Reasons why government policy fails 15
2.2 Empirical literature 20
2.3 Theoretical Framework 24
2.3.1 The planning theory 24
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 25
3.1 Research design 25
3.2 Population of the Study 25
3.3 Sample size determination 26
3.4 Sampling technique 26
3.5 Description of research instruments 26
3.6 Validity of the research instruments 27
3.7 Reliability of the study 27
3.8 Method of data analysis 28
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Questionnaire Response-Rate 30
4.2 Demographic Information 31
4.3 Test of Hypothesis 44
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary of findings 48
5.2 Conclusion 49
5.3 Recommendations 49
Bibliography 50
Appendix 53
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Every local government desires growth and development. The elected officials and career administrators of any given local government in Nigeria crave to be credited with carrying out projects that is geared towards the development of the local government area within their jurisdiction. This has led them into engaging in projects, investments and policies to achieve optimum growth and development. However, no community or nation can achieve development without generating development oriented policies and backing them up with effective policy implementation or action.
Policy implementation as perceived by Adamolekun (1983) refers to the activities that are carried out in the light of executing policies. It is the act of converting inputs into outputs. Edwards (1980) further asserts that policy implementation is a stage of policy making between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people whom it affects. It also involves a wide variety of actions such as issuing and enforcing directives, disbursing funds, making loans, assigning and hiring personnel, to mention a few.
However, it has been observed that development policy implementation at the local/grassroot level is one of the major problems confronting local governments in Nigeria. The focus of this study will be on Obudu local government area of Cross River state, Nigeria.
Without proper and effective development policy making and implementation in any local government area, the attainment of development in such a local government jurisdiction remains a mirage. However, many local government administrators may have outstanding development policies but the problem is always one of effective implementation. Development policy implementation problem occurs when the desired and projected outcome is not achieved. Wherever and whenever the basic critical factors that are very crucial to implementing public policy are missing, there is bound to be implementation problem.
In the light of the foregoing, this study is aimed at identifying the problems of development-policy making in Obudu local government area of Cross River state.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The importance of development policy making and implementation to achieve development in the local level cannot be overemphasized. However, it is empirically proven that most local governments in Nigeria face problems in the area of development policy making.
Most of the major problems faced by them include; lack of visionary political leadership at the local level, ineffective local councils which is not interested in community needs assessment, lack of development culture, lack of executive capacity to undertake policy research in the local government’s Department of Planning, Research and Statistics, community apathy and citizens indifference to interest articulation and aggregation at the local level capable of raising issues into the institutional agenda of the local government (Onyinye, 2015). This state of affairs calls for an empirical study into the problems of development policy-making and implementation in Obudu local government area of Cross River State.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.1 Policy: A Conceptual Discourse
Public policies are aimed at the whole population or at specific, targeted groups, and can be created by all levels of government. Policies can also be created by institutions such as school boards, hospitals, workplaces or community organizations. Public policies are made through a process involving citizens, government officials and elected officials who, ideally, work together to set an agenda for the common good.
The concept of public policy discourse today is saturated with the advocacy or criticism of various policies. It is common to hear of foreign policy, defense policy, economic policy, educational policy and policies in almost every area of government and private activity. We also hear of policy statements, enactment of policies, and declaration of policy intentions and the commitments of millions of naira to the implementation of certain policies.
Our lives are in fact affected and influenced by policies made by the governments, communities, social organizations, churches, labour groups, educational, business and service organizations. The results of policies are also around us, such as provision of social services, the cost of fuel, the availability of agricultural loans, employment opportunities and the security of our jobs.
Policy may be developed and applied at many levels and may range from formal legislation and regulations to the informal rules by which organizations function. For example, according to Boyd (2000), government policy related to children, youth and health is developed at international, national, provincial, regional and community levels by individuals, elected officials, and public servants across a number of sectors, including health, education, social services, recreation, finance, justice, labour, transportation and environment.
According to Roberts and Edwards (2001), the concept of public policy formulation and implementation calls for a critical and in depth analysis of what public policy is all about. This is because the art of public policy analysis inherently involves policy formulation and implementation.
Public policy is a subset or particular realm in politics, while its analysis is a subdivision of politics, a field affiliated to political science. Snyder (1996) asserts that the formulation and execution of public policy is one of the major areas of future growth in political science.
By policy, we mean a “set of decisions taken by a political actor or group concerning the selection of goals and the method of attaining them, relating to a specified situation.
Public policy formulation is referred to as that part of the process by which proposed actions are articulated, debated, and drafted into the language for law or policy (The Policy Circle, 2013).
Public policy implementation can be seen as the act of carrying out of basic policy decisions, usually incorporated in a statute, but which can also take the form of important executive orders or court decisions (Mazmanian and Sabatier, 1983).
Furthermore, public policy as Mabogunje (1981) says are those definite acts or actions of government geared towards the fulfillment of the obligation of government on the citizens, which are the maintenance of law and order, the provision of social and economic facilities needed for an enhanced standard of living of the people etc. Public policy is usually organized around activities and the strategies to be adopted for its implementation.
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