Introduction

Reducing the incidence of poverty, increasing productive employment, achieving sustainable high rates of growth and laying the foundations of an egalitarian society have been the aims of governments. To achieve these goals it is important to have an efficient resource allocation and use. Since independence successive governments have followed policies to achieve these goals. Yet poverty persists coupled with unemployment and a mediocre rate of growth. The country faced a major balance of payments crisis in 1991. It is worthwhile to investigate the causes that led to this crisis in the background of the policy framework that existed.¹