Most developing countries face challenges of policy implementation.

In Zambia, question revolve around on how best the country can develop and deliver development efforts. The policies do exist but the issue of implementation remains the major problem. This has in a number of ways deterred and slowed down the development efforts of Zambia as an emerging nation. It is therefore against this bac drop that the research intends to defines public policy and explains the correlation between good policies and national development. !ccording to "ar i and #imiebi $%&''(, policy implementation is a sub part and a stage of the general public policy process. )ence for a meaningful understanding of this concept to be achieved, a basic nowledge of the term policy or public "olicy is required. In this regard, attempt will be made towards the explanation of the concept. *urprisingly, as stated by +ayne $%&&,(, a generally accepted definition of public policy has been elusive. !ccording to him, this is because authors tend to define it from varying perspectives and in most cases, they tend to define it from both their individualistic, national, environmental and other varying bac grounds. )owever, one of the widely quoted but simple definitions of public policy is that given by -ye $',./0 '(, where he defined public policy as what government chooses to do or not to do. )e went further to explain that government does many things1 they regulate conflict within society, they organise society to carry on conflict with other societies, and they distribute great varieties of symbolic rewards and material services to members of the society and extracts money from the society, most at times in the form of taxes. Thus, policies may regulate behaviour, organi2e bureaucrats, distributes benefits, and extracts taxes or all of these at once. 3ne crucial point to be noted from this conceptualisation as analysed by "a i and #imiebi $%&''04( is the concept of 5non decision6. The reason is that, a decision by government to ignore a problem is in a sense a public policy because it tends to favour the perpetuation of the status quo. *econdly, there may be divergence between what government decides to do and what it actually does. )owever, according to the Institute for the *tudy of "ublic "olicy Implementation, !merican 7niversity, +ashington -.8 $%&'%(, public policy is the result of congressional legislation, presidential executive orders, and actions ta en to solve some public problems or issues. !t its
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basic understanding, "ublic policy is a course of action adopted and pursued by government, party, ruler, statesmen, etc1 any course of action adopted as advantageous or expedient $3xford 9nglish -ictionary(. !nother definition provided by !nderson $',,,( a policy may usefully be considered as a course of action or inaction rather than a specific decisions or action. Thomas $',,%04( defined public policy as whatever government chooses to do or not to do. :overnment does many things. They regulate conflict within society1 they organi2e society to carry on conflicts with another society. They distribute a great variety of symbolic rewards and materials services to members of the society and extract money from the society through taxation. In any society, governmental entities enact laws, ma e policies, and allocate resources. This is true at all levels. "ublic policy can be generally defined as a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives. Individuals and groups often attempt to shape public policy through education, advocacy, or mobili2ation of interest groups. *haping public policy is obviously different in +estern;style democracies than in other forms of government. <ut it is reasonable to assume that the process always involves efforts by competing interest groups to influence policy ma ers in their favor. ! major aspect of public policy is law. In a general sense, the law includes specific legislation and more broadly defined provisions of constitutional or international law. There are many ways that the law can influence how survivors of violence against women are treated and the types of services they receive. =i ewise, legislation identifies areas in which research grants can be funded and often determines the amount of funding allocated. Thus, it is not surprising that public policy debates occur over proposed legislation and funding. In this context, advocacy can be defined as attempting to influence public policy through education, lobbying, or political pressure. !dvocacy groups often attempt to educate the general public as well as public policy ma ers about the nature of problems, what legislation is needed to address problems, and the funding required to provide services or conduct research. !lthough
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advocacy is viewed as unseemly by some in the professional and research community, it is clear that public policy priorities are influenced by advocacy. *ound research data can be used to educate the public as well as policy ma ers, thereby improving the public policy process. >ational development is often referred to as the ability of a nation state to improve the social welfare, technology and economic status of its citi2ens. This is mostly achieved by the provision of the basic and necessary social and technological infrastructures li e quality education, portable water, and efficient transport system, sound Medicare etc. and is measured by the quality of the above factors and their ability to solve the exiting needs and problems of the society. 3 olie $%&&?(. In line with the above, good public policy refers to plans of action that are result oriented. @ormulating policies is not enough for it to qualify to be a good policy. ! good public policy is one that is formulated and is implemented. )owever, while there are different policies and plans underta en by a nation in its efforts towards actuali2ing its developmental goals, the most important factor in these processes of development as stated by Tolu A 3luwatoyin $%&''(, is the implementation of policies. "olicy implementation is the process whereby actions are ta en to execute some specific plans in order to accomplish some objectives, produce some results that will fulfill some targets and consequently solve some problems. Theodoulou and #ofinis $%&&?(. It is the stage in the policy process whereby policy actions occur to address recogni2ed national problems or needs. !t this stage, the design of policy proposal is put into effect and executed by respective government agencies. *elected instruments are applied reflective of the legislative mandate. <ureaucratic interpretation is carried out and the specific targeted populations experience the tangible effect of policy implemented leading to national development. +ayne ). $%&&,(. +hat this suggests is that without policy implementation, problems and needs will not be solved and the objectives for which policies are initiated will not be reali2ed, meaning that no development can occur. This is because implementation stage of the policy process is the operational stage where the original goals of the policy are actually translated into concrete actions and results. Tolu A 3luwatoyin $%&''(.
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)ence, the above analysis has brought to the fore, the unique and immeasurable importance of policy implementation as a vital tool and prerequisite to national development. This is why it is stated that no matter how sound a policy might be, if not adequately implemented, that policy will never yield desired result and the public needs and problems intended to solve will remain unresolved meaning that no development will ta e place. This has been responsible for the low or high level of development experience in different nations today. @or while some countries initiate and implement their developmental policies, others initiate but do not implement them. @or instance, while it is stated that ,& percent of the policies made in the developed world, e.g. Bapan, are fully implemented, in contrast, about ,& percent of the policies made in the developing world, e.g. Zambia, are not fully implemented. Tolu A 3luwatoyin $%&''(. This is mainly due to inadequate finance, lac of continuity due to changes in politics, poor policy evaluation, lac of involvement of the local people, negative >ational development is often referred to as the ability of a nation state to improve the social welfare, technology and economic status of its citi2ens. This is mostly achieved by the provision of the basic and necessary social and technological infrastructures li e quality education, portable water, efficient transport system, sound Medicare etc. and is measured by the quality of the above factors and their ability to solve the exiting needs and problems of the society. 3 olie $%&&?(. :ood policies are important in management primarily because they delimit an area in which decisions is to be made. This in itself assures that the decision that is made is consistent with the objectives of the nation and will also contribute to these objectives. This is the same as saying that policies are needed because they assure that decisions that are made by government do not depart from the much desired objectives of the nation, as if parameters of which the decisions have to be made are already pre ; decided by the government policy. #oont2 $',C&( asserts that, 5since policies pre- decide issues, they avoid repeated analysis and give a unified structure to other types of plans .6 This permits government to delegate authority while maintaining control. This situation where there is already a policy that specifies how to go about handling such issues. <y simply refereeing to government policies they can decide on such issues quic ly.
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@or example in Zambia, there are many public policies, which include, >ational -ecentrali2ation "olicy, =and policy, road safety policy, eep Zambia and )ealth 8ampaign. "ublic order !ct and so forth In case of #eep Zambia and )ealth 8ampaign, it was formulated to enable local councils to maintain out towns clean and free from street vending. )owever, this policy has turned as a white elephant in that it has been politically debated and raised a lot of acrimony in Zambia. If the state remove the street vendors who dirtying the streets, the government fears to lose voters. *o now the government has just forgotten about the policy objective. The other good example is the issue of subsidies on fuel and mai2e, where the government is expected to raise a lot of money that can be channeled to national development and uplift the standards of living especially to the poor. If this policy is well implemented the government can achieve national development, through building of schools, hospitals and construction of new roads and other infrastructures. It is therefore a ey function of policies to give a unified direction to plans. In other words, policies influence where government is trying to go, for those standing alone they do not assure that the government will get there. They have to be supported by other types of plans such as strategies and programs. In conclusion, public policy demarcates an area in which a decision is made by assuring that the decisions will be consisted with the objectives of the government. @or any development to ta e place government need to formulate policies that well sounding and stic to the policies to achieve national development, without good public policies no government can develop, hence these policies are very important because they bring about national development.

References !nderson ,B $',,'(.Public policy Making, an introduction. <oston0+est view press. -ye, Thomas. $',.%(. Understanding Public Policy . 9nglewood 8liffs, >ew 9dition, >ew Dor 0 )olt, Einehart and +inston.9dward 9lgar, pp. C/;'&/.

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3 oli, @. 8. $%&&4(.Administrative Theories and National Development A Discourse on Relevance and !omments on the Nigerian "ociety. 9nugu0 Ingenious 8reation *ervices =td "a i !. 9. and #imiebi I. 9. $%&''(. Public Policy in Nigeria An #mplementation Parado$. Bournal of *ocial *cience and "ublic "olicy, Folume 4, March %&''. 8enresin "ublications. #oont2 ). $',C&(. Management% >ew Dor 0 Mc:raw )ill. "a i !. 9. and #imiebi I. 9. $%&''(. "ublic Policy in Nigeria An #mplementation Parado$% Bournal of *ocial *cience and "ublic "olicy, Folume 4, March %&''. 8enresin "ublications. Theodoulou and #ofinis, $%&&?(. Public Policy&Making #mplementation, 'valuation, !hange and Termination% The "ennsylvania *tate 7niversity.https0GGcourses.worldcampus.psu.eduGwelcomeGplsc?,&Gindex.html Tolu A 3luwatoyin $%&''(.National Development in Nigeria >ovember %&'', httpGGwww.academicjournals.orgGjpapr. +aren B. M. $%&''(. (ater pollution policy implementation in china and )apan lessons and challenges. =ondon0"rentice )all. #ssues, !hallenges and

Prospects% Bournal of "ublic !dministration and "olicy Eesearch. Fol 4$,( "" %4';%?'.

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