Exploring The Effectiveness Of The Centre Of Government In The Coordination Of Policy Formation Among Public Sector Ministries In Ghana

Abstract

Coordination is increasingly difficult in modern governments because of the shift towards specialization of functions in the public sector. This shift has placed greater emphasis on division of labour and the establishment of line ministries with specific responsibilities. Many countries have undertaken reforms to strengthen the role of the Centre of Government (CoG) to effectively coordinate policy formation and implementation among public organizations to reduce policy duplication, policy conflicts and wasteful expenditure. This study explored the effectiveness of the CoG in Ghana in the coordination of policy formation among Public Sector Ministries (PSM). The ‘policy coordination scale’ developed by Metcalfe (1994) was adapted as the analytical framework for the empirical analysis. Methodologically, the study used an exploratory research design and employed the interpretivist approach in ascribing meanings to the findings. Respondents were purposively selected and the data for analysis was collected through interviews of officials within and outside the CoG and a survey of public officials in all the 36 Ministries. The findings revealed that the CoG is largely effective in the coordination of policy formation among PSM in Ghana. However, the CoG has not been effective at resolving policy differences among Ministries. This could largely be due to the lack of clarity in terms of responsibilities among institutions at the CoG in resolving policy disputes. The study advocates for an effective agency within the CoG devoted to policy conflicts resolution.