Abstract
Public policy scholars have warned that the conventional public policy (CPP) framework is not effective enough to address the post-pandemic problems as it has blatantly failed the litmus test of time. The CPP framework has been criticised on various grounds and blamed for the problems of unsustainability and overarching poverty that plague humanity. The objective of this chapter is to explain a quadric public policy framework (PPI) that has recently been proposed as an efficient alternative public policy framework. The explanation is limited to only one out of the four components of the framework, called the Maqasid al-Shariah component, also known as public interest theory. The findings show that the PPI framework can link policymakers from different sectors and provide a platform for a whole-of-government approach to achieving the SDGs, especially poverty alleviation and eradication.
TopIntroduction
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a set of 17 interconnected and interdependent goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015, to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. According to Sachs, et al. (2019), these goals focus on time-bound targets for the five Ps: prosperity, people, planet, peace, and partnership. A closer look at the Sustainable Development Goals reveals that most of the goals are social security parameters that are condiciones sine quibus non in the public policy of any country. Although governments, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs) and relevant humanitarian agencies have recognized social security as a fundamental human right, countries around the world still face challenges in designing effective policies that guarantee the social security for their citizens. This is evident in the recent report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) for the period 2020-2022, which laments that about 4.1 billion people around the world are still wholly unprotected by any form of social security (Batchabi, 2022). Unfortunately, the Coronavirus outbreak in late year 2019 aggravated and exacerbated the hitherto reeling social security measures and posed more daunting challenges to policymakers. According to the World Bank Group development report, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the most encompassing economic crisis in almost a century, poverty rates have soared, public debt has reached unprecedented levels, and inequality has widened both across and within countries. The socio-economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report continues, has been rated to be more devastating than the two world wars, the Great Depression of the 1930s, the emerging economy debt crises of the 1980s, and the 2007–09 global financial crisis (World Bank, 2022). Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the actualization of SDGs more challenging, and the pressing need for a ‘saviour policy’ can never be overemphasized.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Diminshing Musharakah: Is a form of Musharakah partnership that occurs when Mudarabh and Musharakah are combined. It is done by dividing the share of the financier of joint venture into a number of units, and the other partner (s) will purchase the units of the share of the financier periodically according to the agreement, thus increasing his (their) own share till all the units of the financier are purchased by him (them) and become the sole owner of the joint venture.
Musharakah: Is a kind of partnership in business in which both investment and management of the joint venture come from all the partners. They share profits based on agreed upon percentages/ratio. There are situations where a manager may also invest some of his money into the business in a Mudarabah joint venture. In such a case, Musharakah and Mudarabah are combined.
Bayi’ Salam: Is a form of forward contract whereby the price of an Agric/farm product is paid upfront at the time of the contract for the product to be delivered later, with the objective of helping farmer’s business activities and in exchange for a lower price.
Murabahah: Is where an asset/product is delivered immediately for the price to be paid on deferred basis based on agreed profit ratio.
Epistemology: Is a branch of philosophy that investigates knowledge creation and justification. It is about how we justify that a particular information is knowledge and true. In policy making parlance, epistemology refers to the set of beliefs espoused by policymakers regarding the nature of a valid and reliable policy, sources of policy, etc.
Mudarabah: Is a kind of partnership in business where one partner gives money to another for investing it in a commercial enterprise. The investment comes from one partner and the expertise and management come from the other partner. They share profits based on agreed upon percentages/ratio.
Surah: It literarily refers to a chapter in the holy Qur’an, the Holy book of Islam. There are 114 chapters in the Qur’an, and each chapter contains verses, the minimum number of verses that could be found in a Surah is three (3) verses and the maximum number of verses is 286 verses.