ABSTRACT

Within the public sector, two parallel processes of reform have been underway during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The first has involved the scaling down of public sector involvement in natural resource management and agricultural service provision. Ideally this is well-planned and gradually phased withdrawal, although this has not always been the case. The second process of reform has involved changes, often of working practices or the locus of decision-making power, within what remains of the public sector so as to make it more efficient. Key features of the second type of reform have been attempts to increase accountability to rural people and the ability of public servants to respond to rural people’s needs in a flexible and effective way. In certain cases this has required a redefinition of the respective roles of government departments (often from a direct involvement in provision to a more regulatory or facilitating role) and a strengthening of the links between key ministries with a stake in the natural resource area.