Cover Page The handle https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3176462

Cover Page

The handle

https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3176462

holds various files of this Leiden

University dissertation.

Author: Abubakar, A.

Title: Bureaucratic politics in neopatrimonial settings: types of appointment and their

implications in Ghana

BUREAUCRATIC POLITICS IN NEOPATRIMONIAL SETTINGS: TYPES OF APPOINTMENT AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN GHANA

Proefschrift

ter verkrijging van

de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van rector magnificus prof.dr.ir. H. Bijl,

volgens besluit van het college voor promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 18 mei, 2021

klokke 13:45 uur door

Abdul-Nasir Abubakar geboren te Tamale in 1984

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Promoter: prof.dr. Petr Kopecký

Co-promoter: dr. Maria Spirova

Doctoral Committee:

prof.dr. P.F. Wouters, Dean, Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University – Chairman prof.dr. R.A. Boin, Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University – Secretary

prof.dr. G. H. Kristinsson, University of Iceland – Member dr. A.-G. Abdulai, University of Ghana Business School – Member

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ... i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... .ii

SUMMARY... .iv

LIST OF FIGURES ... .vii

LIST OF TABLES ... viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ... ..ix

DECLARATION ... …xii

CHAPTER ONE - BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

1.2 Research Aim and Questions ... 10

1.3 Case Selection: Why Ghana? ... 13

1.4 Ghana’s Geographic, political and bureaucratic profile ... 20

1.5 Thesis Structure ... 28

CHAPTER TWO - DISSECTING APPOINTMENT TRADITIONS IN GHANA; FROM

PRE-COLONIAL ERA TO GHANA’S FOURTH REPUBLICAN GOVERNANCE

2.2 Patrimonialism and the Pre-Independence dynamics of Patronage Relations in Ghana ... 31

2.3 The politics of bureaucratic Appointments birthed by Nkrumah’s Africanisation Agenda ... 37

2.4 From NLC to PNDC – The flip-flops of personnel strategy for the bureaucracy ... 40

2.5 Ghana’s 4th _{Republican Democracy and Bureaucratic Appointments under NPM Reform ... 44}

2.6 Chapter Summary……….….…………... 48

CHAPTER THREE – THEORIES OF APPOINTMENTS AND BUREAUCRATS’

ATTITUDES & BEHAVIOUR

3.2 A brief overview of Bureaucratic Appointments studies in Ghana ... 52

3.3 The Merit – Autonomy Thesis ... 57

3.4 The Patronage – Loyalty Thesis ... 69

3.5 The Hybrid – Responsiveness Thesis ... 80

CHAPTER FOUR – STUDY METHODOLOGY & DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

4.1 Introduction ... 93

4.2 Study Design: Evaluating consequences of types of Appointments on Attitudes in Ghana ... 93

4.3 Types of Data … ... 95

4.4 Survey Measures and Data collection Instruments ... 98

4.4.1 Survey paper-to-pencil Questionnaire ... 101

4.4.2 Scale Reliability Test for Quantitative Instrument ... .102

4.4.3 Qualitative Interview Guide ... .103

4.5 Sampling for Survey, In-depth Interviews & Data Collection……….. 105

4.6 Generating Survey Data – Descriptive Statistics……… 108

4.7 Survey Demographical Data………. 114

4.8 Descriptive Statistics of Survey Data………... 120

4.9 Chapter Summary………. 124

CHAPTER FIVE - WEBER’S HOLLOW TREATISE: THE REALITY OF SUBJUGATED

BUREAUCRATS

5.2 The Discourse of Merit Appointees’ level of Autonomy in Ghana... 128

5.3 The effect of

Level of Appointment of Merit Bureaucrats on Autonomy. ...

5.4 Implications of the Discussion on Normative Theory ... 151

5.5 Chapter summary ... 154

CHAPTER SIX - THE PATRONAGE-LOYALTY TREATISE: A MIXED BLESSING

6.2

Give-and-take: The Patronage for Loyalty Romance ...

6.3 The Effect of Type of Bureaucracy on Patronage Appointees Loyalty ... 172

6.4 The Patronage-Loyalty Romance: A blessing or A curse? ... 173

6.4.1 The Blessing ... ……..175

6.4.2 The Curse ... ……..184

6.5 Loyalty to Bureaucrats’ Networks ... 193

CHAPTER SEVEN - POLITICAL RESPONSIVENESS: A FUSION OF ‘CHALK AND

CHEESE’

7.1 Introduction ... 202

7.2 Complementarity and Hybrids: Towards bureaucratic responsiveness ... 203

7.3 The Predominance of Hybrid Appointees in Ghana. ... 210

7.3.1 The Strengths ... 219

7.3.2 The Costs ... 222

7.4 Chapter summary ... 224

CHAPTER EIGHT - CONCLUSIONS

8.2 Contribution to existing literature ... 229

8.3 Policy Implications ... 236

8.4 Suggestions for future research ... 239

REFERENCES ... 244

APPENDICES ... 272

DUTCH SUMMARRY... 281

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DEDICATION

This thesis is especially dedicated to the memory of my late parents, Sheikh Abubakar

Iddris Abdallah (Afa Abu) and Ruhiya Abubakar Ibrahim, for their inspiration. Without them,

there is no way I would have succeeded in my academic pursuits. My late father, affectionately

called Afa Abu, was more than a blessing as he pushed and supported me to pursue higher

education despite a series of challenges. Indeed, he was my pillar. Pursuing a PhD was all he

ever wanted for me, and throughout this journey, his memory and desire to see me acquire a

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study would never have been completed without the guidance, support and

friendship of many delightful scholars and acquaintances. First and foremost, I am most

indebted to my supervisors for their unwavering supervision and guidance towards the

fruitful completion of this thesis. My gratitude goes to prof.dr. Petr Kopecký who was not

only my promoter but also a giant pillar in my sail. His scholarly coaching and direction

have been very influential in this accomplishment. With him, a conducive arena for

interaction was nurtured at both formal and informal levels which immensely contributed

to shaping my direction and ideas for research. His suggestions and comments regarding

my research topic, relevant literature and hypothesis immensely shaped the focus of this

thesis. His astute guidance and responsiveness throughout the process helped me to

overcome anticipated hurdles. I am equally indebted and thankful to dr. Maria Spirova, my

co-promoter, for her immeasurable inputs and the huge academic prowess and experience

she brought on board to complement my main promoter. Her ideas and interventions,

particularly in choosing my research strategy, methods and analysis, helped me to

appropriately design my research instruments and analysis. Her diligence in reviewing my

work and ensuring that I cover as much of the relevant literature as possible was critical to

the successful completion of this research.

I am also grateful to prof.dr. Joop van Holsteijn who made significant inputs in the

designing of my data collection instruments. Similarly, my gratitude goes to dr. Michael

Meffert for his invaluable assessment and input into my methodology and preliminary

results. Furthermore, I thank all concerned for making the Institute of Political Science at

Leiden University an efficient and welcoming place to pursue a PhD. Right from my

enrolment, I have always felt very well supported by the institute. I am especially grateful

to Ingrid van Heeringen-Göbbels, the Institute Manager; Denise Zeeuw-van Veen, the

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welfare and their willingness to offer support and guidance throughout my study. Outside

Leiden University, this research has also benefited considerably from my discussions with

other academics. I am grateful to dr. John Appah, a confidant and a bosom friend who

contributed to the success of this thesis. His candour and encouragement have been a giant

source of inspiration in achieving my objective of obtaining a PhD.

Also, I am grateful to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GetFund) for making it

possible for me to carry out this PhD research through their financial support. Likewise, I

received great support from wonderful friends and field assistants in overcoming the many

challenges encountered during my field research and data collection. I owe sincere thanks

to the team of research assistants who relentlessly visited the ministries in Accra with a

positive spirit to help gather relevant data. Of special mention in this regard is Felix Amoah

of the Forestry Commission of Ghana. I, as well, benefitted from the research assistance

provided by Khiddir Iddris of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. I also thank the civil

servants, political principals and key experts who were willing to share their experiences,

knowledge and viewpoints to accomplish the objectives of the research.

Last but not least, words cannot express how appreciative and thankful I am to my

dear wife (Raihana Shahadu) and my three lovely daughters (Salwa, Islaaha and Maisha)

for their understanding, moral support and endurance especially when this research took

away valuable time I should have spent with them. I appreciate their patience even when it

was not clear where exactly this path would lead. My dear wife supported me through every

step of the way, eased my doubts, and believed in me more than I could ever believe in

myself. She did not only patiently endure my many-months absence during this journey, but

also provided invaluable emotional support throughout. Without her loving support, this

research would have been more difficult to undertake. To all my siblings, friends and family