A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MONETIZATION POLICY AND ITS EFFECT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF STAFF IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL SERVICE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Civil service serves as the backbone of state and government operations, playing a pivotal role in policymaking, fiscal management (including revenue generation and budgeting), and facilitating access to public goods and services. Its significance lies in the ability to plan, coordinate, and execute policies and programs aimed at enhancing the well-being of citizens and achieving sustainable national development. Thus, a competent, motivated, and effective civil service characterized by professional standards is imperative for ensuring good governance (Schiavo-Campo & Sundaram 2021). In addition, the quality of life within a nation is heavily influenced by the performance of its government employees (civil servants) and the manner in which they carry out their duties. Besley and Persson (2020) emphasize how important it is for government agencies to run efficiently in order to combat poverty, inequality, and promote economic expansion. Aaron (2019) highlights that the standard of a nation's civil service is frequently reflected in the quality of its infrastructure. As a result, one common way to evaluate the performance of civil service employees is to look at the ramifications of intended impact of monetization as a public policy reform and how well they produce public outcomes (Schacter, 2019). 

Over the years, successive Nigerian administrations have undertaken reforms aimed at bolstering the capacity of the civil service to effectively deliver public services. These reforms aimed to address identified deficiencies within the Nigerian civil service, including excessive bureaucracy leading to service delays, rampant corruption, and low productivity. Various commissions and panels have been instituted to drive these reforms, dating back to the Hunt Commission of 1934 and continuing through initiatives such as the Bridges Committee of 1941, the Davis Commission of 1945, the Harragin Commission of 1946, the Gorsuch Commission of 1954, and the Mbanefo Commission of 1959 (Adebayo 2019). Among the more recent reforms is the monetization policy, which aimed to combat corruption, curb wastage of government resources, eliminate service delivery delays, address stagnation in senior civil service positions, and reduce personnel costs. In order to achieve these objectives, the government introduced the Monetisation Policy. The Nigerian monetization policy was created to guarantee the conversion of fringe benefits, which are provided to civil servants as part of their compensation packages and conditions of service into cash. For example, the policy prohibited chauffeur-driven vehicles, the use of public utilities like the phone and electricity for private purposes, the provision of furnished official housing, unapproved travel at taxpayer expense, and unequal resource distribution (Ajayi, 2019). Beyond that, a good concept to reduce government spending is monetization policy, which has been implemented in several European nations. Its policy covers not just employees’ compensation but also business, development initiatives, agriculture, climate change, and other government activities. When monetization is used properly, its policies work and the public gains from them. 

In recent times, there have been many criticisms against the Nigerian civil service. Much of the criticism against the Nigerian civil service is largely because of its failure to discharge its statutory mandates and because of the high rate of bureaucratic corruption prevalent in the service. Similarly, the inability of the civil service to respond to public demands through demonstrable results, such as good healthcare system, quality public schools system, good sanitation system, proper supervision of government contracts and full implementation of annual budgets, has made public criticism so terse. However, enhancing the quality of remuneration packages for Nigerian civil servants is widely recognized as a key solution to addressing these challenges (Arema, 2019). As a result, a significant portion of organizations are concentrating on ways to enhance benefit packages for employees as a means of fostering a more favorable work environment and raising employee performance. Additionally, it is the duty of employers to promote high employee performance by offering suitable motivational policies that will strengthen a positive work environment, boost output, and promote harmony among employees.Therefore, a survey will be conducted to critically investigate on the implementation of monetization policy and its effect on the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The primary aims of the implementation of monetisation policy are to tackle the escalating governance expenses, curb the misuse of government resources, boost employee morale, enhance performance, and alleviate the dependency culture among civil servants (Jason, 2019). Additionally, it aimed to prepare civil servants for life after retirement by enabling them to acquire official houses and vehicles. While it achieved some success in this aspect, it also brought about challenges. According to Fayomi (2018), the policy's implementation caused inflation, diminishing the purchasing power and living standards of civil servants within Nigerian ministries. Moreover, it instigated a negative work ethos within the civil service due to disparities in the monetisation benefits received by civil servants compared to those in other government agencies (Fayomi, 2018). Furthermore, the policy led to the redundancy of certain staff categories like drivers as numerous government vehicles were sold off. Despite the fact that the monetization program raised civil servants' compensation and created a new wage structure, their pay is still far less than that of the private sector (Nwanolue & Iwuoha, 2020). Within the Nigeerian public sector, civil servants' salaries are the lowest, potentially fostering feelings of being undervalued and discontent, which could contribute to corruption and poor performance. It is in the light of these that the study seeks to critically investigate on the implementation of monetization policy and its effect on the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to critically investigate on the implementation of monetization policy and its effect on the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service. Specifically, the study will;

Find out the extent monetization policy is established in the Nigerian civil service.

Find out whether monetization provisions are adequately made available to all categories of workers in the Nigerian civil service.

Find out the extent monetization provisions influences the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

Find out the various ways monetization policy influences performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

To what extent is the monetization policy established in the Nigerian civil service?

Are monetization provisions adequately provided to all categories of workers in the Nigerian civil service?

To what extent does monetization provisions influence the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service?

What are ways monetization policy influence the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

Ho: There is no significant relationship between the implementation of the monetization policy and the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

Ha: There is a significant relationship between the implementation of the monetization policy and the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study will provide the government an insight on how to properly understand monetization and choose the best implementation strategy to provide the most monetization policy possible for all Nigerians, not just public sector employees. The results will show that the costs associated with meeting the socioeconomic demands of civil officials are not at all comparable to the benefits of monetization. Furthermore, it will ginger civil servants to put in their best performance with high morale.Additionally, other students who may decide to conduct studies in this area will have the opportunity to use this study as available literature that can be subjected to critical review. Invariably, the result of the study contributes immensely to the body of academic knowledge with regard to the implementation of monetization policy and its effect on the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

1.7 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is boarded on the implementation of monetization policy and its effect on the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service. Empirically, this study will find out the extent monetization policy is established in the Nigerian civil service, find out whether monetization provisions are adequately made available to all categories of workers in the Nigerian civil service, the extent monetization provisions influences the performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service and the various ways monetization policy influences performance of staff in the Nigerian civil service.

Geographically, the study will be delimited to staff in the Nigerian civil service, Kaduna state, Nigeria. 

1.8 Limitation of the study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. 

More so, the findings of this study are limited to the sample population in the study area, hence they may not be suitable for use in comparison to other schools, local governments, states, and other countries in the world.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Monetization: is the process of converting non-monetary benefits, such as healthcare plans, housing allowances, or transportation subsidies, into cash equivalents.

Performance: is the level of individual’s achievement that comes only after effort has been exerted. It depends not only on the amount of effort exerted, but also on the individual’s abilities and role perceptions (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2019). 

Policy: A plan of action agreed or chosen by a political party, a business, etc. (Hornby, 2018)

Civil service: refers to the body of employees working for government agencies and departments, excluding military personnel and elected officials.

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