Implementation of Open Performance Review and Appraisal System (OPRAS) in mainland Tanzania: a study of selected Government Ministries.

This study explored the implementation of OPRAS and how different factors explain the degree of variation in implementation across four ministries namely Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA), Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MHSW), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) and Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID). A cross-sectional comparative study was undertaken across ministries. Both purposive and random sampling techniques were employed. Data were collected from interviews, questionnaires and documentary search. Findings from both primary and secondary data revealed that, although there had been significant progress made by Government ministries in implementing the new system of assessing performance of Public Servants, there were remarkable variations in performance across ministries. The extent to which the implementation of OPRAS has been successful is greatly influenced by the strong presence or absence of intra-organizational communication, the capacity of the implementing ministries and the disposition or self-belief of the implementers. Hence, ineffective intra-organizational communication, capability problems and dispositional conflicts were cited as the major factors that contributed to the poor performance in implementing OPRAS. Furthermore, the ambitions of PSRP II, as outlined in the reform document, are likely to be achieved if some key issues are addressed. These issues are communication within the implementing ministries, training, and ownership by implementers, linking performance with a reward system and strengthening institutional accountability tools that would eventually effect individual accountability as well as strengthen feedback mechanisms while ensuring that all sceptics are kept on board.