The Flipside of Governance: An Evaluation of the Authenticity of Public Administration in Liberia

In a nation ‘freed without freedom, led without leaders, governed without governance, and justice is just-them;’ Dr. William Kpanah Gowah Barnes, a distinguished Liberian educator, expert of governance, former executive of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and a victim of injustices, presents an unambiguous analysis of public administration in Liberia, while contemporaneously dissecting governance and government issues. Indeed, when the folks who have been entrusted to administer the affairs of nation or people—administratively, socially, economically and politically—fall short of living in accordance with the standards demanded of others, such system is certain of collapse; the resulting sums are acute corruption, nepotism, kinship, autocratic ideologies, mayhems, etc.; an eon of superficial freedom, where slavery takes an outlandish twist, vices favored by the great-ones will be termed, ‘good governance…’ Named by the Independent Press of Liberia as “Liberia’s first governance book—highly audacious, provocative and historic,” The Flipside of Governance is a non-fiction public administration book that is designed to be used by professionals everywhere. In the words of the notable rights activist, Jesse Jackson, “This book is definitely one of the best resource materials for public administration in West Africa, in the sense that it draws on experiences and, extensively utilizes scholarly references; it is also a book for the rest of us everywhere—academia, politics, leadership, management, public administration, education, law, theology, etc.” However, if you are not curious about what goes on behind the curtain—the darkest closets of public administration, you may not need this book. It goes into detail about obscure things you may never need to know. From the workings of public administration, to public management strategies and theories, to the fallacies of government, governance and the nation, the author has something to offer for those rare, troubling moments when you are caught between the scissors—thinking, reflecting on how to improve your workforce and societies, or making your professional life a bit easier and rewarding. For example, this book will help you create a “people-centered” labor force, minimize delay, circumvent waste, and avoid single point of policy failure. It will also teach you how to let go the bad patterns of governance, while keeping the good ones. Many of the chapters are provided with illustrations and empirical data. It is the fervent hope of the author that the publication of this book will enhance the spread of ideas and understanding of ‘good governance’ in Liberia, Africa, and the world, at large—those who are currently trickling into the state of academic delusion—public officials who may have forgotten the ethics of public service, the author brings forth recommendations and answers you need…