Target Based Governance Model Improves African Governance

Oliveserah Business and Academic Concepts Research Paper March 16, 2019
1
Target Based Government: Pathway to Improving the Quality and Outcome
of Governance in Africa
SANI Emmanuel Numa
Researcher/CEO, Oliveserah Business and Academic Concepts
Email: srcnigeria@yahoo.com, innonigeria@gmail.com
Phone: +234-706-818-0074
SANI Emmanuel Numa is an Economist, Researcher and
Business Development Expert. Drawing upon experience
in successfully delivering business development tasks in
complex sectors of the African economy, he believes that
inculcating the ethics of targets associated with marketing
in the spectrum of government activities would lead to the
efficient, innovative and optimal performance of
government institutions. The model described herein is
wholly owned by Sani Emmanuel Numa and is meant to
facilitate governance at the Federal, State and Local
Government in African governance systems.
The author and initiator of the TBG Model leads a strategic
team at Oliveserah Business and Academic Concepts to
provide support to relevant institutions and stakeholders to
improve the quality of governance in Africa
Abstract
It is recognized that the trend of political appointment to public offices at the Federal, State and
Local Government levels in African democracy cannot be stopped. Of course, politicians have to
service their political associates, interest and network. Rather than delving into the unending
debate of who should be appointed and who should not- a question that cannot defy political
considerations, the author argues that with the setting of Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) goals for the political appointees in different ministries,
department and agencies, governance can become more effective, result oriented and optimal in
achievement of development. This formed the basis for the Target Based Governance Model
which was developed by the Author. To test the validity of the TBG Model, a survey was
conducted with a focus on two groups, a controlled group of 10 persons who were given SMART
targets to carry out. The second group, an uncontrolled group were only given goals to achieve.
At the end of the survey, it was observed that 67% of those in the controlled group were efficient
in achieving the goals while only 13% of those in the uncontrolled group poorly achieved their
goal. The data formed the basis for the TBG model assessment, discussion and recommendation
for improved governance in Africa.

2
1.0 Introduction
Over the years, the poor quality of government in Africa continues to dominate social,
economic and political discourse. This cannot be totally disconnected from the lack of
sustainable development, poor economic performance, social discord and institutional
inefficiencies in Africa1
. From available statistics, the African economy remains volatile and the
developmental needs of the continent continue to expand with the growing population and
increasing demand for public services.
The poor quality of governance from existing literature has been blamed on corruption,
lack of professionalism, poor innovativeness, lack of incentives, politically motivated
appointments and other socio-cultural and institutional factors. This has led to a number of
approaches to drive efficiency in the system, including the strengthening of anti-corruption
agencies, increase in funding for ministries, department and agencies, and creating room for the
engagement of consultants.
Unfortunately, this has not contributed to the improvement on the quality and outcome of
governance, considering that the indices of economic growth and development which is a clear
indication of effective governance2
remains at its lowest ebb.
In this critical paper, a Target Based Model (TBM) is derived for effective governance. This will
make a difference in ensuring the efficiency of government at all levels.
1.1 The Problem Statement
In the last 5 decades, the quality of leadership in the African setting has been relatively
low and declining. This account for the continuous collapse of social, economic, educational,
healthcare and political institutions among others. Sadly, poverty in Africa is on the rise amidst
worsening economic indicators which strongly aligns with the problem of governance affecting
the continent3
.
The political fabrics of the African economy are also complex; political parties are
continually established on dwindling and weak ideologies, the electoral systems continues to be
webbed with inefficiencies, godfatherism remains a dominant theme in African politics and there
is a dire need to service political networks, associates, supporters and partners with juicy
appointments. The implication is, public office holders are more skewed towards investing in
1
https://www.busiweek.com/lack-of-development-in-africa-due-to-poor-governance/
2
ibid
3
http://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/number-extremely-poor-people-continues-rise-sub-saharan-africa

3
their network than performing the functions for which they were employed4
. In other words,
being loyal in the African governance context is more valuable than delivering on the job even
though both of them are not mutually exclusive. For instance, you can be loyal to your
godfathers and still be effective in your job.
The issue of accountability remains a riddle within the coffers of governance in Africa.
Beyond being loyal to godfathers, political parties and associates, there is actually no template
for accountability of political office holders to the citizens and the stakeholders. Unfortunately,
the continuous clamor for accountable governance has failed to provide a dependable template
for accountability. The implication of this can be best seen in the electoral systems of African
countries where the citizens have no basis beyond the shores of sentiments to assess the
performance and accountability of political leadership.
The big question is not whether or not Ministers, Directors and Permanent Secretaries are
appointed on the basis of "man knows who" but what happens after their appointments. Are they
appointed, handed down a job description and given a target to achieve or are they just
appointed, handed down their job description and allowed to float in the air of opportunities?
It is against the backdrop of the foregoing issues that this paper provides a framework for
target based governance in Africa.
1.2 Research Aim
The aim of the supporting research is to justify that Target Based Governance (TBG) model will
contribute to better governance in Africa.
1.3 Research Question
Will the Target Based Governance (TBG) model contribute to better governance in Africa?
1.4 Research Hypothesis
The following hypothesis based on the framework of the TBG model will be tested using the
supporting research.
H1: The employers need to set SMART Target for the employees (political and public office
holders) to achieve the overall goal (good governance).
H2: Routine Performance evaluation would contribute to the achievement of the target.
4
https://patimes.org/political-appointments-government-performance-done/

4
H3: The final decision of the employers could contribute to the achievement of the overall goal
(good governance)
2.0 Target Based Governance
2.1 Conceptual Framework
A target refers to an aim or direction. It provides a link between the current state and the
future state. Target clearly represent the desired result which a person or a system envisions,
plans and commits to achieve a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of
assumed development5
. Without targeting, the system tends to be confused, uncoordinated,
unstable and unproductive as common to government institutions in most parts of Africa.
Therefore, targeting is instrumental to goal achievement, progress measurement, maintaining
focus, avoid persistent blame games and provides far-reaching motivation for the individual,
group or system6
.
Hinged on the foregoing reality, the Target Based Governance Model provides a
framework for achieving effective, efficient and quality governance in Africa through the setting
of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Based targets for public and political
office holders. Without the TBG model, it will be difficult to hold government officers
accountable, measure progress over time, generate data on government performance and support
informed decision making for the government.
2.2 Assumptions of the TBG Model
The following assumptions formed the basis for the approach of the TBG Model;
1. Political and public office holders include Ministers, Heads of Ministries, Department,
Agencies and Parastatals (MDAPs) at the Federal Government Levels. At the state levels,
these include the Commissioners and at the local government levels, it includes the
counselors.
2. The employers (President and Governors) of the political and public office holders have a
duty to specify the job description of political office holders as enshrined in the
constitution.
5
https://www.codeofliving.com/5-powerful-reasons-goal-setting-important/
6
Ibid

5
3. The employers have the power to set a target for the political and public office holders,
including timelines for review of performance, determination of evaluation body and
determination of continued engagement or sack.
4. The success or failure of the political and public office holder is the success or failure of
the employers.
5. The political and public office holders have all it takes to collaborate, partner and work
with available resources to achieve the set target.
6. Beyond the existence of corruption, sentimental employment, favoritism and other odds,
TBG model can lead to improvement in the performance, innovativeness and quality of
government by at least 50%.
2.3 The TBG Model
The overall framework of the TBG Model is shown in figure 1 below.
Fig 1. The TBG Model
Source: Authors Conceptualization (2019)
The functioning of the TBG model is further discussed below. The concept of employers and
political/public office holders has already been defined in the previous section.
THE EMPLOYERS: the President and Governors have a mandate to appoint political or public
office holders on the proviso of constitutional provisions. Rather than proceeding straight to
employment/appointment, the TBG model specifies that the target is defined before the
engagement. This would assist in two ways;

6
1. It would provide clear insight into who can deliver on the target or not, given the multiple
options available from political networks and associates.
2. It would assist in structuring an engagement contract. This would provide clearly the
target to be achieved and penalties where such targets are not met. So individuals favored
through political connections know that they have work to do and failure to do the job
may result in the termination of their appointment.
THE POLITICAL AND PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS: These appointees, therefore, begin
their job with a target to be achieved. This is in contrast to the past system whereby they are
expected to contribute to the growth and performance of the government without any target (see
the red line).
TARGET: The target will be clearly defined to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic
and Time-based. For instance, the Minister of Power has a target to increase the national grid by
500MW in 2019 and his performance will be evaluated quarterly and finally at the end of 2019.
This would undoubtedly form the basis for effective budgeting, proper utilization of staff,
efficient performance of the ministry, tasking of agencies and overall achievement of the result.
The targeting will take place in two ways;
1. Quarterly Assessment: performance assessment will be conducted by the Employers on a
quarterly or occasional basis. This will enable them to review performance, address real-
time challenges and keep the team in line with the goal.
2. Final Assessment: At the end of the target period, the performance will be assessed. The
focus would include SWOT analysis and other relevant tools to determine the extent to
which the result has been achieved, success and failures etc.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: this will be carried out at the end stage/final assessment of
the target to determine whether the public or political office holders were effective, innovative,
productive or not.
DECISION: Backed by this information, the employers can now decide if they will need to
provide more support (funding, logistics etc.), review the target in view of the observed realities
or replace the political or public office holders with others who may be better suited to do the
job.
GOVERNANCE: The model procedures, either the achievement of the overall goals,
performance evaluation or decision (whether positive or negative) will have a positive influence

7
on accountability ratings of the government, confidence in the system, efficiency, performance,
innovativeness and productivity which is lacking in governance systems today.
3.0 Supporting Research Methodology
This section provides insight into data that has been generated using scientific means to justify
the efficiency of the TBG model in transforming leadership and governance in Nigeria.
3.1 Research Design
Research design provided a tool for generating data for testing the theoretical proposition of the
TBG model. The descriptive research design was adopted as it provides answers to how a
phenomenon, result or situation occurs7
. It has remained a dominant tool for studying behaviors,
attitude, response and pattern of reaction in varying circumstances8
.
3.2 Research Method
The naturalistic observational research method was used for this research. This provides a
template for studying how people react to leadership positions with or without clearly defined
SMART targets9
. In tandem with this, the longitudinal survey framework was utilized. This is
acknowledged as the most efficient approach to studying behavior in a given context10
.
Following this method, two groups of samples were selected; the first was given clear guidelines
on what target to achieve in a week time; the second group was not given clear target but a broad
goal to be achieved. The difference in the outcome was instrumental in validating the argument
of the research.
3.3 Research Philosophy
The research paradigm was based on pragmatism research philosophy. Pragmatism helps to
explain the relationship between knowledge (targets that have been set) and action (delivering on
the target)11
. It also explains the relationship between action and change, making it the most
effective approach to studying influences in the real world.
7
https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/descriptive/overview
8
Bernard O. (2008) Managing Social Engineering Risk - Making social engineering transparent.
Published MSc Thesis, University of Twente, Netherland
9
https://opentext.wsu.edu/carriecuttler/chapter/observational-research/
10
https://www.nbrii.com/customer-survey-white-papers/the-value-of-longitudinal-research/
11
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6d3c/20168fcf96de21a9b0bb424a31d3d66d3f24.pdf

8
3.4 Population for the Research
The population of the study, controlled and the uncontrolled group shall include individuals
above the age of 18 years which is the constitutional age for holding political or public office in
Africa. Given the large population, the population of the study is restricted to the individuals
above 18 years who are Facebook Users.
3.4.1 Sample and Sampling Method
A total of 20 samples will be drawn from the total population using the convenience sampling
technique. This was essential, recognizing that online presence, availability for research,
volunteering to participate and other factors determine willingness to take part in the research.
Therefore, the invite will be thrown to the population and interested respondents will be engaged
for the research. This too will contribute to randomization of the respondents12
.
The 20 respondents will be split into two groups;
1. Controlled Group: in the controlled group, they were provided with information as
follows;
A. Task: Speak to 5 Other Facebook or Whatsapp Users about the need for
youths to be involved in politics.
B. They were to be initially evaluated after 30 minutes.
C. They were thereafter expected to complete the short questionnaire after 60 hours.
D. Provide Snapshot of their Chat with the 5 persons.
2. Uncontrolled Group: in the uncontrolled group, the following information were provided;
A. Task: It is important to do awareness of the need for youth to be involved in
politics. Try to complete this questionnaire and do not hesitate to contact me
should you need guidance.
3.5 Research Instrument
A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents to complete after the same
timeline of 1 hour after the commencement of the research.
3.6 Data Analysis
The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean and
frequency distribution.
12
article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajtas.20160501.11.pdf

9
4.0 Data Analysis and Interpretation
4.1 Data Presentation
A total of 20 invites were sent for the purpose of the research; 10 were to be part of the
controlled group and the other batch the uncontrolled group. Placement into the controlled and
uncontrolled group was determined randomly based on indicated interest to take part in the
research.
Based on the respondents who indicated interest, they were split into groups of 10 each for the
controlled and uncontrolled group. This determined the nature of tasks assigned to them. From
the controlled group, only 27% of respondents were determined to proceed with the research
after seeing the target expected of them while 73% in the uncontrolled group were still willing to
proceed with the research even after assessing the tasks. This is further represented in figure 1
below
Fig 1. Data on Active Participation in the Research
Source: Field Survey (2019)
It is observed from figure 1 above that more participants from the uncontrolled group
(73%) were ready to continue with the research even after seeing the tasks. Perhaps, because
there was no guidelines, goals, and targets to be achieved, they found it exciting to run through
Active
Participation,
8, 73%
Active
Participation,
3, 27%
Active Participation
Uncontrolled Group Controlled Group

10
the process compared to the controlled group where those who initially indicated interest
dropped out along the line or refused to continue with the research due to their lack of capacity.
In the same way, political appointees may decline appointment when they see that there
are clearly defined SMART targets to be achieved for the respective Ministry, Department, and
Agencies of government. But where there are no guidelines and it is business as usual, there is a
strong tendency for political and public office holders to accept the appointment just for fun.
4.2 Data Analysis
Table 1. Descriptive Data Presentation
Variable Option
Controlled
Frequency
Uncontrolled
Frequency
Percentage Of
Controlled
Percentage Of
Uncontrolled
Country
West
Africa 2 7 67% 88%
East
Africa 1 1 33% 13%
Gender Male 2 7 67% 88%
Female 1 1 33% 13%
Above 18 years Yes 3 8 100% 100%
No 0 0 0% 0%
Post-Secondary
Qualification Yes 3 8 100% 100%
No 0 0 0% 0%
Estimated total
friends >500 3 8 100% 100%
<500 0 0 0% 0%
Estimated browsing
data >200MB 3 8 100% 100%
<200MB 0 0 0% 0%
Internet Service
Quality
Satisfactor
y 1 1 33% 13%
Unsatisfac
tory 2 7 67% 88%
Relationship with
questionnaire
administrator Yes 2 7 67% 88%
No 1 1 33% 13%
Took Action Yes 2 1 67% 13%
No 1 7 33% 88%
Source: Field Survey (2019)

11
The data presented in Table 1 above was quite instructive. The data drawn were majorly
from West African countries, particularly Nigeria and Uganda. There was low female
participation in spite of their invitation, suggesting that women in Africa are not disposed to
issues of leadership, governance, and volunteering.
Interestingly, all the respondents had a post-secondary qualification and depending on
their social media preference, all the respondents in the controlled and uncontrolled group had
over 500 friends. Clearly, they had the right and large audience to carry out the task of talking to
only 5 youths within their networks.
Also, they had the same pool of resources as all the respondents had at least 200MB to
spare a few Kilobytes for the task. In each case, the quality of the internet was unsatisfactory. It
was further observed that majority of the respondents in the controlled and uncontrolled group
knew the researcher. This is typical of appointees to political and public offices who are often
engaged on the basis of political preference, associates and relationship.
In spite of the foregoing similarities between the controlled and uncontrolled group, it
was observed that 67% of the respondents in the controlled group took action. In other words, the
clear guideline and specified targets motivated them to act especially for those who have an
interest in taking action. Only 33% did not take action, perhaps out of other factors beyond their
control. For the uncontrolled group, only 13% took some form of low quality or low profile
action while 88% of them did nothing other than completing the questionnaire.
4.2 Data Interpretation
H1: The employers need to set SMART Target for the employees (political and public office
holders) to achieve the overall goal (good governance).
It was observed from the data generated that the respondents in the controlled group where a
SMART target was set took action. In fact, 33% of respondents declined from proceeding after
they were assigned the task because;
 They lacked the capacity to execute the task
 They lacked the innovation to execute the task
 They had no genuine interest to deliver on the task
For the 67% that took part in the research, they really contributed to the overall goals in the
following ways;

12
 They executed the tasks in record time
 They were innovative and went extra mile about the task
 They clearly knew what was to be done.
On the contrary, the lack of SMART target for the uncontrolled group resulted in the zero
accomplishment of the overall results even though the participation was high (73%). Of course,
since they understood the task but there was no SMART target, there was no motivation for them
to deliver on the overall goals. In essence, the lack of SMART target resulted in the following
observed among the uncontrolled group;
 The overall goal was not achieved.
 They were more concerned with completing the questionnaire (similar to following
official protocols and bureaucracy) than coming up with initiatives to deliver on the task.
 They completed the process without delivering on the objectives.
Therefore, public and political office holders without a SMART target to be achieved in their
respective MDAs would only exist as figureheads, carry on the business of government as usual
and end up contributing less to the overall goal. On the contrary, the insight from the control
group shows that with a SMART target, public and political office holders will be motivated to
perform effectively, innovatively and efficiently towards the overall goals of the MDA.
H2: Routine Performance evaluation would contribute to the achievement of the target.
The controlled and uncontrolled group had every basis to seek clarification or report on the
progress of work in other to ensure that their performance was in line. The researcher on his part
also carried out intermittent follow up as a means of performance evaluation. It was however
observed that;
 Only those in the controlled group valued the intermittent follow-ups (performance
evaluation) in their quest to deliver on the SMART goals.
 Those in the uncontrolled group segment were not concerned about follow-ups
(performance evaluation) since there were no SMART goals to be achieved.
Imperatively, public and political office holders who have clear SMART targets to achieve were
motivated by follow up evaluation to further pursue the effective attainment of overall goals
when compared to the uncontrolled group.

13
H3: The final decision of the employers could contribute to the achievement of the overall
goal (good governance)
At the end of the research, the researcher reviewed the task conducted versus the overall goals to
be achieved by the respondents. This provided a clear picture into which group/respondents have
performed to expectation and which group/respondents failed to perform. Implicitly, this could
form the basis for;
 Deciding the scope of support for the respondents in future intervention.
 Determining whether the process followed in assigning the task was efficient or not.
 Reporting the findings to stakeholders.
In the circle of government, the final decision of whether to increase support, provide a different
kind of support or restructure an MDA would lead to the future attainment of the overall goals
where a SMART target is in place. It would enable the government to diagnose where the issues
are and take deliberate steps to resolve them.
5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
The Target Based Governance Model is a unique model which takes into the peculiarities
of the African governance system into consideration to propose an approach to achieving
effective governance. It argues that where public and political office holders are given a target to
be achieved per annum, they will be more focused, accountable, innovative and efficient in the
discharge of their responsibility.
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are advanced for
government in Africa;
1. Most African governments are expected to at the inception of their administration
determine SMART targets for the respective Ministries, Department, and Agencies
within their constitutional mandate.
2. Before appointing people to political office, they should consent to their capability to
achieve the SMART Target and their willingness to accept their sack in good faith should
they perform below the expected standard.

14
3. An agency is set up to provide Monitoring and Evaluation Support to the political and
public office holders on a quarterly basis. The agency will also be in charge of the final
performance appraisal of the MDA per annum. The annual performance appraisal will
determine whether or not the MDA has performed to expectation based on the target for
the year.

15
APPENDIX 1
SHORT RESEARCH FOR TESTING A NEW MODEL FOR EFFECTIVE
GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA
Dear Respondent,
I am personally inviting you to take part in the above research.
If you are interested, you will be given a task after which you will be required to complete this
questionnaire below.
You are only required to say YES, NO or Specific Answer e.g. 10, Nigeria, No, Yes etc.
Your details will not be published. However, snapshots of the snapshot you are expected to send
at the end (excluding your pics, name and that of the person you chat) will be published in the
final report which is to be disseminated to relevant local and international organizations.
Participation is purely voluntary and I expect that you will attend to this objective. Also, find the
questions you are meant to complete at the end of the task below for your knowledge.
Should you be willing to take part in this objective research, kindly let me know so that I can
forward the short task to you.
Thank you.
Sani Emmanuel Numa
Researcher

16
APPENDIX 2
TASK FOR CONTROLLED GROUP
TASK: Speak to 5 Other Facebook or Whatsapp Users about the need for youths to be
involved in politics within 60 minutes.
1. Complete the short questionnaire.
2. Provide Snapshot of your Chat with the 5 persons
Thank you.

17
APPENDIX 3
TASK FOR UNCONTROLLED GROUP
TASK: It is important to do awareness of the need for youth to be involved in politics.
 Try to complete the questionnaire.
 Do not hesitate to contact me should you need guidance.

Target Based Governance Model Improves African Governance

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