I. Introduction
The
crisis of governance in general, and of civil service delivery in particular,
had become glaring by the end of the 1980’s in most countries in the Africa
region. Structural Adjustment Programs which were foisted on the populace only
helped in deepening the crisis: various support nets were destroyed through
such measures as staff reductions and removal of subsidies; yet, service
delivery was not improved. Realising, this and determined to benefit from
ideas of other states in addressing urgent matters confronting their services,
African Ministers met in Tangier in June, 1994. The objective was to underline
the centrality of the civil service in bringing about socio-economic
development. Human resource development was taken as the main focus of that
discussion. In the Tangier Declaration, issued at the end of
their deliberations, the Ministers, among other things, decided to
institutionalise the Biennial Pan African Conference of Ministers of Civil
service and to set aside the 23rd of June as Africa Day of Civil Service and
Administration. This first conference was hosted by the
Kingdom of Morocco and jointly organised by the United Nations Department of
Development Support and Management Services (UN/DDSMS) and CAFRAD. It brought
together delegations from thirty four African countries and 13 regional and
international organisations.
The Second Conference took
place in December 1998 in Rabat, Morocco.
It took the bull by the horns, focusing on professionalism and ethics in the
African public service. With active participation of 34 African, and 7
non-African countries and 16 regional and international delegations, the
conference carefully examined the theme at both plenary and group sessions. It
issued a comprehensive Rabat Declaration. The Declaration
further underlined the commitment of Ministers to enthrone ethics and
professionalism in their civil services. It also took the decision to
elaborate a Charter for the Public Service in Africa, with backing from
UNDESA and CAFRAD. Furthermore, CAFRAD and UNDESA, the Secretary General of
the U.N. and the Chairman of the 2nd Pan African Conference were to undertake
a number of tasks in furtherance of the work of the Ministers. As with the
previous conference, this conference was also realised through the hosting of
the Kingdom of Morocco, jointly organised by CAFRAD and UNDESA. The latter
also provided partial funding and technical assistance for the activity.
II. The Third Conference
of Ministers of Civil Service
Preparations, several
important decisions and recommendations were made in the Rabat
Declaration, the most urgent of which was the drafting of a Charter
for discussion and possible adoption at the third conference. The Chairman of
the Second Conference steered this work. First, Ministers with responsibility
for the Civil Service from: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chad Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon,
Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa,
Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe, worked closely with technical teams
from UN, CAFRAD and other African institutions, to support the process. UNDESA
also provided financial assistance to the process. Within two years several
technical and ministerial meetings were conducted, and a draft was made
available for comments by African governments. Southern Africa states
presented a harmonised sub-regional view to the meeting.
The selection of the
conference was organized in consultation with the Chairman of the 2nd
Conference, the Host of the 3rd Conference, UNDESA and CAFRAD ( as the
Secretariat). However, it needs to be stated that the very committed presence
of the Prime Minister, Mr. Hage G. Geingob, in the work of the African
Ministers (who was among those who drafted the Charter) gave a further boost
to both the substantive as well as the organisational work of the conference.
The Host Government ensured
a hitch-free enjoyable, yet serious conference. Participants were provided
vehicles at all times, and the cost of stay and tickets of some were handled
by the Government of Namibia. Many diners, and a cultural night, were provided
free of charge. The United Nations took charge of tickets for Ministers, some
Resource Persons, and provided other assistance as well.
Most importantly from the
statements of the Prime Minister of Namibia (the Chief Host), the Chairman of
the Governing Board of CAFRAD, and the Director of UNDESA; to the various
debates concerning terms and concepts, as well as means and modalities, etc.,
it was clear that all partners took the exercise very seriously. The debate
concerning Charter, despite all the preparations, took four hours extra above
the allotted time. The Charter was unanimously adopted on 5th February, 2001.
The examination of the other important concern of the conference , namely,
" African Institutes of Public Administration: New Challenges, New Role
and New Perspectives" was conducted against the background of an
understanding both of the impact of globalization on citizens’ expectations
and the commitment of African leaders to improve public services and work
towards African integration.
However, as underlined by
both the Chairman of the Governing Board of CAFRAD and the Prime Minister of
Namibia (who was elected Chairman of the 3rd Pan African Conference), after
the adoption of the Charter and the issuance of a Declaration, the real object
of the gathering, which brought together forty-one (41) African Ministers and
some dozen regional bodies to Windhoek, is to work towards the realisation of
the stated objectives. I turn now to a consideration of this subject.
III. Living up to
Commitments of Windhoek
Part of the Preamble to the
Charter threw light on what its object is.
The Charter:
* "Defines a framework
to guide the public services in Africa in taking such legislative, regulatory,
technical and practical measures as may be required to create propitious
conditions for the proper functioning of the public service and improve the
quality of services……………(and)
* Expresses the will of
African States and underscores their political and moral commitment to
streamline the services provided to citizens and ensure the efficient use of
resources allocated for such services."
Furthermore, the Charter
states its purpose as to:
* Define the principles
and general rules governing African public services with respect to
transparency, professionalism and ethical standards;
* Give expression to the
commitment of African States to promote such values in the public service;
(and)
* Serve as a policy
framework for the public service administrations of all African countries
and a concrete source of inspiration for the development or updating of
national codes of conduct". (Article I)
What then does it mean to
‘implement’ the Charter? One way is to hold that any effort at improving
professionalism, ethics and service delivery falls within the ambit of
implementation. However, it is clear from the work of the Ministers and as
reflected in both the Charter itself and the Windhoek Declaration, that much
more was envisaged. Vigour, consistency and sustained improvement on certain
defined key issues in the public service, as enshrined particularly in both
the General Provision and the Code of Conduct for Public Service Employees (
Titles II and III), were expected.
Furthermore, while primary
responsibility for implementation was (naturally) placed on African states,
UNDESA, CAFRAD, ECA, and other regional and sub-regional institutions (such as
OFPA, AAPAM and ESAMI) and groupings (ECOWAS,UMA etc..) were to provide
appropriate assistance. How far have the various bodies lived up to their
commitment or our expectations?
First, a focus on States.
There is no doubt that work towards implementation of the Charter was uneven
among the African States. While many have instituted a number of
service-enhancement schemes or more through-going reforms, more focus and
vigour is required, and the link to the Charter needs to be more directly
made. There are, sadly, some cases in which the Charter is hardly known. This,
in spite of the selection one year ago of the theme of implementation of the
Charter for the Africa Day of Civil Service and Administration. There has been
tremendous, focused work on the Charter in Namibia. There is wide-knowledge
and consistent effort regarding several Charter issues in Benin, Mauritania,
Nigeria, Morocco, Gambia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Angola, Botswana, Uganda,
Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso. Furthermore, with particular reference to training
of public servants there are positive reports of improvement, especially in
Nigeria.
With periodic briefings to
both the Chairman of the 3rd Conference and the Chairman of the Governing
Board of CAFRAD by the Director-General of CAFRAD and consultations, it was
evident that more push was required in implementation. During the visit of the
Chairman of the 3rd Conference and Prime Minister of Namibia to CAFRAD in
September 2001, the august visitor offered to support a mission of the
Director General of CAFRAD to some Southern and East African countries to
discuss the matter with relevant authorities. This was undertaken between 10th
November and 2nd December 2001, with the following countries covered: Angola,
Botswana, Kenya, Namibia , South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The report of
the mission was sent to both the Chairman of the Conference and the Chairman
of the CAFRAD Board.
Second, at the sub-regional
level. During the discussions on
the Charter, Southern African States, having worked together to improve the
draft, made one submission for the consideration of the other delegations.
Furthermore, it was well recognised that sub-regional bodies were to play an
important role in the process of implementation. Sharing information and
perspectives was a recognised objective of the conferences. However, after the
adoption, it was only ECOWAS that began to operate along such a line, with its
convening its First ECOWAS Ministers of Service Conference in Abuja (12-15
October, 2002). The Ministers examined how far they implemented the Charter,
resolving to work together to enhance quality of their various civil services.
Convened by the ECOWAS Secretariat and supported by the Government of Nigeria,
the discussion was chaired by Her excellency Mrs. Isatou NJIE-SAIDY, the Vice
President of the Gambia. It was preceded by a meeting of experts in public
administration from ECOWAS countries, CAFRAD, UNDESA and the Commonwealth
Secretariat.
It is worth emphasising that
the conference urged the setting up of National Monitoring Committees on the
Implementation of the Charter; and that periodic reviews of their work were to
be undertaken at the ECOWAS level. The Department of Public Service and
Administration (DPSA) has worked with various sub-regional organisations as
well as with individual Southern African States to strengthen aspects of the
civil service – such as performance improvement and research related to the
services. Similarly, in Casablanca, at a Forum organised by the ECA, North
Africa Office (based in Tangier) to improve economic and commercial activities
in the UMA countries some consideration was given to administrative and
regulatory matters. Nonetheless, important as these are, they need to be more
systematically conducted and monitored.
Third, at the continental,
governmental level there was
some engagement with the United Nations, also within the context of the latter’s
long-term support to the Conference. In July 2002, in Geneva, there was a
meeting where the Chairman of the Conference, the Prime Minister of Namibia;
the Chairman of the Governing Board of CAFRAD; and the Minister of Public
Service of Benin presented the Charter to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
of the United Nations. UNDESA played a dual role as partner of the process and
part of the UN System. Further support for implementation was to be mobilised.
We are not aware of what followed thereafter.
Fourth, at the level of the
Chairman of CAFRAD Governing Board. There
was much discussion of concrete plans of implementation; and of integration of
the Centre’s activities with the implementation of the Charter. Some
progress was made in raising the issue – such as during the Africa Day –
but resource constraints created an obstacle. It is important to clarify the
matter further, CAFRAD, and UNDESA, have been the principal advocate of the
Pan-African Conferences and serve as its Secretariat (shared with the Host
Government and Chair). In between the Conferences, CAFRAD Board meetings
(involving 37 members, but with participation of non-members as well) have
provided a forum for a kind of review of implementation of commitments made
during pan-African Conferences. In addition, contributions made to CAFRAD by
its Members, were used to promote Pan-African goals. No funds were advanced
for the former, except by CAFRAD and the Host Government/Chair of the
Conference (Morocco and Namibia).
Fifth, other Regional
Bodies. The ECA had a specific
role in the implementation of the Charter, and its Experts were very active in
elaborating issues connected to past conferences as well as the third
conference. The Division concerned with Management Development has provided
occasional assistance. However, more is needed to give the process a stronger
boost.
Sixth, UNDESA.
It was active in organising the forum in Geneva and has provided concrete
support, throughout UNPAN, to aspects of the Charter; and promoted public
administration enhancement through collaborative activities with regional and
national bodies. It has, for example, worked with some countries to provide
training in administrative ethics. However, there is ample space for
improvement, especially in mobilising (with the support of the Chairman of the
Conference) resources from donors, and in provision of further technical
support to African Institutes.
Seventh: African Regional
and National Training institutes of Public Administration and Management.
They were urged to provide relevant advisory and related services to enhance
public service delivery. To do so this activity requires funds. This point was
underlined during the examination of the theme of training. The main regional
institutes, such as AAPAM, OFPA, and CAFRAD all faced the problem of
non-payment of contributions by their Members. Several national institutes
also faced neglect by their governments. If these training institutes are to
be up to task, they must have requisite resources to hire and retain qualified
staff, and obtain up to date equipment. The institutes themselves need to
urgently review their curricula in light of current challenges before African
States. It is also the case that whatever the individual constraints under
which training institutes functioned, their problems could only be lessened
and their collective impact felt, if they effectively collaborated. This point
needs to be emphasised as African training bodies must develop synergies and
work toward a common goal. Concrete improvement in this regard is already
being made, though by no means adequate. OFPA and CAFRAD have held several
joint activities in training and are scheduled to do more. AAPAM has been in
talks for similar activities with CAFRAD; and the ACBF is working with CAFRAD
and the Government of Nigeria on a programme. The Development Policy
Management Forum (DPMF) and CAFRAD are already committed to joint research and
publication activities. Similarly, DPSA and CAFRAD have commenced some joint
research and training activities; in addition to their successful conduct
(under NEPAD and with collaboration of UNDESA) of the e-Africa Workshop
(Johannesburg 27-31 October, 2002). Nonetheless, more is demanded, as ‘ownership’
of fragments is not in the best interest of Africa.
CAFRAD has published in
English, French and Arabic not only the African Charter but also related
documents of previous conferences.
Eighth, at the level of the
Chairman of the Third Pan-African Conference.
To push through the process of implementation, the Chairman of the 3rd
Conference, paid a working visit to CAFRAD to discuss a proposal presented to
him on the subject by CAFRAD and to urge the Centre to give its full attention
to making the Charter a reality for ordinary citizens. It was a very important
demonstration of commitment to the cause at the highest level. The Prime
Minister, as reported above, offered Namibia’s support to an interaction and
ideas sharing Mission of the Director-General to some countries in East and
Southern Africa. Furthermore, to solicit the involvement of partners the Prime
Minister, in his capacity as Chairman of the Conference, wrote to other Prime
Ministers and/or relevant Ministers of some 14 European countries, and Canada.
They were requested to provide some assistance in identified areas. Only
Germany came forward to provide support to Namibia, promising possible
extension to other countries in the future.
IV. Conclusion
By every objective account, The
Charter is an important governance document elaborated and adopted
by African States and has been acclaimed by the United Nations. Similarly, the
Tangier Declaration (1994), in making a link between sound public
administration and socio-economic development, inspired resolution 50/225 on
Public Administration and Development. Yet, these assume importance only in so
far as they serve as a basis to improve service delivery to the public. This
was the commitment of Windhoek. Efforts have been uneven, even making
allowances for realities in each African country. Yet, as has been hinted at
above all – African Governments, regional and international bodies, training
institutes, and other development partners – need to do more in improving
public administration on the continent. The Charter itself
talks of a ‘framework’ where more is needed. This being so, our approach
should be to keep taking on board all related commitments: Tangier
Declaration, Rabat Declaration, Windhoek Declaration, The African Charter
etc.. and not take the view that commitments are only for the period between
Declarations.