Public Administration Training and Development in Malawi

Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................164 Crisis of Identity and Impact on Training ..........................................................166 Shifts in Public Administration and Impact on Training ....................................169 Post­Independence Public Administration Training ...........................................171 University of Malawi Public Administration Training Program ..........................172 Program Achievements ......................................................................................177 Alumni Assessment of the Program ...................................................................180 Conclusion ........................................................................................................182 Appendix: Public Administration Bachelor’s Program (1976-2014) ..................183 References .........................................................................................................185

Introduction Public administration, especially in developing countries, has gone through several challenges. Unlike other fields of study, theory building and empirical research in public administration, to a larger extent, almost disappeared after the 1970s, when the international donors removed public administration from the priority agenda for technical assistance (Moharir, 2000, p. 72). Due to several problems, such as corruption and lack of professionalism, the public sector was no longer consid­ ered a right vehicle for national development in developing countries. Structural Adjustment Programs of 1980 to the 1990s further reinforced these ideas. Ultimately, theory building and empirical research in public administration were seriously affected-public administration as a field of study in developing countries lost its raison d’ être. Apart from these observed problems in developing countries, at the international level, public administration as a field of study was also encounter­ ing several challenges. The public sector was dogged with inefficiency and rigidity. As governments lost trust in their own machinery, funds for research and train­ ing in public administration were also slowly diminishing. In fact, scholars such as Nicholas Henry and Lennart Lundquist at one time described the intellectual development in the field of public administration as “century in a quandary” and moving “from order to chaos” (Heady, 2001, p. 391).