Publication: South Sudan Governance Analysis: Building Sustainable Public Sector Capacity in a Challenging Context
Loading...
Date
2017
ISSN
Published
2017
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report was developed in the first half of 2016, when the signing of the Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) and subsequent establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) presented a possible window of opportunity to restart and reset state-building effort, in particular, to initiate a more strategic approach to capacity building. From the government side, it was possible incentives will emerge to signal a break with the past by delivering services to citizens. In this context, the main objective of the note has been to contribute a stronger evidence base for renewed efforts at supporting capacity building. Despite the renewed deterioration since mid-2016, it is expected that many of the key challenges and tensions analyzed will remain important considerations when capacity building efforts are eventually renewed. South Sudan has faced renewed conflict and a deepening macro-fiscal crisis. Shortly after the formation of the TGNU in late May 2016, fighting broke out in Juba and the security situation in the rest of the country has subsequently deteriorated. This note mainly covers the period until June 2016, as a contribution to providing a more nuanced understanding of efforts at capacity building in South Sudan. This note is primarily concerned with capacity in the civilian public service in South Sudan, and its ability to deliver public services. The note explores cross-cutting issues and challenges related to developing a capable and effective civil service and drills down into two specific areas: public financial management (PFM) and the public health sector. The report combines an analysis of the opportunities and constraints created by the evolving country context; cross-cutting factors which have shaped core public administration functions across sectors since 2005; and analysis of capacity in two selected state functions PFM and health care. The report is organized as follows: chapter one presents purpose, scope, and approach. Chapter two covers the conceptual underpinnings of the paper. Chapter three provides a cross-cutting perspective on capacity-building efforts in South Sudan, providing an overview of public sector as a tool for the management of political support, as well as the evolution of aid architecture. Chapter four covers PFM in South Sudan and chapter five addresses the health sector. Chapter six reviews key findings and emerging lessons and concludes with recommendations and options for improving monitoring of capacity-building efforts going forward.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2017. South Sudan Governance Analysis: Building Sustainable Public Sector Capacity in a Challenging Context. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27873 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Government of Republic of South Sudan Public Finance Management Assessment : Northern Bahr el Ghazal State(Washington, DC, 2012-05-31)The purpose of this assessment is to assess the public finance management (PFM) system performance of the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Government (NBGSG). The assessment is one of a number of public expenditure and financial accountability (PEFA) assessments being conducted in South Sudan. The PEFA assessment is focused on the PFM systems of NBGSG in South Sudan and the county of Aweil West, one of NBGS's six counties. The state governments are implementing the same PFM reform programs as at the central government level, with the help of Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) and key spending agencies (for example, health), supported by technical assistance from donors, particularly United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): economic planning project, local government and recovery project, and rapid capacity placement initiative. The sequence is similar to that of the central government PFM reform program, with initial strong emphasis on strengthening planning and budgeting systems and using the same techniques. Reforms in budget execution are also similar, though somewhat lagging the reforms at central level.Publication Republic of South Sudan : Country Integrated Fiduciary Assessment Southern Sudan, Volume 1. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2012-06)The purpose of this Country Integrated Fiduciary Assessment (CIFA) is: (i) to assess the quality of public finance management and procurement systems in South Sudan; and (ii) to then determine the extent of fiduciary risk posed to domestic and external tax payers by the government's use of their funds through these systems. South Sudan has great potential for further increases in living standards, but achieving them will require large improvements in public services, both in access and in quality. In turn, Public Finance Management (PFM) and procurement systems need to be strengthened in order to improve public services; this will require linking spending more tightly to policy objectives and strengthening the operational efficiency of expenditures. In sum, strengthened PFM and procurement systems are not an end in themselves but, rather, the necessary means to achieving the ultimate objective: improved service delivery in South Sudan. This CIFA will be used by the Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GRSS) and by the country state governments to inform their design or reforms of PFM and procurement systems and, in the case of development partners, to inform their design or revision of technical and financial assistance programs and projects in support of the reforms.Publication Nepal - Country Environmental Analysis : Strengthening Institutions and Management Systems for Enhanced Environmental Governance(Washington, DC, 2007-12-03)The main objective of the Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) in Nepal is to identify opportunities for enhancing the overall performance of select environmental management systems through improvements in the effectiveness of institutions, policies, and processes. CEA has been built upon the following three primary study components: (a) an examination of the environmental issues associated with infrastructure development, focusing on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in priority growth sectors; (b) an analysis of environmental issues linked to rapid urbanization, focusing on the growing problems of solid waste, poor air quality, and industrial pollution, and the resulting impacts on environmental health; and (c) an analysis of the policy and institutional underpinnings related to key environmental management systems at the national and local levels. This report provides the basis for a discussion of the challenges and options facing Nepal in regard to improving the performance of key environmental management systems and institutions to support its growth and poverty alleviation agenda.Publication Sudan - Strengthening Good Governance for Development Outcomes in Southern Sudan : Issues and Options(World Bank, 2010-04-01)This report is the product of a joint Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and World Bank initiative aimed at facilitating informed policy making in key areas of public service management. The objective was to facilitate a process in which a Bank-supported team will provide technical inputs and will support appropriate consultation leading to informed and pragmatic policy making and implementation. Coordination, in particular on policy formulation, is difficult and a key constraint in young governments and more so in post-conflict situations such as that of Southern Sudan. Available analytical and executive capacity is already stretched. The number of issues that need to be addressed is large and prioritization is difficult. There are sharp political divisions that are not easily reconciled. The report is presented in two parts. Part one provides the background as well as a summary of findings and recommendations. Chapter one provides a brief historical background and lessons from this experience but may be skipped without loss of continuity. Chapter two presents an overview of the issues and options facing the GoSS in managing the public service, implementing the decentralization vision and tackling corruption and summarizes the findings presented in detail in the second part of the report. Part two covers the three thematic areas that are the subject of this initiative in greater detail: chapter three on public service reform, chapter four on decentralization, and chapter five on corruption. Two annexes document key aspects of the process. A third annex summarizes a paper on traditional authorities prepared as part of this exercise.Publication Nepal - Country Environmental Analysis : Strengthening Institutions and Management Systems for Enhanced Environmental Governance(Washington, DC, 2008-01)The main objective of the Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) in Nepal is to identify opportunities for enhancing the overall performance of select environmental management systems through improvements in the effectiveness of institutions, policies, and processes. CEA has been built upon the following three primary study components: (a) an examination of the environmental issues associated with infrastructure development, focusing on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in priority growth sectors; (b) an analysis of environmental issues linked to rapid urbanization, focusing on the growing problems of solid waste, poor air quality, and industrial pollution, and the resulting impacts on environmental health; and (c) an analysis of the policy and institutional underpinnings related to key environmental management systems at the national and local levels. This report provides the basis for a discussion of the challenges and options facing Nepal in regard to improving the performance of key environmental management systems and institutions to support its growth and poverty alleviation agenda.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2017(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-01-30)Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This book addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.Publication Ten Steps to a Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System : A Handbook for Development Practitioners(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004)An effective state is essential to achieving socio-economic and sustainable development. With the advent of globalization, there are growing pressures on governments and organizations around the world to be more responsive to the demands of internal and external stakeholders for good governance, accountability and transparency, greater development effectiveness, and delivery of tangible results. Governments, parliaments, citizens, the private sector, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society, international organizations, and donors are among the stakeholders interested in better performance. As demands for greater accountability and real results have increased, there is an attendant need for enhanced results-based monitoring and evaluation of policies, programs, and projects. This handbook provides a comprehensive ten-step model that will help guide development practitioners through the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. These steps begin with a 'readiness assessment' and take the practitioner through the design, management, and importantly, the sustainability of such systems. The handbook describes each step in detail, the tasks needed to complete each one, and the tools available to help along the way.Publication Zimbabwe(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03-01)This report presents an assessment of Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector disaster risk and management capacity. The findings indicate that Zimbabwe is highly exposed to agricultural risks and has limited capacity to manage risk at various levels. The report shows that disaster-related shocks along Zimbabwe’s agricultural supply chains directly translate to volatility in agricultural GDP. Such shocks have a substantial impact on economic growth, food security, and fiscal balance. When catastrophic disasters occur, the economy absorbs the shocks, without benefiting from any instruments that transfer the risk to markets and coping ability. The increasing prevalence of ‘shock recovery-shock’ cycles impairs Zimbabwe’s ability to plan and pursue a sustainable development path. The findings presented here confirm that it is highly pertinent for Zimbabwe to strengthen the capacity to manage risk at various levels, from the smallholder farmer, to other participants along the supply chain, to consumers (who require a reliable, safe food supply), and ultimately to the government to manage natural disasters. The assessment provides the following evidence on sources of risks and plausible risk management solutions. It is our hope that the report contributes to action by the Government of Zimbabwe to adopt a proactive and integrated risk management strategy appropriate to the current structure of the agricultural sector.Publication Africa's Future, Africa's Challenge : Early Childhood Care and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)This book seeks to achieve a balance, describing challenges that are being faced as well as developments that are underway. It seeks a balance in terms of the voices heard, including not just voices of the North commenting on the South, but voices from the South, and in concert with the North. It seeks to provide the voices of specialists and generalists, of those from international and local organizations, from academia and the field. It seeks a diversity of views and values. Such diversity and complexity are the reality of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) today. The major focus of this book is on SSA from the Sahel south. Approximately 130 million children between birth and age 6 live in SSA. Every year 27 million children are born, and every year 4.7 million children under age 5 die. Rates of birth and of child deaths are consistently higher in SSA than in any other part of the world; the under-5 mortality rate of 163 per 1,000 is twice that of the rest of the developing world and 30 times that of industrialized countries (UNICEF 2006). Of the children who are born, 65 percent will experience poverty, 14 million will be orphans affected by HIV/AIDS directly and within their families and one-third will experience exclusion because of their gender or ethnicity.Publication World Development Report 1984(New York: Oxford University Press, 1984)Long-term needs and sustained effort are underlying themes in this year's report. As with most of its predecessors, it is divided into two parts. The first looks at economic performance, past and prospective. The second part is this year devoted to population - the causes and consequences of rapid population growth, its link to development, why it has slowed down in some developing countries. The two parts mirror each other: economic policy and performance in the next decade will matter for population growth in the developing countries for several decades beyond. Population policy and change in the rest of this century will set the terms for the whole of development strategy in the next. In both cases, policy changes will not yield immediate benefits, but delay will reduce the room for maneuver that policy makers will have in years to come.