A model of saints, wizards and demons: The dynamics of public policy implementation

Sustainable socio-economic development cannot be possible without effective implementation of public policies. Public policy implementation in Africa has been largely ineffective as a consequence of multifactorial factors. This theoretical paper undertook a quick overview of some policy implementation works. The paper identified a complex web of actors involved in the policy making environment and implementation process, and draws significant insight from the theoretical perspective from studies on the saints, wizards, demons and systems. A model of Saints, Wizards and Demons is proposed to analyse the contribution of policy implementation actors (i.e. saints, wizards and demons) in the policy implementation process. This paper suggests that policy implementation could be improved if the key actors involved in the policy implementation process are identified within their appropriate ‘implementation functional’ groups. This model is simplified one which seeks to throw more light on the saints, wizards and demons as the key implementation actors who determine the rate of success or failure of policy implementation.