Conference Paper ยท June 008 citations reads 94,375 author
Official policy formulators
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| Official policy formulators Despite pressure groups putting force in the policy formulation process, they are not official policy formulators. Official policy formulators are those officials who have the legal authority to formulate policies. These officials include 1. Legislatures - these are the supreme policy making bodies of organisations especially in government. For example, the legislature in a government system would be the National Assembly/Parliament. Similarly, other organisations such as political parties and business companies also have bodies of similar standing, that is, the supreme policy making organs. These include national conventions and board of directors, respectively. 2. The Executive - this is the organ of an organisation that is responsible for implementing policies. For example, in a government system, this organ is usually 5 headed by the president and comprises several government ministries and departments. This organ participates in policy formulation because the legislature tends to delegate a substantial amount of policy formulation authority to the president. Similarly, other organisations like political parties tend to have organs that are in charge of implementing policies and would have delegated authority to make policies in certain areas. For example, the executive would be given power to make decisions and administrative appointments that would facilitate effective implementation of policies. 3. The Judiciary - apart from enforcing the law, the judiciary in a democratic state plays a key role in policy formulation. The courts, especially the Supreme Court plays this role through judicial review of laws. Judicial review refers to the power of the judicial courts to determine the constitutionality of actions of the legislature and executive and declare them null and void if such actions do not conform to the constitutional provisions In this regard, when a judge interprets the meaning of legislative provisions then his/her interpretation becomes the policy for the issue being contested (Sapru, 1998: 78). |