Public sector leadership during the COVID-19 crisis in Ghana
International Journal of Public Leadership
ISSN: 2056-4929
Article publication date: 25 April 2023
Issue publication date: 24 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This article examines public sector leadership during the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana. It focuses on the Bank of Ghana – the nation's central bank responsible for monetary policy and financial sector leadership – and examines the critical leadership attributes that the central bank demonstrated through its administrative and policy responses to the crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
Text-based content analysis is the method of investigation in this study. The analysis relies on textual data from the Bank of Ghana's monetary policy committee press briefings. The textual data are analyzed in three steps, namely pre-analysis, analysis and interpretation to identify patterns, themes and emphases and to make inferences about the central bank's public sector leadership during the coronavirus crisis in Ghana.
Findings
The findings from textual analysis of monetary policy committee press briefings show that the central bank demonstrated several criteria of effective public service leadership during the crisis, namely sensemaking, critical decision-making, communication, accountability, adaptability and, to an extent, learning. However, the textual evidence suggests that the Bank of Ghana needs to broaden its collaboration and coordination across a wider spectrum of stakeholders in economic crisis management, while not compromising its policy independence.
Originality/value
This article contributes to the emerging literature on public sector leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. It provides a unique perspective on public sector leadership through the lens of economic crisis management in a developing country context.
Keywords
Citation
Dzigbede, K.D. and Ivanov, A.M. (2023), "Public sector leadership during the COVID-19 crisis in Ghana", International Journal of Public Leadership, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPL-05-2022-0028
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited