The guardians of Governance: Unveiling the indispensable roles of public administration in modern societies

The great Philosopher Confucius (551-479BC) discovered that “without learning, the wise become foolish, by learning, the foolish become wise”. Learning has made it conspicuous that public administration is the backbone of our societies. Without it, there will be chaos; the environment we are living in becomes unbearable. Due to public administration, we are governed from the tomb to the womb. Public administration has various roles in the contemporary society but to be explored are the crucial roles which include the instrument of social change and economic development, for executing the laws, policies and programmes formulated by the state, national integration stabilising force in the society as it provides continuity and it is the basis of government whether in monarchy or in democracy or in communist country. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, this article demonstrates the indispensable nature of public administration in promoting effective governance and improving the well-being of citizens.