Policy Implementation Quagmire in Africa

Abstract

Policy implementation in Africa over the decades continues to be a thorn in the flesh on the highway of development. It is an open secret that policy implementation is a panacea for sustainable development. The policy process is a highly political activity composed of recursive steps laced with negotiations and counter-negotiations. From the very initial stages of agenda setting, consensus building to policy formalization, opponents of the policy do not give up and as such are determined to sabotage the policy right into its implementation phase. On the other hand, not all proponents of the policy have good intentions. Some position themselves for self interests at the expense of the initial policy goals while others take hostage of the policy implementation process at their advantage. Therefore, policy implementation, especially in Africa, remains the greatest impediment to development. It is against this background that this paper sets out to unravel the underlying causes of policy implementation failure in Africa while providing remedial measures for the same.