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International Journal of Public Administration

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Public Sector Reforms in Fiji: Examining Policy

Implementation Setting and Administrative Culture
a b c
Mohammad Habibur Rahman , Rafia Naz & Alka Nand
a
Public Policy and Administration, University Brunei Darussalam , Gadong , Brunei
Darussalam
b
School of Management and Public Administration, The University of the South Pacific ,
Suva , Fiji
c
Department of Management and Marketing , University of Melbourne , Melbourne ,
Australia
Published online: 30 Oct 2013.

To cite this article: Mohammad Habibur Rahman , Rafia Naz & Alka Nand (2013) Public Sector Reforms in Fiji: Examining
Policy Implementation Setting and Administrative Culture, International Journal of Public Administration, 36:13, 982-995,
DOI: 10.1080/01900692.2013.773031

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 International Journal of Public Administration, 36: 982–995, 2013
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0190-0692 print / 1532-4265 online
DOI: 10.1080/01900692.2013.773031

Public Sector Reforms in Fiji: Examining Policy Implementation

Setting and Administrative Culture
Mohammad Habibur Rahman
Public Policy and Administration, University Brunei Darussalam, Gadong,
Brunei Darussalam
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 09:13 19 March 2015

Rafia Naz
School of Management and Public Administration, The University of the
South Pacific, Suva, Fiji

Alka Nand
Department of Management and Marketing, University of Melbourne,
Melbourne, Australia

For many years, public management reform has been an evolving concept. New Public
Management (NPM) and Good Governance have been the two ground–breaking ideas, gen-
erating colossal discourse over the past three decades. Inspired by NPM-led policy changes
in the developed world, many developing countries have lately joined the reform bandwagon
but achieved limited success. Policy analysts observe that the policy planners in the devel-
oping world seem to have spent more resources in policymaking than addressing the policy
implementation challenges. Also, the policy transfer effort ignored the issue of administrative
culture. Focusing on Fiji, this article examines how the country’s recent public sector reform
initiatives have largely failed to bring about expected results. Based on the case studies of two
organizations, it explains that the success and failure of policy change occurs in several ways,
manifesting multiple challenges including a lack of well-prepared implementation framework
and culture change.

Keywords: public sector reform, new public management, policy implementation, administra-
tive culture

INTRODUCTION prolonged colonial era. The post-colonial states, embarking

on a journey of continuous reform, embraced various appro-
The nature and focus of public sector reforms have under- aches including “development administration” of the 1950s–
gone significant changes over the years. With the advent 60s, “structural adjustment” during the next two decades,
of the Weberian approach, which introduced the strength “New Public Management” (NPM) in the 1980s–90s, and
of hierarchy, rule-based administration, and neutrality, pub- the “good governance” agenda in the new millennium.
lic administration was geared towards a more hierarchical, In the context of the current global economic down-
merit-based, centrally controlled state apparatus during the turn, following the adverse effects of laissez-faire economy
and big public sector spending policies of some European
states on the one hand and numerous corporate corruption
Mohammad Habibur Rahman is now affiliated with the Mohammed Bin and declining ethics on the other, the post-good gover-
Rashid School of Government in Dubai, UAE.
nance era is witnessing a potential discussion of the mer-
Correspondence should be addressed to Mohammad Habibur Rahman,
Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, 13th Floor, Convention its of the Weberian model of bureaucracy. Some argue
Tower, Dubai World Trade Center, P.O. Box 72229, Dubai, United Arab that as an alternative to NPM and good governance, the
Emirates. E-mail: [email protected] Weberian approach can justifiably be reclaimed as a model
 PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN FIJI 983

that emphasizes impartiality, rule-following, expertise and ideas contained in NPM can be traced back to earlier debates
hierarchy rather than manipulation of incentive structures in public administration (Savoie, 1995; Thomas, 1998). The
and market competition. Evidently, public sector reform/ theoretical roots of NPM goes all the way to the Chicago
restructuring has altered with time, and no single approach (Friedman, 1953) and Austrian (Hayek, 1978) schools of
is universally applicable. political economy, with their links to the New Right, in
This article reviews public sector reforms of the mid- conjunction with the new institutional economics of Arrow
1990s in selected countries of the South Pacific in general (1963) and Niskanen, Jr. And Niskanen (2007). Additionally,
and Fiji in particular, with the backdrop of successful NPM- NPM is said to be a combination of economic organization
led reforms in their wealthier neighbours New Zealand and theory and management theory (Aucoin, 1990; Hood, 1991).
Australia. For analytical purposes, various factors such as the It was presented as framework of general applicability or a
policy implementation conditions and administrative culture “public management for all seasons” (Hood, 1991, p. 8).
were taken into account, as they influenced the reform in Fiji, Basically NPM edges around the views of freedom to
implying that Fiji is unique in its policy landscape, admin- choose and freedom to manage thereby proposing achieve-
istrative history, and culture, which are different from that ment of results through accountability. It endeavours to com-
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of New Zealand and Australia, therefore modeling reform pare levels of performance achieved to expected performance
approaches from these countries needs to be undertaken thereby giving more importance to the end results (Lodhia
cautiously. & Burritt, 2004 Appana, 2011). The NPM approach stresses
After a brief theoretical revisit of NPM, policy imple- the need for a private sector approach towards public sec-
mentation framework, and administrative culture, the article tor management and sees the role of government officials as
attempts to explain why the NPM-led public sector reforms accountable managers who are empowered with a particular
in New Zealand and Australia were a success. The focal responsibility (Hood, 1995; Parker & Gould, 1999).
thrust of the article then goes on to assessing the impact
of administrative reforms in Fiji. With case studies sup-
Understanding Policy Implementation Challenges
port, the article highlights how good policy implementation
and administrative culture facilitated reform success in some First and of utmost importance in implementing public poli-
Fijian public organizations and vice versa. cies is the role of leadership. Leaders are important because
they focus their attention on three areas:

CONCEPTUALIZING POLICY 1. spearheading participatory development of a vision for

IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK AND public sector reform;
ADMINISTRATIVE CULTURE AS KEY 2. motivating and bringing out the best in staff; and
DETERMINANTS FOR REFORM 3. encouraging more direct involvement of stakeholders
in the implementation of reform and thereby promot-
The public sector reform agenda that has been at the core ing greater responsiveness and accountability of public
of policy discourse in many developing countries in the servants to the needs and concerns of citizens and
recent past requires an understanding of not only policy plan- clients in society.
ning and design but also its implementation. As the study
of public policy developed over the past few decades, the Doig and Hargrove (1990) argue that one of the keys to
focus of experts has been more on planning and design successful entrepreneurial leadership in government is to
than on implementation of policies. Policy implementa- develop and nourish external constituencies who support
tion came to the forefront when policy makers and experts new programs and goals and to neutralize opposition to the
tried to explain why “policy fails” in the developing world leader’s decisions and initiatives.
in particular. Likewise, it is also important to acknowl- It is generally acknowledged that an important element in
edge the importance of the specific administrative culture successful leadership of reform is vision. The vision, how-
of a society/organization to measure the results of reform ever, cannot be the product of one person, where the leader
adopted there. Hence, the conceptual focus of this article is to “pens” a vision for all to adopt. Rather, it needs to be devel-
examine the implementation challenges and administrative oped in partnership with staff and key stakeholders who are
culture vis-à-vis NPM-led public sector reform. involved in the reform. A shared vision must build on the
individual visions of staff in the organization. This requires
that employees have a clear view of the bigger picture both in
Revisiting New Public Management
terms of the challenges facing the organization and where it
The concept of New Public Management (NPM) surfaced as is heading. Thus, what characterizes a leader is the ability to
a response to continual weaknesses observed in the bureau- facilitate the development of a common vision that expresses
cratic model resulting from the dynamic environmental the aspirations of both staff and key stakeholders with regard
changes (Appana, 2011). The management and organization to where the organization wants to be in the future.
 984 RAHMAN, NAZ, AND NAND

The second challenge is capacity building. It is a central within the implementing agency who find their position or
success factor to policy reform, making government capable status enhanced by the change.” Brinkerhoff and Crosby
in partnering with the private sector, creating an efficient further mention that constituency building complements and
market economy, and delivering goods and services to amplifies the legitimization process. Gillespie et al. (1996)
citizens. A major part of capacity-building is aided by say that support for policy change must be of sufficient
mobilizing resources. Mobilization of resources includes importance to overcome or at least neutralize the forces
both “. . . planning and doing. This includes preparation opposing implementation.
of concrete action plans; clarification of performance The next challenge is resource accumulation. Ames
targets and standards; and conduct of those activities.” (1987) says that resource accumulation means securing both
Managing this implementation task calls for a collegial initial funding and assuring the policy a place in the govern-
and collaborative management style and negotiation and ments’ budget allocation process. To implement a new pol-
conflict resolution (Brinkerhoff & Crosby, 2002, p. 29). icy, human, technical, material, and financial resources are
Understanding the nature of the existing and obtainable needed (Mazmanian & Sabatier, 1989; Grindle & Thomas,
resources that policy makers can deploy is critical to 1991).
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countering challenges to carrying out reforms. The last challenge is organizational design and modifica-
The next challenge comes in coordinating policies. The tion. Significant policy changes affect an agency in terms of
primary role of coordination is to ensure that any partic- its internal arrangements and of its relations with its oper-
ular policy initiative is broadly aligned with the explicit ating environment. This may call for new structures and
and implicit objectives of the government (Stewart & Ayres, procedures. This issue of organizational design poses sev-
1998, p. 26). eral problems. The most crucial is to do with inertia of the
The fourth challenge is monitoring progress and impact bureaucracy (Brinkerhoff & Crosby, 2002).
of policy change. As many policy reforms are long-term, The following framework (Figure 1) depicts the afore-
monitoring in the form of process indicators is impor- mentioned set of measures that serve as the theoretical
tant. Monitoring policy change requires mechanisms both framework for this article in assessing the empirical evidence
for periodic review and evaluation and for tracking poli- on why policy implementation fails. The framework will also
cies across multiple agencies. Among the most common serve as a guideline for assessing the good and bad cases in
problems in the policy implementation process is setting tar- the sections that will follow.
gets or time frames for achieving certain policy outcomes
(Brinkerhoff & Crosby, 2002).
Administrative Cultural Norms and Values
Participation/consultation is another salient challenge
that affects legitimization, constituency building, resource The administrative culture of any part of the globe reflects
mobilization and allocation, and policy monitoring. the distinctiveness and complexity of the various regional,
Consultation brings key stakeholders together for policy dia- national, and local realities; their unique historical experi-
logue and problem solving and increases the sustainability ences; their forms of insertion (subordination or domination)
of policy. Periodic consultation between implementers and into the system of regional and global relations; and their
beneficiaries also increases efficiency by generating timely levels of development and fragmentation (Dwivedi). Just
inputs and greater cooperation so that delays are reduced like all cultures, administrative culture has the potential to
(Alesina, 1994). Stewart and Ayres (1998, p. 26) say that change over time. Some of the agents that influence changes
“there is no single greater cause of policy break-down than include the political culture and values along with subcul-
failure to consult key interests.” These key interests include tures of departments and agencies and professional subcul-
civil society, citizens, and private sector. tures (such as accountants, lawyers, etc.). So in a way the
The sixth challenge in policy implementation has to do administrative culture is an amalgamation of all these influ-
with policy legitimization. According to Brinkerhoff and ences. When applied to new public management reforms,
Crosby (2002), it is necessary to have a political champion administrative culture may be characteristic of the follow-
who must assert that the proposed policy reform is necessary ing: democratic capitalist values, a corporate culture of some
and vital. The authors highlight that policy legitimization sort, management by results, excellence, best practice, etc.
should be done early in the implementation process so that (Dwivedi).
there is some degree of ownership for change.
The seventh challenge is constituency building.
Brinkerhoff and Crosby (2002) view that any policy POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SOUTH
needs to be marketed and promoted and an adequate PACIFIC: REVIEW OF SUCCESSES AND
constituency for the policy be developed. Constituency is FAILURES
defined by Brinkerhoff and Crosby (2002, p. 26) as “those
who will benefit by the change . . . They maybe consumers The need for public sector reforms in the Pacific Island
of the service provided, providers of inputs, or officials countries (PICs) are as compelling today as they were
 PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN FIJI 985

Strong
Organizational Leadership
Design and
Modification
Capacity

Resource
Accumulation
Good Policy Good
Implementation Coordination

Constituency
Building Monitoring and
Adjusting
Policy

Policy
Legitimization Consultation
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with
Stakeholders

FIGURE 1 Policy implementation challenges: Theoretical framework.

in the mid-1990s, with major agendas such as macroeco- public services and a wish to increase integration, coordi-
nomic stability, public sector efficiency, and private sector nation, and capacity (Ling, 2002; Christensen & Lægreid,
development. 2007).

The Recent New Zealand and Australian Experience Reasons for this new adoption

Australia and New Zealand often seen as the trailblazers of The first and more obvious reason for adopting this
new public management have now adopted a more collabora- approach has to do with overcoming the issues pertaining to
tive type of public management better known as the “whole the “pillarization” of the public sector under the new public
of government” (Christensen & Lægreid, 2007). management reforms (Gregory, 2006). The second reason
relates to the dynamic changes taking place worldwide.
For instance, insecurity from terrorism has had some
The “whole of government” approach
serious repercussions for public sector reforms in Australia
The “whole of government” approach seeks to apply a (Halligan & Adams, 2004) and for New Zealand bio-security
more holistic strategy by applying insights from the other has become a critical issue (Gregory, 2006). On a more
social sciences rather than just economics (Bogdanor, 2005). universal note, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and
According to Perry (2005) cited in (Christensen & Lægreid, pandemics are on the rise and have led to a tightening of
2007, p. 1059), reform efforts under this approach reflect government which Australians refer to as the “thinking up
a combination of path dependency and negative feedback and out” strategy, which embraces “whole of government”
thereby promoting coordination and integration. This termi- measures (Christensen & Lægreid, 2007).
nology can be traced to the reign of Tony Blair in 1997. With this approach, an option is to hierarchically
He introduced this concept “joined-up government” with strengthen and reassert the centre which in the case of
the aim to better grasp issues spanning the boundaries of New Zealand and Australia can be seen by a strong (politi-
public sector organizations, administrative levels, and policy cally and administratively) prime minister’s office (Halligan
areas (Richards & Smith, 2006). This term in a nutshell tries & Adams, 2004; Christensen & Lægreid, 2007). There is
to facilitate horizontal and vertical coordination in order to also a focus in bringing back specialised agencies under
eliminate situations where different policies undermine each greater central control. Another example is the development
other (Christensen & Lægreid, 2007). It allows for greater of organisational units in these two countries. These units
efficiency of scarce resources, creates synergies by bringing include new cabinet committees, interministerial, or intera-
stakeholders together, and offers the public a more flaw- gency collaborative units, intergovernmental councils, lead
less rather than disjointed access to services (Pollitt, 2003). agency approaches, circuit breaker teams, super networks,
The “whole of government” concept can best be seen as task forces, cross-sectoral programs, or projects with the
an umbrella term describing a group of responses to the main purpose of getting government units to work better
problem of increased fragmentation of the public sector and together (Gregory, 2006; Christensen & Lægreid, 2007). The
 986 RAHMAN, NAZ, AND NAND

year 2003 saw a new cabinet Implementation Unit estab- trust, value-based management, team building, participation,
lished in Australia to assist with “whole of government” self-development, and other factors. Changes in approach
activities. may confuse the public sector and potentially corrode loy-
In addition, the Australian government made efforts in alty and increase trust issues (Christensen & Lægreid, 2007).
2002 to promote and facilitate coordination to areas such as The report “Connecting Government: Whole of Government
national security, demographics, science, education, sustain- Responses to Australia’s Priority Challenges” (Management
able environment, energy, rural and regional development, Advisory Committee, 2004), underlined the need to build
transportation, and work and family life (Halligan & Adams, a supportive Australian public sector culture that encour-
2004). Hierarchical efforts undertaken in Australia include ages whole-of-government solutions by formulating value
creating coordinative structures inside existing central struc- guidelines and codes of conduct under the slogan “working
tures, increasing the strategic leadership role of the cabinet, together.”
and focusing more on following up central decisions. These While this seems to be the practice undertaken in these
efforts have been undertaken with the intention to put pres- two countries, there are also discussions on rhetoric and
sure on the sectoral authorities so as to compel them to col- skepticism about the whole approach. For instance, in
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laborate and coordinate better (Halligan, 2006; Christensen Australia it can be viewed as a fashion that suits political
& Lægreid, 2007). and administrative leaders who desire to be seen as thinking
Procedural efforts have also been initiated. In New about big ideas. Among examples supporting this notion
Zealand, more importance has been placed on effectiveness, is the concept of “value-based government,” something
broader long-term “ownership” interests, and greater out- that was brought into the country and spread as a fad but
come focus, in contrast to the more short-term and narrower has now become more formalized. Another example is the
“purchaser” efficiency and output focus that was typical of accrual output-based budgeting system (Carlin & Guthrie,
the new public management reforms (Boston & Eichbaum, 2003). Similar to the case of New Zealand, Gregory (2006)
2005). observed a gap between what was preached and what was
The idea is to work in a smarter and pragmatic man- practiced.
ner. Australia demonstrates this sort of collaboration via Reiterating earlier discussions, the whole-of-government
one-stop shops that aspire to deliver a seamless service approach has difficulties and challenges of unintended
(Halligan, 2006). Similarly, in New Zealand service delivery risks, ambitious agendas, and uncontrolled consequences
organisations are being guided by network governance to fur- and therefore demands greater balance (Ryan & Walsh,
nish the principles of the “whole of government” approach 2004). Effective implementation requires changed account-
(Considine & Lewis, 2003). ability system, dominant cultures, and structural arrange-
ments (Christensen & Lægreid, 2007). As Figure 1 indi-
cates, political will and influences coupled with organiza-
Administrative culture: Australia and New Zealand tional and professional culture shapes administrative culture
While the “whole of government” approach seems to be through historical evolution in a geographic space. But Pollitt
the preferred practice just like the new public management argues that just like new public management, administra-
reform, it too requires culture change. With the “whole of tive culture may not be a universal solution to problems
government” approach, a more cohesive culture grounded everywhere always and may not be appropriate in all cir-
on common ethics is critical. This doesn’t come so eas- cumstances (Pollitt, 2003). It needs a cooperative effort by
ily given the fact that the new public management reforms those involved in lower-level politics and people on the
along with the post-reforms focused on a sense of values, ground.

Political
influences

Culture
Administrative Geography
culture
Subcultures : History
1. Department &
agency culture
2. Professional
culture

FIGURE 2 Administrative culture and performance (color figure available online).

 PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN FIJI 987

NEW ZEALAND: REFORM MOTIVATOR FOR The success of New Zealand reforms demonstrate that
PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES leaders can “anchor” as an integral whole for the parts of
reform process to be tied together. This implies taking a
Two factors have considerably influences the PICs to initiate more holistic and integrated approach to reforms. Coherence
policy change towards public sector reform: and consistency of New Zealand reforms is remarkable and
can only be sustained through “indigenous ownership” and
1. globalization, and “political will.” It is also clear that leadership sets the course
2. successful reform in New Zealand in the contemporary for shared vision, achievable objectives, and support from
time. stakeholders.

Over the last decade or so, New Zealand has gone through
many reform programs of the social and economic policies Overall Ranking in the PICs
and of the public sector. New Zealand witnessed in mid- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) (2004) highlights key
1984 an economic crisis as a result of a decade of worsening achievements in the PICs. In its 2004 report “Governance
trade balances which manifested in a decline of approx-
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in the Pacific: Focus for Action,” ADB ranks Samoa as the

imately 30 percent in the country’s terms of trade.1 The top performer in public sector reform. Samoa has been able
country’s deficit was 9 percent of Gross Domestic Product to display strong local ownership, where the reform pro-
(GDP) and public debt stood at 60 percent of GDP. gram is clearly focused and appropriately sequenced. There
The situation worsened when accompanied by high levels has been significant progress in strengthening the regula-
of inflation and slow economic growth, which tremendously tory framework of the financial sector (which is the target
reduced per capita income (OECD, 1983, 1984). Following a of the reform program), and there is tangible development of
mid-1984 election campaign dominated by economic issues, financial markets with the lifting of interest rate and credit
the Muldoon government was defeated resoundingly at the control.
polls and a Labor-led government took power.(Bale & Dale, Vanuatu may be classified as the next most successful
1998).The new government put in place reforms to correct program to date. Bipartisan ownership and public support
the core problems of design, implementation, and outcome continues for the reform program. The number of min-
of the reform program (OECD, 1990–94). The objective of istries has been reduced from 34 to 9; a new value-added
the new government was to create an “efficient public sector tax has been successfully introduced; the public service
that was also responsive to the strategic policy direction of has been restructured, and professional and performance
the government” (Bale & Dale, 1998, pp. 103–104). accountability initiated. A new legislative framework for
The following are the good practices evident in New good governance has been introduced and tangible benefits
Zealand reforms: are evident in greater transparency in government decisions.
The Development Bank of Vanuatu has been closed and its
1. The public service is more efficient and also smaller. assets and portfolio taken over by the successfully rehabili-
One reflection of efficiency is that, in three years, tated National Bank of Vanuatu. The regulatory frameworks
without adjustment to their budgets to reflect price governing private sector investment have been liberalized.
increases, departments have shown little evidence of The case of the Solomon Islands, achieving the third posi-
a decline in the volume or quality of output. (Scott, tion in the ranking, best demonstrates how a determined
1994). reformist government, in spite of huge obstacles, is still able
2. The smaller public sector is beginning to show clear to take a country successfully down the reform path. Despite
improvements in operating efficiency and in respon- political uncertainties and human resource constraints, the
siveness to clients. It costs the government less than it government has stabilized the economy, brought recurrent
did ten years ago, and is no longer a regulatory imped- expenditure under control, restructured public debt, reduced
iment to ideas and productive energies in the wider public service expenditure by 8 percent, and introduced
economy and community. (Scott, 1994) a professional and performance orientation in its public
3. Three key aspects of the reforms are seen as highly service.
successful: (1) transparency in the activities and pro- Next in the performance ranking is the Cook Islands,
cesses of the state; (2) the liberation of managers where a comprehensive reform program was supported by
from central input controls; and (3) the new financial the ADB. A huge cut has taken place in the public service
management and accounting systems are revolutioniz- (57 percent of staff separated over 1996–98), but the number
ing the ways in which departments and officials work of ministries at 22 is still too numerous for a small economy.
(Scott, 1994) While progress is being made towards fiscal balance, the sit-
uation is still fragile. The passage of legislation establishing
1 Terms of trade refers to the quantity of exports that have to be sold to principles of fiscal responsibility, improved accountability,
pay for a particular level of imports. and transparency has been a significant development. The
 988 RAHMAN, NAZ, AND NAND

introduction of a performance orientation in public expendi- the driver’s seat for aid coordination. Samoa is an example
ture management is an achievement, though the durability of of how a country can reap the benefits of better aid coor-
the recently introduced output-based budgeting and accrual dination: the government knows its priorities and where the
accounting systems is in doubt due to constraints in local needs are, and works with aid providers to direct assistance
capacity. to specific projects and programs.
In the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the reform
program was also one of the first supported by the Bank in
the Pacific. The focus has been substantially on fiscal reform, PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN FIJI
and extensive public service downsizing has been achieved.
This has strengthened state finances and has left them better In Fiji, public enterprise reforms were first mentioned in the
placed to adjust to any future reduction in external grants. late 1980s with the actual reform process commencing in
Achievements have also included privatization and contract- 1985 (Appana, 2003). Consequently, as part of government
ing out of some departmental activities and the transfer of policy, reforms were first introduced in 1992 during the gov-
power, water, and sanitation to public utility authorities. ernment’s 1993 budget address to Parliament (Ministry of
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However, national and state leadership did not gain the com- Finance and National Planning, 2001, p. 69; Appana, 2003).
plete commitment of some state legislatures to the reform To justify reforms the Rabuka Government claimed that pub-
process. The process of downsizing of the public sector could lic enterprises were not operating at high levels to achieve
have been handled better in terms of how payouts were made, efficiency and effectiveness.
transition-preparation for those separated from service, and Apart from this internal pressure to reform, external pres-
monitoring of the process.2 sure also had its share of influences. Globalization, and the
success elsewhere in New Zealand and Australia prompted
Fiji to bring in “reforms.” Donor agencies, particularly the
Key Challenges for PICs ADB, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World
According to the same ADB (2004) report a number of Bank (WB) also insisted on reforms (Duncan & Bollard,
key challenges have been highlighted. ADB stresses that 1992; Prasad & Reddy, 2002). These reports highlighted
serious weaknesses exist in government policy develop- not only positive aspects but also the disappointing eco-
ment and in decision-making capacity which explains the nomic performance experienced despite significant aid lev-
lack of sustainability of reform initiatives in several PICs. els received along with favourable external environments.
Weaknesses in policy formulation, it stresses, are evident According to the World Bank, much of the sluggish per-
in all PICs, but inadequate policy implementation skills formance exhibited by the Pacific member countries was
are of even more concern, as these often lead to incon- attributed to the inability to stimulate private investment in
sistent applications of approved policies. It stresses that productive sectors due to lack of a supportive policy environ-
“stop/start, piecemeal approach to initial reform initiatives” ment and absence of dynamic growth strategies (Sutherland,
is due mainly to a lack of policy formulation and analysis 2000). This assessment was also recognised and identified by
skills in central agencies and sector departments. It is gen- the ADB and other donors in various reports (Hook, 2007).
erally recognized that skills and resource constraints in all Other critics also agree that the internal and external fac-
PICs are making reforms difficult. ADB says that the main tors are both responsible for driving reforms in Fiji (Reddy,
reasons why implementation fails is due to the following : 1997).
(1) the short-term nature of aid providers’ funding programs; In its decade-long reform journey, Fiji embarked on two
(2) the absence of a government-driven statement of priori- key reform strategies: privatization of public enterprises
ties; (3) the lack of comprehensive, properly sequenced, and and civil service reform with the introduction of perfor-
realistic implementation plans; and (4) inadequate emphasis mance management and change leadership (the introduction
on capacity building in the design and monitoring of projects. of Chief Executive Officer [CEO] replacing the Permanent
The most important issue that the ADB report high- Secretary designation). The early start at reform was con-
lighted is that the key reason for the difficulties PICs had fused as there was not adequate preparation in terms of
with sustaining the reform initiatives was because politicians legislation for the different stages of reform or the develop-
and public officials perceived that the reforms were being ment of financial and governance framework and a lack of
“imposed” by aid providers, not only in the timing and prior- experienced staff at public sector reform (Hook, 2007).
itization of policies, but also in the scope and content of the The progress of reforms in Fiji has been slow, ineffective,
reforms. Moreover, another issue raised in the report says and far from complete (Reddy et al., 2004). Reddy et al.’s
that coordination between aid providers and recipient PICs (2004) study shows that political instability, bad governance,
is inadequate. The recipient countries must themselves be in improper timing of reforms, lack of stakeholder involve-
ment, lack of institutional capacity, and lack of resources
(human, financial, technical, material) are the major weak-
2 See: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Reforms_Pacific/chap1.pdf. nesses in the reform process. Political instability has created
 PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN FIJI 989

a major loss of human and financial capital resource base, (Press Releases, Fiji Government: Awareness on Reforms to
and in face of economic decline in the country there had Target Divisions, February 17, 2006). He added, “we need
been a lack of “ownership” of reforms as well as in wastage to take reforms ultimately to the people so that they can
of resources. Hence, less funds were available to support assess for themselves what it all means to them in terms of
reforms. The general lack of consensus and cooperation benefits and improvements in livelihoods” (Press Releases,
among the key political players and among trade unions Fiji Government: Awareness on Reforms to Target Divisions,
and business communities also posed a great challenge. February 17, 2006).
Realizing the predicament because governments are formed Nonetheless, numerous reforms were initiated and exe-
by weak coalitions, political leaders pushing for reforms cuted with mixed results. In the following section, two case
have lost some of their enthusiasm, as seen in Fiji.3 In studies are presented to demonstrate this.
Fiji, the change and uncertainty associated with regime and
vested interests has further complicated the reform program
Good Reform: The Fiji Police Force
as well as created policy changes. The change in political
leadership with various governments coming in and out has The Fiji Police were established after the British colonized
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brought with it different policies towards reforms. Unlike Fiji on October 10, 1874. During the colonial days, the offi-
the SVT [Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa] and the SDL [Soqosoqo cers cadre within the force consisted mainly of expatriates
ni Duavata ni Lewenivanua], the People’s Coalition gov- from the United Kingdom. After independence in 1970, the
ernment [Fiji Labor Party], due to its adherence to general surge towards development and modernization encouraged
labor principles, had been clearly populist, left-leaning, and urban drift. An economically conscious Fijian society cre-
sympathetic to workers (Reddy et al., 2004). ated a lot of expectations from its government and police
Reddy (1997) comments that the greatest challenge is to service. While changes were evident in the society, the Fiji
always keep in mind that change in corporate culture will Police Force (FPF) maintained the old way of doing things.
take time. The point he elucidates is that individuals become In 1987 the first military coup took place after the Indian-
complacent and create their own “comfort zones” through- dominated Labor party won the election. The military, led by
out their working lives. To disrupt this and make them move the then Commander Major General Sitiveni Rabuka, took
in a completely new direction, especially towards reforms, over the government and nullified the constitution. Rabuka
is definitely not an overnight possibility. If and when it does later declared Fiji to be a Republic. In 2000 another takeover
go through the reform process, the most prudent factor—the occurred, led by George Speight with the help of a unit
staff’s attitude will be the greatest challenge in implemen- from the Military Counter Revolution Warfare (CRW). These
tation. Reforms in Fiji were further hindered by lack of events greatly affected the country socially, economically,
institutional capacity (Reddy et al., 2004). Reddy’s research and morally.
brings to light the fact that the institutions in Fiji are inap- It was during the event of 2000 that the integrity of
propriate and under-performing. Further, this study stresses FPF was very much doubted. Public confidence and trust in
that Fiji needs to focus on building sound socio-economic police faded away and gaps between police and the people
and political institutions/processes to improve governance increased. This was because of the alleged involvement of
(in both the private and public sectors); increase transparency the former Commissioner of Police and some senior police
and accountability; install legal, regulatory; and supervi- officers in the coup event. During the political turbulence
sory frameworks; be sensitive to societal needs; and have of 2000, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Moses Driver
ownership and legitimacy. steered the organization to at least gain some respectabil-
Despite the critique presented above, the Fiji Government ity from the people. A man of wisdom and foresight, and
press release highlighted that the Qarase Government was also very selfless in his efforts to increase the integrity of
trying to set good leadership examples through creating the police, he recommended that Fiji needed an expatriate
awareness of reforms. representatives from the civil service as Commissioner of Police to bring back the confidence and
were involved in this campaign. It was aimed at providing trust of the people to the organization.
information to government ministries and departments about This saw the appointment of Andrew Hughes, a career
the status, objectives, and benefits of reforms (financial man- officer from the Australia Federal Police. He has worked at
agement and public enterprise reform program). The Chief the community, divisional, national, and international levels
Executive Officer (CEO) of Public Enterprises Ministry, of policing, specializing in investigations and investigation
Parmesh Chand, said that “once government officials at divi- management. Appointed on July 15, 2003, he inherited all
sional and district levels are better informed about reforms, sorts of problems: a militaristic hierarchy; lack of resources;
they will accordingly outreach to the broader community” internal bickering; nepotism; poor working conditions; lack
of transparency and accountability, and low morale.
3 Retrieved
Administrative culture is all about the values/norms
from http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/eap/eap.nsf/Attach
ments/RER+2002/$File/RER_Gray+Cover.pdf#search=’how%20success
and practices that public servants pledge to follow and
ful%20have%20reforms%20been%20in%20pacific’. think should be done which also reflects on what actually
 990 RAHMAN, NAZ, AND NAND

is displayed as their actual behavior. The Administrative change the commissioner emphasized good behavior and
Culture of the FPF was coercive, unethical, and non- professional approach to policing activities. On account-
transparent. The FPF operated as a closed system where ability and transparency the police force has its code of
input from the stakeholders was not sought, the processes ethics which outlines the core tasks and behaviors in the
and approaches were non-transparent, and the actual service performance of policing activities.
delivery element (output) to the citizens was slow and unre- The initiatives resulted in the upgrading of the force
sponsive due to not only low morale and nepotism but also working condition, e.g., increase in salary by 30 percent;
because of the bureaucratic rigidness and lack of expertise to CID allowances increased by 100 percent; and detective and
tackle the upcoming changes. They basically lacked vision plain clothes allowances increased by 100 percent, while
and foresight. human resources increased by 816. In the same vein, the pur-
Hughes slowly took up the challenges by employing a chase of more patrol cars increased the mobility of force to
consultative process that involved discussions with his chief respond rapidly to crimes. Also introduced was award night
officers, members of FPF, and also with members of the where hard-working officers are rewarded for outstanding
public. Based on his consultations and input from the key service.
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stakeholder groups, he developed his new policing direction These reform initiatives have led to substantial improve-
to meet the needs of current Fiji citizens. a good element ment in Fiji policing work with increase in detection rate
in the successful implementation of the reform process. He to 50 percent and establishment of a National Intelligence
created a broad-based constituency of support in and outside Service under the government’s Strategic Development Plan
the FPF that recognized the need for change in the delivery for Fiji. The new reforms in the police also featured the
of services to the public. introduction of modern management practices (an internal
The Commissioner embarked on good governance in set- Board of Management as an accountable peak decision mak-
ting a Strategic Plan for the organization such as the change ing body) and major review of community policing as well
of police uniform to let the community know and see that as widespread consultation with key stakeholders and part-
the organization was a professional body; and developing ners, that has resulted in the development of a specific model
high-level policies to ensure that the organization’s service better suited Fiji’s local culture and environment.
delivery was aligned to its mission, vision, and values. The
vision of FPF is to be a well-respected and effective con-
Poor Practice: Public Service Commission
tributor to Fiji’s law and justice sector, and other policing
agencies as innovative and effective in crime prevention and The Public Service Commission (PSC) in Fiji experimented
enhancing community safety with the values of serving with with a short-lived performance management system that
integrity, building personal capacity, expending community ended as a failure. The beginning of the 21st century has
partnership, and looking after our people so that all can witnessed the enhanced role of PSC in initiating civil service
have harmonious working relations. To achieve the vision, reforms in Fiji. Of this the most famous and talked about
mission, and values; the Commissioner developed policies was the Performance Management System (PMS), which
on training development, investigative development, com- was introduced in January 2004 to motivate and develop
munity policing, and reforming HRM practices including a professional productive workforce along with extensive
overseas and local training by the university and physical training programs.4 In order to bring about the performance-
fitness. based pay system through the implementation of PMS, CEOs
Obongo (2007, as cited in Marwa and Zairi, 2009) says were required to establish a performance improvement pro-
that the competence of the civil servants is an impor- gram. The Public Service Commission states that the aim of
tant determinant in facilitating improvements in quality and this program is to provide the means to foster a higher per-
timely delivery of services. The entire purpose of setting up formance culture and a method for deciding on merit pay,
training of and development opportunities for police officers as well as provide an effective mechanism for managing
was to enhance their leadership and management capabilities poor performance.
and capacity. Hughes displayed the qualities of an effective It was envisioned that these administrative cultural
leader and drove the change programs by having a strate- values/norms (which at that point in time they thought
gic vision and the changes were directed towards ensuring should be done) would provide a link between the broadest
a better police force that was ethical and professional in its aims of each Ministry or Department. According to PSC, the
conduct with citizens. Hughes, as an outside expert was able PMS awareness training programs commenced and the “PSC
to understand the cultural values of the Fijian society; that
they are based on communalism and collectivism. So he tried
4 The Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management is offered as an
to involve everyone in the process to achieve the best for the
on-the-job education program aimed at improving the management capacity
FPF. He reoriented the administrative culture. of Fiji civil servants. It provides an understanding of governance and public
These changes took FPF to a new shift in culture and sector management concepts vis-à-vis their practical implications in Fiji and
application of contemporary policing practices. On culture the South Pacific.
 PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN FIJI 991

and Ministries/Departments will be jointly responsible for PSC was not competent enough in employing the right
the conduct of training programs.”5 formula for PMS. The unions wanted a cost-of-living-
At the end of 2005 saw that the government was not sure adjustment (COLA) and government wanted PMS and PSC
what to do with regard to PMS due to huge implementation was the arm of government responsible for moving forward
difficulties and financial implications. Therefore the gov- with this initiative. When the arbitration ruled in favour of
ernment finally returned to the Cost of Living Adjustment unions, then PMS as a change management strategy seemed
(COLA) approach and provided a 3 percent COLA payment expensive for the government. This reflects on the poor
for the year 2004 on December 22, 2005.6 This payment planning on the part of the government and PSC. The admin-
was designed to maintain the purchasing power of the exist- istrative values are very laid back and inactive. There seems
ing wages of all civil servants in the case of inflation7 to be no proactive strategies in place.
(safety valve rather than a reward for all public servants). The administrative practices demonstrates that PSC in
But the PMS was a system to act both as a reward and a particular did not have the “Right Commitment.” They were
compensation for inflation. pushed into this initiative by the government. That is why
Although the PMS system was implemented for a good PSC did not analyze the application and implementation
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reason, it had its fair share of criticisms. There were several issues related to PMS. It did not know how feasible it was.
disputes regarding PMS and a tribunal hearing was held start- The administration had low morale, unions did not accept
ing on May 16, 2005, and ending on July 15, 2005. At the this change management, and the cooperation from other
end of the hearing, reports were submitted to the tribunal for stakeholders was not forthcoming. How the ministries and
an official decision. The tribunal pointed out a number of CEOs coordinated the efforts is not clear. The PSC did not
discrepancies within the PMS policy. These included: have the capability to facilitate the reform (PMS).

1. PMS was thought to help maintain the purchasing

power of the existing wages of all public servants but SOME OBSERVATIONS
apparently this has not been the case;
2. there were a number of shortfalls such as a lack of The government probably embarked on the PMS a bit too
objectivity, difficulty in measuring performance, and soon to follow the footsteps of Australia and New Zealand.
excessive and confusing paperwork; This is a major problem associated with policy transfer.
3. it was questioned on its efficiency; The government was the one pressing for this transfer. The
4. the tribunal believed that the PMS did not promote Fijian cultural context has been such that there has always
equity in pay determination; been a strong preference for uncertainty avoidance (Chand
5. the PMS was not sustainable in terms of its cost; and & White, 2006). Given this, it can be clearly seen that as
6. it did not ensure that the commission would nec- they have a greater tendency to stick to rules and regulations,
essarily achieve their objective of reduced operation and not indulge in risk-taking initiatives or in introducing
costs. changes, the policy transfer of employing Australian and NZ
models failed.
Administrative practices are one of the reasons for the Also, before embarking on this PMS policy, continu-
suspension and failure of PMS. The PSC suspended this as ous training and awareness of PMS for all public servants
it was not agreed to by the public service unions. It was the should have been considered. The capacity to initiate change
government that had strongly pressed for PMS which was should have been developed. For instance, the CEOs them-
criticized by the unions and condemned as unworkable in selves lacked interpersonal skills. The public servants’ input
a World Bank review.8 The administrative cultural practices was not solicited in the PMS design as it was a transplant
of the Fijian society based on the premise of collective of the model, done without considering the contextual and
bargaining has contributed to the bottleneck. administrative cultural factors that negatively impacted the
The cultural values/norms of the workers itself (public implementation.
servants) added to the difficulty. The Fijian society is gen- PMS was a model successful in Australia and New
erally reserved and arrogant when it’s about assessing their Zealand, so the government thought this will work in Fiji.
performance. So the western administrative cultural values The PMS policy in these two countries is outcome-based,
which the NZ model advocated were not welcomed. while Fiji is still in its infancy, with an input-based level.
There was no sign of Strength Weakness Opportunity and
Threat (SWOT) analysis and diagnosis of the applicabil-
5 http://www.fiji.gov.fj/cgi-bin/cms/exec/view.cgi/15/1849.
6 Fiji
ity of this model to Fiji. The NZ-inspired model was
Government Press Release for December 22, 2005.
7 FijiGovernment Press Release for October 21, 2005.
adopted because it focuses on western administrative cultural
8 Retrieved from http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id= values that support risk-taking, empowerment, customer-
25335. orientation, “right-sizing,” and merit-based performance.
 992 RAHMAN, NAZ, AND NAND

It was mentioned by the general secretary of the Fiji collective-based culture that emphasized working together
Public Service Association, Rajeshwar Singh, that they will and not praising individual effort. The collectivist culture is
be working with the government to devise a new system of important in the Pacific lifestyle historically (Hook, 2007).
assessing public servants’ performance.9 There is no men- Furthermore, the idea of critique and individualism is not
tion of how the public servants themselves will be involved promoted (in the context of village settings).
in developing indicators to measure performance or of them When one thinks about NPM, it is centred on freedom of
having knowledge on how they will be assessed. Before the choice and management (Appana, 2011) and is “an ongoing
performance measures are designed, it is critical to evaluate change effort to alter administrative process and culture that
and analyse the job descriptions. Nothing on this has ever in turn takes place within a larger economic, social, and polit-
been indicated. ical reform context” (Klingner, 2000, p. 369). By focusing
Leadership is a crucial element of achieving success- on performance management, single-purpose organizations,
ful policy transfer and its implementation. It is the leader’s and structural devolution, new public management has the
responsibility to create a vision that must be aligned with the tendency to ignore the problems of horizontal coordination
objectives. The PMS policy should have been appropriately (Fimreite & Lægreid, 2005). Such issues create fragmented,
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aligned with implicit and explicit goals of the government. self-centered authorities and generally lack cooperation and
This alignment was lacking, because the Tribunals report coordination which eventually affects effectiveness and effi-
noted “lack of objectivity” as one of the shortfalls. ciency (Boston & Eichbaum, 2005). A combination of
The government was ill-prepared for the disruptive symp- these questions the integrity of accountability and capacity
toms of PMS and they did not realize that assessing the (Christensen & Lægreid, 2001).
thousands of civil servants in the state workforce would be While NPM is a commendable approach to undertaking
a nightmare. The inertia of bureaucracy and expectation of a and seeing through reforms, it needs to be realigned with
life-long job and benefits of the civil servants in Fiji led to the Fijian context. According to Appana (2011), the NPM
problems of morale. Changing staff morale requires a “polit- model contains a number of internal tensions and contextual
ical champion” to be able to actively induce changes and weaknesses especially in traditional contexts like Fiji when
reduce resistance to PMS. viewed in terms of the fact that NPM has “no clear overall
The government pushed PMS to PSC. For a policy trans- understanding of democracy and the role of the bureaucracy
fer to succeed, it is vital that not only top mangers be in the political system” (Christensen & Lægreid, 2009, p. 5).
involved in consultation, but also operational managers and There is very little in the NPM model that acknowledges the
staff to be affected by the new policy. Due to lack of partic- peculiarities of the Fiji context. It is largely for these reasons
ipation and consultation, followed by lack of legitimization that public sector reforms in general and public enterprise
and constituency building, PMS failed as “ownership of PMS restructuring in particular are likely to have mixed results in
was lacking.” Fiji (Appana, 2003).
The tribunal report raised that another shortfall was in
measuring performance. This clearly shows that when the
PMS was implemented, performance measures were not POSTSCRIPT: THE POST-COUP SCENARIO
adequately designed. And when performance indicators are IN FIJI
not in place, benchmarking becoming difficult. This is also
reflective of “policy complexity.” In this case, the com- Fiji experienced yet another coup on December 5, 2006.
plex nature of PMS made it even harder to set performance The coup came about as a result of conflict between the
measures. then Laisenia Qarase Government and the military. The gen-
In the Pacific there are many aspects that have shaped eral unrest was attributed largely to one of the three bills
local cultural attitudes. Some of the indigenous cultural (the Reconciliation Tolerance and Unity Bill, Qoliqoli Bill,
approach to neo-liberal reform might be traced to traditional and the Land Tribunal Bill) that were to be discussed and
economic systems. Schika (2005), cited in (Hook, 2007), considered in Parliament (Lal, 2007). The bill that gener-
explains that the production of root crops (common among ated more debate across the spectrum was the Reconciliation
the Pacific islands) created a different sort of economic Tolerance and Unity Bill, one that intended to offer par-
system from cultures that are dependent on rice or wheat. dons to some of the people who had participated in the
The local cultivation of root crops has led to local villages 2000 coup. It is imperative to note that crime such as rape,
being self-sufficient in food but that it could often not be homicide, and desecration of Hindu temples had been on the
stored and this reduced the opportunity to produce and build rise ever since the disputed bill was introduced (Wikipedia,
up surpluses or to undertake trade. There also developed a 2008). Consequently, on December 5, 2006, the military
moved into the capital city Suva, and a state of emergency
was declared by Commodore Frank Bainimarama. In a Fiji
9 Retrieved from http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id= Government Press Release (January 11, 2006) Commodore
25335. Frank Bainimarama stated that “The primary objective of the
 PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN FIJI 993

Interim Military Government is to take the country towards the coup (Wikipedia, 2007) with New Zealand threaten-
good governance, rid us of corruption and bad practices and ing sanctions against Fiji and travel bans on members of
at the same time promote the well-being of Fiji and its people the interim administration (Lal, 2007). New Zealand, apart
at the earliest possible opportunity.” from sanctions and bans, tightened travel restrictions on mil-
As emphasized by the Interim Prime Minister Frank itary personnel and civil servants appointed by the interim
Bainimarama in many of his speeches, his administration has administration, froze the new Seasonal Employer Scheme
mounted a “clean up corruption” campaign (Duncan, 2007). that would have allowed Fijian citizens to acquire tempo-
The interim administration has a plan to move forward and rary visas to work in New Zealand, cancelled training for
the genesis of the plan is the president’s mandate which seeks Fiji soldiers, stopped new development assistance schemes
to “remedy the abuse, mismanagement and bad governance and suspended training programs for Fiji’s public sector
which was brought about by SDL-led Government under under the regional governance programs (Fiji Sun, 2006; Lal,
leadership of Mr. Qarase in the last six years”. Their poli- 2007). The United States’ immediate reaction was to sus-
cies are non racial and are not dictated by race or religion as pend $2.5 million dollars in aid money pending a review of
were those of the former government (Fiji Times, 2007). the situation. The Commonwealth of which Fiji is a member
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The Reconciliation Bill has now been put aside as the suspended all membership on December 8, stating that the
interim administration focuses on building a better way for- coup was an infringement of the Commonwealth principles.
ward for Fiji. The new government has taken the following
efforts to improve public sector management in order to
create social harmony in Fiji: LESSONS LEARNED

In this article, “policy failures,” which become accentu-

1. It has set up the Fiji Independent Commission Against
ated as a result of problems in implementation, have been
Corruption (FICAC) as a practical means of ridding all
identified. To ensure success and sustainability of policy
sectors of the economy of corruption.
implementation in the long run, the following preconditions
2. The government has reviewed the affirmative action
are proposed:
policies and has directed government assistance to
many disadvantaged children and communities regard-
1. In Schiavo-Campo’s view, long-term sustainability
less of race. Other efforts include change in the rele-
requires tackling issues of power head on with “a
vant regulation, mainstreaming of government assis-
clear and public mandate, unquestioned political sup-
tance, encouraging multiculturalism in schools, and
port and the material and human resources necessary
evaluation of the impact of Fijian Affirmative Action
to carry out its function” (Schiavo-Campo, 1994, p. 9).
projects, school review policy, and classification of
To this can be added the need to embed the strat-
schools.
egy in founding legislation and to ensure that key
3. It has engaged its efforts in accelerating a number
central agencies are fully committed to the changes.
of reforms in the various government ministries and
The inertia of bureaucracy and old-age bureaucratic
departments. One critical plan is to reform the pub-
culture circumvents policy implementation. However,
lic sector. The Minister for Public Service, Public
even under these circumstances policies can be at
Enterprise, and Public Sector Reforms has been given
risk with the loss of someone to champion them.
charge to reduce the size and cost of the civil service
Here, Sabatier and Mazmanian (1980) call this persona
and at the same time bring about efficiency, quality and
“fixer,” someone who can step in to implementation
timely service.
processes with the power to stop them from going off
the rails (Sabatier & Mazmanian, 198, p. 24).
The military-backed government in Fiji is enjoying a 2. Effectiveness of policy implementation depends
mixed reception by Fijians. As described by Lal (2007), on establishing clear objectives, time frame and
earlier the churches (particularly the Methodist church), the sequence of policies, performance benchmarks, and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Great Council of transparent systems to monitor the impact of policies
Chiefs, and the National Federation Party have all demanded and measure its sustainability. Stewart and Ayres
that democracy be restored in the country at the earliest cited in Aulich et al. (2001), comment that the most
as they do not approve of a military-ruled country. On the crucial aspect of the policy process includes ongoing
other hand, groups and organizations such as the Fiji Kisan consultation, monitoring, and evaluation. They further
Sangh and the Human Rights Commission remain supportive argue that the information generated in this way can
of the interim administration’s policies and anti-corruption be used to “fine-tune, restructure or even terminate the
efforts. policy/program.”
Among the donor countries, the Australian and the New 3. Efforts made by donor agencies/countries to sup-
Zealand governments and their media openly condemned port a particular policy, principally through technical
 994 RAHMAN, NAZ, AND NAND

assistance, will not succeed if indigenous ownership and separated from the main thrust of implementation in
and political will is absent. In addition, transplanting the cycle, major bottlenecks and deadlocks have resulted.
overseas models, even the New Zealand and Australia Through empirical analysis and Fiji case studies, this
model, requires a match with the emulating countries research highlights why policy reform succeeds and fails.
needs, as differences in social, economic, and political Though the Fiji cases could not adequately explore all the
variances can result in faltering or failure of the policy. policy implementation preconditions (Figure 1) and admin-
4. The institutional capacity must be strengthened; there istrative cultural norms (Figure 2) that were conceptually
needs to be good governance and demand for policy outlined at the beginning of the article, some major imple-
changes. Mobilization of the voices of the commu- mentation challenges and cultural constraints have been
nity through genuine democracy and involvement can identified. By analyzing good and bad examples the arti-
stipulate successful implementation. This is supple- cle examines the challenges of policy implementation in the
mented by greater stakeholder participation. As stated South Pacific countries in general and Fiji in particular.
by Stewart and Ayres cited in Aulich et al. (2001), The research is a contribution towards the growing body
“there is no greater cause of policy breakdown than of knowledge on “public policy discourse” and sheds light
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failure to consult key interests.” on the preconditions for successful policy implementation.
5. The success not only depends on building a wide The challenge areas include leadership, commitment, policy
public consensus on the need for and importance of legitimization, resource accumulation, coordination, consul-
the policy, but also implying the need for a greater tation, and capacity. The article concludes that while NPM
space for civil society and the private sector, focused approach in civil service/public sector reform brought break-
on establishing viable modalities for policy change. throughs in New Zealand and Australia, it failed somewhat
All these actors are to coordinate and network with in Fiji because of various administrative cultural influences
each other more through horizontal linkages which including leadership and capacity constraints. This article
are both non-hierarchical and non-bureaucratic. Such has taken a modest approach towards identifying the insti-
cooperation can lead towards leveraging the financial, tutional loopholes and envisioning a future in which certain
technological, and managerial strengths of the sectors requirements must set the foundation for success of policy
involved to ensure feasibility of reforms. These sectors implementation in public sector reforms in Fiji.
can also clarify and develop consensus on the pol-
icy issues, develop constituencies and coalitions for
change and an understanding of policy requirements
and complexity, plan and take appropriate and prac- REFERENCES
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