The Development of the Civil Service in Africa

Abstract

All over the world, the civil service has evolved as the stronghold of the government. While the concept of the civil service is a global phenomenon, its evolution in Africa predated the colonial period. African kingdoms and empires operated on monarchical systems and there were political institutions as well as a ring of officials who provided a variety of governmental services on behalf of the ruler. African rulers surrounded themselves with capable people who formed the core of the precolonial civil service. This chapter examines the emergence and growth of the civil service in Africa. It will discuss how the centralized political system favored the argument that Africans had the concept of the civil service before the Europeans imposed a Western form of governmental system. Even where centralized systems did not exist, Africans evolved institutions that served in place of the civil service. In examining the globalization of the civil service, this chapter will explain how Africans adapted to political changes and positioned themselves in the civil service system introduced by the Europeans. It will also analyze the status of the civil service in contemporary Africa.