The African continent is facing a number of administrative crises. The recent decline of public administration on the continent has forced some African countries to re-assess their governance systems. Their public service reforms are evidence of the emergence of New Public Management (NPM) for improved public sector administrative structures and operations. This article discusses the paradigm shifts from New Public Administration to New Public Management, as a means of meeting public administration challenges in Africa. At a contextual level, the paper examines the practical implementation by some African countries of NPM and the outcomes of NPM-led reform in these countries.Keywords: Public Administration (PA); New Public Administration (NPA); New Public Management (NPM); Public Value Management (PVM); paradigm; paradigm shift; public service reforms; governanceDisciplines: Public Management; Political Science; Sociology; Economics

Background: There are various factors that affect the effective implementation of gender equality in South Africa. Some of the factors include digital divide, economic empowerment, gender relations, gender-based violence, poverty, women's access to political power, and women's mobility in the workplace. Aim:The feminist movements resulted in the notion of transformation that demands that gender-based aspects need integration in all government policies, programmes and projects. This approach is called the gender mainstreaming approach (GMA). This article within the theoretical framework of GMA examines the factors that hamper the implementation of the gender equality (focus) within the South African Public Service (locus). Setting:The research is descriptive in nature that played an important role in developing an in-depth account of gender inequalities in the public service.Methods: A qualitative, descriptive research method was employed. This article, which is theoretical in nature, drew its arguments from secondary data, which included books, journal articles, newspaper clippings, Internet sources and official documents. Results:The article argues that the consideration of women in lower management levels affects their career in the long term as the succession from entry-level positions to higher management positions requires a considerable time frame and is often delayed. Conclusion:The article recommends that all South African Public Service departments need to submit a gender mainstreaming report annually to the Department of Public Service and Administration for assessment to identify gaps in the implementation of gender equality within the public service.

The article explores the interface between good governance and sustainable development by focusing specifically on the role of governments in the global sustainable development agenda. With this context in mind, the purpose of this article is to highlight the role that governments should play in sustainable development in terms of the notions of 'good' governance as a prerequisite for a specific country's ability and capacity to successfully plan and execute development initiatives, to participate in the global economy and to adhere to the imperatives that emanate from international treaties and conventions regarding sustainable development. The article adopted a qualitative observational approach by comparing, contrasting, critically analysing and synthesising relevant documentary and literature sources in terms of recent data, statistics and knowledge pertaining to a historical and regulatory overview directing good governance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the variables influencing global and African governments in pursuit of these goals. To eliminate bias and promote conceptual and contextual analysis, the research method also included specific unobtrusive research techniques, such as concept analysis, historical analysis and documentary analysis. The study found that the reforms pushed by the World Bank are not prioritised and that recipient countries, which are forced to implement them, are not given an idea of how long it would take to carry them out. As a result, recipient countries undertake a multitude of governance reforms at the same time, which are differentially supported by a Cite (APA)

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The article examines the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). This link is conceptually and contextually analyzed in the global context whereby scholarly opinions and research works are discussed to substantiate the role that ICT can play in achieving SDGs. The article further examines the link in South Africa, using the country as a locus of the study. The article aims to find answers to the following research questions: How is ICT linked to all 17 SDGs? To what extent this link may accelerate SDGs’ implementation? What is the impact of ICT on accelerating SDGs? What are the challenges hampering the efficient utilization of ICT for SDGs’ implementation? The article uses a qualitative approach with desktop analysis to draw significant information. In addition, unobtrusive methods were applied, such as conceptual analysis and document analysis, to draw conclusions based on the findings. The findings confirm that despite ICT policies and infrastructure, the use and impact of ICT on SDGs is not always high. The article suggests that improvements are required at policy, institutional, department and individual levels. The suggestions can be applicable globally, based on the technological advancement and socio-economic development in country-specific contexts.