ABSTRACT
The research project was on ‘A suggested
framework for improving policy implementation’: A study of Enugu North Local
Government Area of Enugu State. The main objective of the study was to examine
the reasons policy implementation is hardly achieved as formulated in Enugu
North Local Government area of Enugu State. System theory was adopted as
theoretical framework. The descriptive research design was used for the study.
The population of the study was 948
and the sample size of 281which was determined using Taro Yamane Formula was
used. Data was collected using a well-structured 5-point likert scale
questionnaire and analysed using tables and percentages. Primary and secondary
sources of data were adopted in the
data collection. One of the major findings was that corruption has a significant
contribution to the problems of implementation of policies in Enugu North Local
Government area. The study concluded
that many obstacles stand as hindrances
to the effective implementation of policies in Enugu North Local Government
area of Enugu State. Based on the findings and conclusion, it is recommended
that local government autonomy should be granted in order to give the local
governments free hand to run their affairs.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY:
Policy implementation is of critical
importance to the success of government. Policy
implementation is the process of fulfilling the intentions of the policy. Researches on policy
implementation have
been carried out and there has been a lot of discourse among
social scientists. In local government areas, approaches are adopted, policies are formulated
and all of these are aimed at improving the performance of the local
government. As a general concept, policy
implementation can be defined as the third stage of policy cycle. It means the stage of
the policy process immediately
after
the passage of a law, or the action that will
be taken to put the law into effect.
According
to Milakovich and Gordon (2007) “Policy implemention is
a general political and
governmental process of carrying out programs to fulfil specified policy
objectives; also the activities directed towards putting a policy into effect. It also involves a wide
variety of actions such as issuing and enforcing directives, disbursing of
funds, making of laws, assigning and hiring personnel. Policy implementation
refers to the activities that are carried out in the light of establishing
policies.
Getting policy implementation right is very important and failure
can cause financial waste,
political
frustration and disruption. However, research on policy
implementation has vastly exploded since the
publication of Pressman and Wildavsky’s influential case study implementation in 1973. The authors examined the
factors underlying
the failure of the federal economic development programmes in the city of
Oakland and California.
Despite the fact that the programme was backed by
political agreement
and adequate financial resources and was widely expected to succeed, most of the early American students of policy implementation, focused on the
“implementation failure or implementation gap” and their authors took very pessimistic
views about the ability of
government
to effectively implement its programmes. Woodrow Wilson
(1988), had emphasised the
need for sound implementation of policies, programmed and
advocated for
politics
administration dichotomy.
Lack
of administrative capability in implementation also poses a threat to
successful implementation.
Public
involvement in policy
implementation is crucial and important for policy to be successful and the
target group should be involved actively. This research work gives a critical look
at the way of improving policy implementation. It
will also find out the reasons for the failure
of policies and possible ways of
improving policy implementation in Enugu North Local Government Area.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:
Currently, Enugu
North Local Government area is faced with a number of challenges which includes
corruption, misutilisation of fund and lack of sound policy design. The
implementation process necessarily gets tied up with the dynamics of
relationship between different implementing agencies in the field. In the first
instance, though the wilsonian dichotomy has been widely criticized, the
soundness of his observation that ‘’ it is getting harder to run a constitution
than to frame one’’ made in 1887 is widely acknowledged. Since the take off of
local government administration, the media has been awash with instances of
many policies formulated but not fully implemented due to one problem or the
other. We all know that when corruption penetrates the implementation process
the desired goals may not be achieved and corruption stands as a very strong
barrier to effective implementation of policies. A policy is necessarily formulated
in the field though it is made in the secretariat. Another contentious
communication which destroys the objectives of policy. Also, misutilisation of
funds and lack of sound policy design stand as a hindrance to the achievement
of policy objective. The above problems are what necessitated an in-depth study
on procedures for improving policy implementation in Enugu North Local
Government area of Enugu State.
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This research has broad and specific
objectives. It broadly seeks to
investigate ways of improving policy implementation with special
focus on Enugu North
Local Government Area of
Enugu State. It
has the following specific objectives:
1.) To examine the effects of corruption on policy implementation.
2). To investigate if inadequate provision of funds affects policy implementation in
Enugu North Local Government Area.
3.) To examine the impact
of poor policy implementation programme in Enugu North Local
Government
Area.
4.)To identify
challenges facing Local
Government
Executives
in policy implementation at Enugu North Local
Government.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
With regards to the objectives of the study, these research work
will provide answers to the following
research questions.
1.) What are
the impacts of corruption on policy implementation?
2.) How does
inadequate provision of funds affect policy implementation in Enugu North Local
Government
Area?
3.) What are the impacts of poor policy
implementation in Enugu North
Local
Government
Area?
4.) What are the challenges
facing local government executives in policy implementation in Enugu
North Local Government Area?.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Policy implementation forms the engine for effective governance
and management of public issues.
Local
government growth depends heavily on effectiveness of policy implementation. This work is essential
because it will prove itself as a landmark to policy makers, implementers, and help them perform their
duties and responsibilities
more effectively. Also, this research work will
be of benefit to the researcher.
The
research will
also provide platform
for more research into the arts and science of policy implementation in Enugu North Local Government Area. This research will provide ways of improving policy implementation and also suggest procedures for improving policy implementation
in Enugu North
Local
Government
Area. It will be of immense
help and serve as an academic literature for future researchers, students and society at
large by arousing deeper and genuine interest on the subject matter.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE
STUDY
This study focuses on examining ways of improving policy implementation
using Enugu North Local Government Area as a reference
point.
1.7
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study was
limited or faced with series of constraints in the course of writing it. Prominent
among the constraints were the time spent in gathering data for the project and
the time spent in compilation as this were combined with other course works.
Secondly, the finance in carrying out this activity was a big problem.
Obtaining relevant information was another limiting factor although the
required information was necessary. Most of the workers were reluctant in
supplying information and answers needed for the research for fear of losing
their job. All of these nearly wrecked the research work. However, the
limitations were overcome and the study was well carried out and genuine
results were achieved.
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Item Type: Project Material | Attribute: 66 pages | Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word | Price: N3,000 | Delivery: Within 30Mins.
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