AFRICAN ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

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1 AFRICAN ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT 27 TH AAPAM ANNUAL ROUNDTABLE CONFERENCE, ZAMBEZI SUN HOTEL, LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA 5 TH 9 TH DECEMBER 2005 THEME: HARNESSING THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE PUBLIC AND NON-STATE SECTORS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA: PROBLEMS AND THE WAY FORWARD TOPIC: ROLE OF STATE INSTITUTIONS By: MAURICE A. O. NYAMUNGA CONSULTANT: GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA 1

2 REPOSITIONING INSTITUTIONS FOR CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GOOD GOVERNANCE (1): ROLE OF STATE INSTITUTIONS ABSTRACT A number of factors have contributed to underdevelopment in Africa. These include inappropriate governance systems inherited from the colonial governments at the time of independence; self centered leaders who used national wealth in most countries for their personal interests; poor economic base; perpetual armed conflicts which scared investors; heavy brain drain from the continent; and the effects of IMF and World Bank structural adjustment policies. Consequently, the pressure of global competition has prompted African countries to review their development strategies, hence the establishment of the renewed African Union and the spate of Public Sector reforms being undertaken by most African governments. The reforms are meant to create suitable conditions for sustainable development, which are expected to ultimately salvage the image of Africa in the world area. Given the overall guidance of the African Union; the goodwill of the international community; commitment of the African leadership; and based on the progress Africa has made in terms of economic rate of growth, which has increased from 2.9% in 2002 to 5.1% in 2004 against a target of 7%, there is hope that Africa will regain its position in the world arena if this trend continues. However, there are still major challenges to be overcome and the only way to overcome them is for individual countries to redefine their rates in this and commit themselves to ensure that they play their roles effectively. 1.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1.1 Bundtland Commission defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs 1. This is broad definition within whose context individual countries can define those areas with greater impact on sustainable 1 The World Commission on Environment and Development,

3 development to focus on. Africa, through the New Partnership for Africa s Development, has defined the areas of focus to include strengthening conflict prevention, management and resolution; declaration on democracy, political, economic and corporate governance; a framework for the implementation of banking and financial standards; corporate and economic governance standards; regional integration and capacity building NEPAD promotes the application of the principles of democracy, political, economic and corporate governance as well as economic governance standards and corporate financial standards by African Union member states as way of ensuring compliance by leadership of the member countries with the international best practices. The Peer Review Mechanism has been introduced as one of the strategies to foster the application of these principles through sharing of experiences and reinforcement of successful practices among the leaders. 1.3 Sustainable development requires the presence of good governance of the state machinery. Governance is the process of decision making in relation to economic, social, political and legal environment of the society and the process by which these decisions are implemented or not implemented. Good governance is, therefore, the process of decisionmaking and implementation that fulfills the requirement of sustainable development. The major characteristics of good governance are: i) Participation, by citizens in government decision that affect their interest and which could be either direct or through some legitimate representation; 2 NEPAD initial Action Plan, July

4 ii) The application of the principle of the Rule of law, governing the country which is based on fair legal framework, and enforced by impartial and incorruptible administrators of law; iii) The use of the principle of Transparency, and being accountable in handling government affairs, which means that decisions are taken and enforced in accordance with generally acceptable principles and are made easily available to people affected by the decisions, while the principle of accountability implies that government shall be responsible for its decision and deliver what it promises. iv) The use of the principle of Responsiveness to stakeholders needs in good time, that is, providing the kind of services required by the public at the right time. v) Equity and inclusiveness, which means ensuring that all members of the society have equitable share of the available opportunities for their welfare; vi) Effectiveness and efficiency whereby processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of the society while making the best uses of resources at their disposal. The concept of effectiveness and efficiency also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and of the environment. 1.4 From the foregoing definitions of sustainable development and good governance, it is evident that the principles of good governance are a prerequisite to sustainable development, which is the current major concern of Africa s development initiatives. Under development in Africa has been subscribed to weaknesses of governance and absence of 4

5 effective states 3. Weak governance has been used to mean inability of governments and public services to create the right economic, social and political framework for sustainable development. Ineffective state refers to the inadequacies in the capacity of the government to perform their functions effectively. 2.0 INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2.1 Reforms Sustainable development requires appropriate levels of political, economic and corporate governance, the attainment of which calls for institutional reforms in the following areas: i) Judicial reforms to strengthen the judiciary system to perform impartially; ii) Parliamentary reform to strengthen parliamentary oversight roles; iii) Administrative reforms to strengthen the capacity of the executive to deliver quality service to the public These reforms should also improve and promote the participation of the public and civil society in government decision and help combat corruption. 3 The Argument NEPAD Publication, page 24 5

6 2.2 The Role of Government The role of government in sustainable development is to create the right economic, social and legal environment for economic growth. This involves providing physical infrastructure system, independent and efficient judiciary, and legislative machineries and practicing appropriate democratic principles and good governance. 2.3 Features of African Government Systems over the last 40 years Some thirty years ago the average income in Sub-Sahara Africa was twice that of both South and East Asia. But by 2002, the average income in Sub-Saharan Africa was below half that of East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East 4. Africa is the only continent in the World at the moment, which is stagnating despite its rich mineral and other natural resources, which gave so much hope for a prosperous future in Africa at the dawn of independence in 1960s. A number of factors have contributed to this state of affairs. Firstly, both governance systems and physical infrastructure that most African governments inherited from the colonial governments at independence were not suitable for the new governments whose development agenda were different from the ones of the colonial governments. Secondly, most of the African leaders in the 1970 were despots who were more interested in looting the wealth of their countries than in developing the countries. Thirdly, Africa failed to diversify its economic base from a wholly primary commodity producer, to a manufacturing one. Fourthly, the perpetual armed conflicts on the continent have generally scared away investors who view Africa as not a very safe place for investment. Fifthly, Africa has suffered heavy brain drain due to lack of attractive 4 NEPAD Report,

7 opportunities at home; Finally, the effects of IMF and World Bank structural adjustment policies, of 1980s and 1990s which discouraged public investments in health and education negatively affected the development of human capital in most countries of africa 5. All these negative factors have generally undermined Africa s sustainable development hence the need for Africa at both African Union and national governments levels to come up with bold strategies to turn around the economy of the continent through good governance and capacity building at the national levels. 3.0 STRATEGY FOR LONG TERM GROWTH 3.1 These factors led to economic and political crisis of the 1980, which created strong motivation for reforms in Africa. However, for these reforms to lay strong foundation for sustainable development, they should be anchored on broad based policies and strategies such as the one outlined below: 6 i) Deepening economic reform to enhance the magnitude and productivity of investment. ii) Promoting the development of private sector and its participation in economic development. iii) Building human capital through efficient delivery of public services, especially in the health and education sectors. 5 NEPAD Report, African Development Report,

8 iv) Addressing the long-term foundation of development, environment care and the persuit of good governance. v) Promoting regional integration and development. vi) Investment in infrastructure development.the implementation of these policies requires intervention at three levels: the continental, regional and national levels. The continental level becomes the responsibility of African Union, the regional level being the responsibilities of the regional organizations such as Southern African Development Community, East African Community, and Economic Community of West African States, while the national level becomes the responsibilities of the national governments. However, all these efforts should be linked and feed into each other and be guided by the overall vision and broader policies agreed on at the African Union level. Hence the need to clearly define the roles to be played by each level and which of the continental development priorities should be integrated and addressed by the regional and national entities. 4.0 THE CONTINENTAL LEVEL 4.1 Efforts of the African Union Some of the key challenges facing Africa as a result of long periods of poor state governance include poverty, corruption, diseases, conflicts and wars, and inadequate capacity at the national government levels. The efforts of the African Union to address these continental challenges and policies outlined above are guided by its vision and the following broad principles, which it has adopted to underpin its focus: 8

9 i. Promotion and advancement of democracy, human rights, good governance and accountable leadership. ii. African self-reliance. iii. Institutional capacity building. iv. Accelerated regional economic integration and development. v. Increased intra-african trade and investment. vi. Strengthened African s voice in international forums. vii. Strengthened partnership with African civil society, private sector and international community. Since the establishment of African Union and its agency the NEPAD four years ago, the Union has done a lot to prepare an enabling environment for sustainable development in the continent and to promote Africa s image and position in the international fora. In his report 7, the former Chief Executive of the NEPAD Secretariat, Prof. W L Nkuhlu summarized the progress that AU has made in the last four years, compared to the achievements of the Organization for African Unity, as follows: i. The NEPAD principles have given clearer guidance to the mandate and leadership of the AU. ii. The leaders of the continent have, through the NEPAD strategies, taken ownership and commitment to the continent s socio-economic renewal agenda. 7 The Journey So Far, Prof. W L Nkuhlu, June

10 iii. NEPAD policies and priorities have become internationally accepted framework for Africa s development. iv. AU provides stronger leadership in conflict management as demonstrated by its efforts in conflict resolution and peace building in Burundi, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d Ivoir and Sudan. v. The development focus has changed from poverty reduction strategy to agriculture, infrastructure, science and technology, regional integration, which hitherto were not a priority in development partners agenda for Africa. vi. The introduction of Peer Review Programme for the African leadership in which twenty-four African countries have signed for participation in the programme. Each signatory country allows peers to scrutinize its governance system, identify weaknesses and strengths and recommend appropriate remedial actions. The aim is to promote governance among the peer group by encouraging information sharing on what is working and what s not working. vii. The consolidation of democracy and improved macro-economic management across the continent as demonstrated by successful elections and peaceful changes of leadership in the recent past. viii. The average economic growth rate for the continent has grown from 2.9% in 2002 to 5.1% in 2004 against the target of 7%. This signifies the impact the Union s effort has had in the development of the continent. The environment is conducive for this trend of economic growth to continue because the implementation of most of the NEPAD programmes, which have been given financial support by both development partners and national governments, are scheduled to start soon. 10

11 ix. In the health sector, NEPAD has produced health strategy, which has laid good foundation for innovative projects in support of health and which is already being implemented by member countries. x. In education sector, NEPAD, is supporting the development of distance education programme in partnership with some universities in Africa and Canada. It is also introducing the use ICT in schools through the e-school project, which intends to enable all African schools to have access to ICT within the next ten years. A pilot project involving ninety-six schools in sixteen African countries is to be launched in the second half of 2005.The project already has some donor commitment. xi. The use of ICT is also being extended to include e-government through the development of framework for e-governance. The first phase of the project is focused on e-parliament, which will enable African parliamentarians to easily source and share information. xii. In the field of science, NEPAD is making progress with the establishment of centres of excellence. International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi is hosting one of the centers of excellence in biosciences. The other centers are to be set up in South Africa, Egypt, and Senegal. xiii. Work has already started in the area of environment in collaboration with the sub-regional organizations and funds for hiring experts has been secured. Subregional organizations are supposed to implement the Sub-regional NEPAD Environment Action Plan. xiv. Capacity of the Sub-regional organizations to implement the cross border infrastructure plan has been the key constraint in this sector. However, this is being addressed through the African Capacity Building Foundation, which is carrying out needs assessment in both financial and human resource terms for 11

12 all the Sub-regional organizations. The G8 also gave their commitment to support infrastructure development at the African Partnership Forum meeting of April 2005, which is a big boost to the project. Financial support is also coming from the World Bank and, African Development Bank. xv. NEPAD is finalizing an African Post-Conflict Reconstruction Framework to provide effective guidance for post conflict reconstruction management. xvi. Framework for strengthening the governance capacity of African countries is being developed. The initiative is being led by African Public Service and Administration Ministers who have prepared the initial plan. 5.0 THE SUB-REGIONAL LEVEL 5.1 Regional economic communities were started to promote integrated developments for the regions they serve particularly in the areas of cross boarder interest like infrastructure, trade, scientific research. They are, therefore, appropriate institutions to coordinate AU development programmes within their respective reforms. This requires that they realign their programmes to incorporate the AU priorities and ensure that those AU programmes to be implemented at the country levels are incorporated in the national plans. They are also expected to work with the AU to mobilize funds for these programmes. 5.2 The roles being played by the regional economic communities are critical in ensuring success of the AU programmes and the ownership of these programmes by the national governments. However, the capacities of these institutions still need to be strengthened and their mandate redefined in relation to that of AU. The redefinition of the mandate should include operational framework determining the linkages, 12

13 programming and operational processes at all levels: from the country level through the sub-region to the AU level. 6.0 THE NATIONAL LEVEL 6.1 All national reform initiatives are geared towards bringing about efficient and effective government machinery that would facilitate sustainable development to eradicate poverty. All the reforms are planned to focus on economic reforms that would attract investment and promote private sector participation; improve on human capital development; good governance; and investment in infrastructure. 6.2 A report on the proceedings of the second regional consultative workshop on Public Service Reforms held in Arusha, Tanzania in 2001 gives a comprehensive review of the scope, range and management of reforms initiatives in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The reforms in these countries should be a representative sample to illustrate the extent of the reforms being implemented within the continent. The scope and range of the reforms undertaken by each of these countries are given in the Table below: 13

14 Level of Depth Focus Ghana Kenya Malawi Mozambique S. Africa Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Rwanda Rationalization and restructuring of ministries Privatization of Public enterprises Improvement of human resource capacity Incentives and pay /////////// /////////// /////////// /////////// /////////// /////////// /////////// /////////// //////////// //////////// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// /////// /////// /////// /////// /////// /////// /////// /////// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// Basic reform elements Leadership and management development Strengthening governance institutions Result oriented management Performance improvement Management Information System/Records Management /////////// /////////// /////////// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// /////// /////// /////// /////// /////// /////// /////// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// Public Finance Management /////////// /////////// //// //// Legal sector and judicial reform Source: A Report on the Proceedings of the Second Regional Consultative Workshop on Public Service Reforms,

15 Level of Depth Focus Ghana Kenya Malawi Mozambique S. Africa Decentralization/Local Government strengthening Democratization /////////// /////////// Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Rwanda /////// /////// /////// //// //// //// //// //// Additional elements Rationalization of public agencies Representativeness and affirmative action Public Private Partnership Reform of policy making/ Cabinet process Strengthening Investments promotion agencies Education Sector /////////// /////////// /////////// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// Electronic Government Monitoring and Evaluation //// //// Time management Source: A Report on the Proceedings of the Second Regional Consultative Workshop on Public Service Reforms,

16 6.0 PERFORMANCE IN THE CRITICAL REFORM AREAS The chart given below illustrates the performance levels in each of the critical reform areas. PERFORMANCE IN CRITICAL AREAS NO. OF COUNTRIES Strengthen Gov. Inst. Leadership and Mgt Dev ROM MIS Public Fin Mgt Legal & Judicial Reform Decentralization Policy Process Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4 Series5 6.1 Observations Out of the twenty-one listed focus areas for the reforms being pursued by the participating countries, only eight focus areas could be considered to be critical to the establishment of a strong foundation for sustainable development. The areas are: i) Leadership and management development ii) Strengthening of governance institutions 16

17 iii) Performance Management System or Result Oriented Management iv) Management Information System v) Public Finance Management Reform vi) Legal and judicial reform vii) Decentralization and strengthening of Local Government System viii) Reform of the policy making process From the table it can be noted that worst performance is in the areas of Leadership and Management development; strengthening of the governance institutions; Legal and Judicial reforms; and reform of the policy making process. Only three out of the eleven participating countries have undertaken reform in each of these areas. Given the fact that these are essential elements of good governance, the level of performance indicates that these countries still don t have systems that would effectively promote good governance Performance in the areas of result oriented management; decentralization or strengthening of the local government system; and management information system are also below the average in most of the countries which indicate that the quality of service delivery in these countries still require a lot of improvement These performance levels notwithstanding, the participating countries show appreciable levels of commitment to reform and with good leadership they should be able to improve in their performance and lay the required foundation for good governance. 17

18 8.0 CHALLENGES 7.1 Although remarkable efforts have been made to create environment for sustainable development, there are still challenges to be addressed and give way to quicker recovery of the continent. These challenges are: ix) The need to strengthen and sustain political leadership at the continental and national levels. x) The need to build appropriate capacity at the national sub-regional and continental levels required to conceptualize, develop, and implement the AU and national programmes. xi) The impact of diseases including HIV/AIDS to the development of the continent xii) The urgent need for infrastructure development to promote interconnectivity among the African countries to boost trade links xiii) xiv) The need to attract foreign direct investment and promote domestic money market to mobilize local funds for investments. To have all countries enrolled for the African Peer Review Mechanism, which is a powerful instrument for promoting good governance. xv) Need for a sense of passion for and commitment to the development of Africa among all Africans. xvi) Need for an environment of culture that nurtures and promotes passionate and visionary leadership and citizenry in the continent. 18

19 8.0 STRATEGIES Aggressively promote the African vision at the national levels to create pride in and commitment to the cause of the continent. Establish such leadership development programmes that would inculcate the desirable leadership qualities in those being groomed for leadership positions. Needs analysis undertaken to determine capacity requirements and funding arrangement made to cater for this. 8.2 Strengthen the National Health Service delivery systems. The NEPAD health plan for the continent could be used to mobilize funding for sub-regional programmes. 8.3 Integration of NEPAD plans into national development plans to facilitate effective linkage between NEPAD and national efforts in development. 8.4 National governments should introduce policy and regulatory mechanisms that support and promote FDI and domestic money market. 8.5 Incorporate culture change initiatives in the curriculum for the education institutions. 9.0 CONCLUSION How do you see the role of your country in making itself a committed contributor to its development and that of Africa? 19

20 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. The World Commission on Environment and Development, NEPAD Initial Action Plan, July The Argument, NEPAD Publication 4. NEPAD Report, African Development Report, The African Competitiveness Report, The African Competitive Report, 2000/