KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, IDL

ACCRA CAMPUS

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL STUDIES

PA 553: PUBLIC POLICY

ASSIGNMENT ONE

QUESTION: A REVIEW OF ‘SAINTS, WIZARDS, DEMONS AND SYSTEMS:

EXPLAINING THE SUCCESS AND FAILURES OF PUBLIC POLICIES AND

PROGRAMMES’.BY JOSEPH R.A. AYEE

NAME: MARFO GEORGE

INDEX NUMBER: PG445160 REG NO: 20775070

ANSWER

INTRODUCTION

This is an undertaking to survey the academic exercise introduced in the book ''Saint, Wizards,

Demons, and Systems: Explaining the Success and Failures of Public Policies Programs' created

by Joseph R. A. Aryee, a Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science at the

University of Ghana, Legon. The book was distributed by the Ghana Universities Press and

Reprinted in 2005. Prof Aryee addressed on his book at the Amegashie Auditorium, School of

Administration, on Thursday, May 4, 2000. This survey takes a gander at the book's five (5)

interconnected headings which give a complete information on the success and failures of public

policies a in Ghana. A review of the idea of Public Policy is (for example negative and beneficial

outcomes) and how programs and policies identify with one another is finished. The utilization
of language in the report is likewise evaluated (regarding current use and understandability). An

end is drawn that the book is elegantly composed and significant on the grounds that it gives a

top to bottom review that decides how open policy come up short or succeed. Proposals is

introduced to improve the book in future edition.

SUMMARY OF BOOK

The book entails or advices us to identify saints (subordinate staff who are interest and willing

to make the policy. Policies intends to fail when saints are no longer in office. Prof Aryee's

brought his book into the accompanying headings; presentation; characterized public approach

and projects which tends to the complete rules for strategy and projects triumphs and

disappointments; recognizes and examines the entertainers and variables that add to the success

and failures of strategy and program; and moves to be made to improve the accomplishment of

public arrangement and projects. Fundamentally, this was to analyze why arrangements and

projects flop and how they can succeed. He implies that identifying demons is critical and its

best done by the saints. Saints have power to manage demons by isolating them if they are

harmless. Policies can be sustained by insulating from tampering by successor government.

In his book, he summed up the meaning of terms (Public Policy and Program) from different

researchers like Thomas Dye (1998), James Anderson (1997), Lester and Stewart Jnr (2000), and

Grindle (19980) on how open policy and program fall flat and in endeavoring to devise

approaches and projects that will be fruitful in Ghana concerning other African nations. He

additionally addressed the connection among arrangements and programs and showed the rules

(Effectiveness, Efficiency, ampleness, value, Responsiveness, and Appropriateness) in

estimating the success and failures of a policy or strategy. Policy can be successful when the

relationship between senior and junior staff are close and fail because of lack of management.
Under the third heading of his book, he characterized policy success and failures on Key sub-

subjects, He expressed that Public Policy and Programs can be decided from their plan or how

they are detailed and shown two bases (suitable strategies which incorporates qualities,

philosophy and partisanship and agreement, arrangement, and discussion). Saints requires much

support from wizards to make policy succeed. It further stated that wizards are undesirable

elements and must be exterminated.

In his book, He plainly gives a reasonable comprehension of the authority styles of these actors

in the public establishments the nation over. Policy analyst participation is uneven and often low.

Wizards’ degree of information is relatively decisive factor in determination of priorities. He

expressed that the saint’s people are not many, demons are many, the wizards are improper, the

framework is intricate, and associations are feeble. Which implies effective program are

uncommon on the grounds that it is abnormal to have reformist and submitted lawmakers and

administrators (holy people) who are upheld by suitable analyst; and accessible and dependable

data (wizards) that oversee hostile and apathetic gatherings (demons) and subsequently protect

the approach climate from the thoughts of execution (frameworks).Prof. Aryee concluded that,

bureaucracy undermines the success of Public Policies and programmes in Ghana and other

African Countries. Demons has to be managed and neutralized for policy to succeed. System

includes the various stakeholders, institution and individuals that influence the policy

implementation process. He suggested that a good governance approach is very important for

public policies and programmes successes and specifically the role of government and its

partners (informal actors) as a whole.

STRENGTH
• The subject of his book is unique, and no writing is showing comparable research.

• Though some authors have deals with the branch of knowledge they explicitly use words

tantamount to 'debasement' demonstrating a questionable term. He gives more information and

determines what discloses policy fizzle and furthermore fruitful.

• The research is elegantly composed and all around referred to. A large portion of the sub-

points were expounded and ordered to make it clear and significantly decide the extensity of

public policy and success and failures.

WEAKNESSES

 Those benefitting from the policy see it as a success or those who do not benefit see it as

a failure.

 Little information on a portion of the sub-points to the comprehension of present day

peruses. He broadly didn't talk about policy plan, implementation, and sustainability.

 It focused only on Ghana (other African countries)

 It centers on Political and Societal context only.

 Disagreement with the decision: Conclusion is somewhat intricate. It's not energetic

anyway many distributed articles were referred to but rather were requesting to peruse to

get an inside and out comprehension of it. Although they tended to the point presented

yet the language got hazy as it closes.

RECOMMENDATION

 Develop policies consciously for all parties to benefit.

versatile. The models given were very old and in this manner the need to utilize ongoing

research in his book.

 It should have wider scope for better comparison.

 Some terms or words utilized in the book might have been improved for lucidity and

comprehension.

 Populace should be resource and not problem.

 Mitigation policy ought to be started regarding public strategy execution failures.

Although there might be approaches introduced in the book as far as its failures.

 It should cover more updated and current time frame and broader areas.

CONCLUSION

The book is extremely astute that pinpoints the actors who establish the success and success of

public policies. government organization especially the public managers who define and execute

strategies will profit by this book since it guides them into what makes them great pioneers and

how they can function impartially and add to the public policy by the government. Policy success

can be assured through the combination of committed politician and bureaucrats(saints), through

appropriate policy analyst with available and reliable information(wizard), through the

management of hostile and apathetic groups(demons), by insulation of the policy environment

from vagaries of implementation(system), policy success is dependent on good governance

approach which center’s around people participation in politics, government, private sector and

organization of civil society, understand the actors involved in the policy making process (saints,

wizards, system and demons) and lastly its difficult to separate politics from policy.