Containing patronage pressures

C. William Allen

Ref Batch
B
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
7
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Blair Cameron
Name
C. William Allen
Interviewee's Position
Former Director of Civil Service Agency
Language
English
Town/City
Paris
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In this interview, C. William Allen reflects on how the President’s Young Professionals Program boosted the quality of the civil service in Liberia. For background, he describes the strategy and programs that improved the civil service in the aftermath of the Second Liberian Civil War. He highlights the PYPP’s uniqueness in identifying young talent, heavily recruiting women, and offering placements in rural areas. He analyzes the pay scale’s role in strengthening the program. He compares the PYPP with alternative paths to working for the government, as well as the Young Professionals with other civil servants.  He champions the PYPP’s transparent and meritocratic recruitment process as a model for the rest of the civil service while presenting the steps necessary to sustain the program.

Case: Graduates to Government: The Presidents Young Professionals Program in Liberia, 2009-2016

Profile

At the time of this interview, C. William Allen represented Liberia as the ambassador to France and permanent delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). From 2006 to 2013, he served as director-general of the Liberian Civil Service Agency, where he chaired the steering committee of the President’s Young Professionals Program. In his prior post as minister of information, culture and tourism, he was the chief spokesman for the National Transitional Government of Liberia. He also worked as a journalist and taught journalism and mass communications at several universities. Allen earned a bachelor’s in journalism from Franklin College, a master of public administration from California State University at Sacramento, and a PhD in mass communication from Syracuse University.

Full Audio File Size
61 MB
Full Audio Title
C. William Allen Interview

Graduates to Government: The President's Young Professionals Program in Liberia, 2009–2016

Author
Blair Cameron
Focus Area(s)
Country of Reform
Abstract

In 2005, when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became Liberia’s first democratically elected post-conflict president, she found her country’s government in shambles. Years of cronyism under military rule and a 14-year civil war had left behind a bloated civil service corps riddled with unqualified employees, most of whom did not have a university education and some of whom could not read or write. The president needed more-capable employees at every level of government. Externally supported capacity-building programs helped fill top and middle management roles with Liberians who had fled abroad during the war, but Sirleaf also wanted to attract the most-talented and most-ambitious young graduates from Liberian universities to work in the public service. With assistance from international donors, Saah N’Tow, a Liberian working at an international consulting firm, set up a fair and transparent recruitment process and coupled it with strong training and mentorship to create the President’s Young Professionals Program. Beginning in 2009 and annually thereafter, the program placed 10 to 20 Liberian youth into government ministries for two-year fellowships. By 2016, 72 young professionals had completed their fellowships and about 75% were still working for the government. Many stood out as some of the top performers in the civil service and several had been promoted to positions as divisional directors and assistant ministers.

Blair Cameron drafted this case study based on interviews he and Pallavi Nuka conducted in Monrovia, Liberia and Paris, France, in March and April 2016. This case study was funded by the Open Society Foundations, which in 2015 donated $250,000 to the program profiled. This case draws from a variety of sources including an independent evaluation ISS conducted in 2016. Case published July 2016.

Calling Citizens, Improving the State: Pakistan’s Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, 2008 – 2014

Author
Mohammad Omar Masud
Core Challenge
Country of Reform
Abstract

In early 2008, Zubair Bhatti, administrative head of the Jhang district in Pakistan’s Punjab province, recognized the need to reduce petty corruption in the local civil service—a problem that plagued not only Punjab but also all of Pakistan. He began to contact citizens on their cell phones to learn about the quality of the service they had received. Those spot checks became the basis for a social audit system that spanned all 36 districts in Punjab by 2014. The provincial government outsourced much of the work to a call center, which surveyed citizens about their experiences with 16 different public services. The data from that call center helped district coordination officers identify poorly performing employees and branches, thereby enhancing the capability of the government to improve service delivery. By early 2014, the province was sending about 12,000 text messages daily to check on service quality. More than 400,000 citizens provided information between the beginning of the initiative and 2014. Known as the Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, the Punjab’s social audit system became the template for similar innovations in other provinces and federal agencies in Pakistan.

Mohammad Omar Masud drafted this case based on interviews conducted in Punjab, Pakistan, in January and March 2014. Case published February 2015.

Note: This case study was previously titled "Calling the Public to Empower the State: Pakistan's Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, 2008-2014."

Helping Business While Raising Revenue: Streamlining Kenya’s Customs Collection, 2003–2007

Author
Matt Strauser
Focus Area(s)
Country of Reform
Abstract

In the early years of the twenty-first century, aging technology, disorganization, and corruption undermined the effectiveness of Kenya’s customs service as highlighted in a 2002 study by the World Customs Organization of port operations at Mombasa. Growing regional trade and domestic anti-corruption initiatives created pressure to improve customs operations. Neighboring countries had started to upgrade their ports and implement measures that would expand both regional and inter-continental trade. To control revenue loss and maintain a significant role in global trade, Kenya would have to streamline customs processes and improve accountability. In 2002, newly elected president Mwai Kibaki put his political support behind an effort to improve government services, reduce corruption, and boost the country’s financial position. The Kenya Revenue Authority, the agency responsible for customs, was at the center of the nationwide reform effort. Over the next several years, the authority’s new commissioner, Michael Waweru, and a handful of lieutenants reshaped record keeping, upgraded automation, raised the level of staff training, and succeeded in paving the road to future reforms.

Matt Strauser drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya by Kimberly Bothi in June and July 2012. Case published October 2014.