Chairperson of the conference of State Parties to the African Charter on the values and principles of Public Service and Administration
1. Salutations and introduction
Programme Director, Dr Tsitsi Rosemary Choruma, Commissioner: Public Service Commission,
Your Excellency, Ambassador Osman Keh Kamara, Representative of the African Union Commission,
Honourable Prof. Paul Mavima, Minister for Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Chair of the Special Ministerial Session,
Honourable Mohamed O Mchengerwa, Minister for Public Service of Tanzania and Chairperson of the AU-STC No.8 Sub-Committee on Public Service and Administration, Honourable Ministers of Public Service and Administration,
Distinguished guests, All protocol observed
I wish to extend my appreciation to the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Government of Zimbabwe for organising and hosting this important celebration as the world, a year on, is still navigating its way through this global pandemic of the Coronavirus. The 2021 APSD theme: “Building the Africa we want, through embracing an ethical culture that underpins purpose driven leadership in the Context of a Crisis”, challenges us, as
servants of the people, to recognise the centrality of public service in setting the pace for social justice. We constantly need to remind ourselves that the public service is indeed the servant of the public, and that its performance must be measured by how public servants respond to the most disadvantaged members of society. This is but one of the challenges we face as public service leaders, and therefore this years’ theme reminds us of this solemn responsibility.
2. COVDI-19 and its effects on public service
The thought of physical interactions, although at a smaller scale, were unfathomable at this time in 2020. Since then, as Member States across the Continent, we have made great strides in the combating of the virus. To this end, I extend my congratulations to all Member States on the public service initiatives and speedy response to counter the rapid spread of the virus and to flatten the curve. Indeed, the successes of the past year have shown that public service is at the heart of government. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented Africa with the challenge as well as opportunity to urgently reinvent and reimagine governance and public service delivery in ways never considered before.
In the face of fiscal constraints, the public sector is challenged to find effective, cheap and politically acceptable strategies to achieve the SDG and Africa Agenda 2063 Goals; such as delivering public health, welfare, and safety, while promoting economic growth and creating jobs. Thus, without a well-functioning public service, the realisation of the United Nations 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063, will come to nought, as these agendas are only achievable if we have, at the core of it all and across the Continent, a public service that is highly functional and responsive to the needs to its people.
3. Values and principles of the public service
The achievement of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 goals depends on the effective delivery of needed public services. It needs to be stated upfront, however, that the integrity of government rests largely on the values of its people meaning the public service is the mirror image of the kind of society at any given time. There are key roles that public servants would need to continue to play and I am of the view, that the deliberations of the past two (2) days, have adequately captured these. In essence, public servants should:
1. Ensure the continuity of public services;
2. Provide service before self: by having courage and humanness (Ubuntu) in practice;
3. Be quick thinking, creativity and innovative;
4. Provide information and awareness;
5. Be strategic thinkers and able to plan accordingly amidst uncertainty;
6. Sustain resilience and build a better, effective and more responsive public service;
7. Build and enhance State legitimacy, government credibility and people’s trust;
8. Ensure adequate and fair resource allocation and distributive accountability; and
9. Provide collaborative and networked leadership.
We must also ensure as Member States, that our public service is characterised by self- sacrifice, trust, the ability to adapt, creativity, transparency and innovation. To achieve these, it is important that those officials who provide public services to the people are skilled and knowledgeable, empathetic, collaborative and competent in the use of technology. Overall, there must be an element of humanness, “Ubuntu”, where the people are put first, Batho Pele. These elements of what public service and public servants encompass, summarise the main theme of our gathering at this 2021 Continental Celebration of the APSD: to celebrate public servants, recognise their contribution and seek to improve public service through innovation.
4. Importance of the african charter on the values and principles of public service and administration
Esteemed Colleagues,
I stand before you as the newly elected Chair of the First Bureau of the Conference of State Parties to the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration. As you are aware, the Second Conference of State Parties took place, virtually, from 27 to 29 April 2021. It achieved its objective, mainly of electing the First Bureau of the Conference of State Parties, where South Africa was elected as chair. It further adopted the Rules of Procedure of the Conference as well as the State Parties Assessment Tool (SPAT).
Honourable delegates, we must recall that as Member States, we acceded to the African Charter to ensure we streamline public service across the Continent through amongst others, these objectives:
1. Ensuring quality and innovative service delivery that meets the requirements of all users;
2. Encourage the efforts of Member States in modernising administration and strengthening capacity for the improvement of public service;
3. Encourage citizens and users of public services to actively and effectively participate in public administration processes;
4. To improve the working conditions of public service agents and ensure protection of their rights;
5. Encourage the harmonisation of policies and procedures related to Public Service and Administration among Member States with the main of promoting regional and Continental integration; and to
6. Encourage the exchange of experiences and best practices in order to create a database of information with the Member States.
It is in seeking to achieve these objectives that Member States ratified, at the level of Heads of State and Government, the implementation of the African Charter by participating Member States as an obligation. To achieve this obligation, the SPAT tool, will be used to facilitate monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Charter obligations and further, it will noncommittally provide a verifiable framework for peer learning and the exchange of good practices. Importantly, the SPAT encourages the harmonisation of policies and procedures related to Public Service and Administration among Member States and promotes Regional Integration.
I am pleased to share that South Africa, with Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Cameroon will pilot the operationalisation of the SPAT. It is my hope that when we reconvene in two
(2) years in this setting, all the five (5) Member States would have successfully piloted the tool and documented lessons and best practices for all participating and non-participating Member States to emulate.
5. APRM and South Af Rica’s Progress
Honourable Colleagues,
It would be remiss of me to not use this platform to highlight the complementarity of the SPAT with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as continental diagnostic tools. I take this opportunity to encourage Member States to use these platforms to collate relevant information for reporting on the African Charter implementation.
Allow me to also take this opportunity to provide a brief update to this important Ministerial Session in my capacity as Chair of the APRM Committee of Focal Points on the Continent as well as APRM National Focal Point in South Africa on the APRM processes to date.
I am also pleased to report to the Session that the Democratic Republic of Congo has recently acceded to the APRM, bringing the total number of Members States acceding to the APRM to 41 and closer to the realisation of the goal of Universal Accession by 2023.
I also take this opportunity to update the meeting that processes are well underway in my country towards the finalisation of South Africa’s Second Generation Country Review Report. We are keeping in line with the timelines as set in our National Roadmap towards the Second Generation Review process, with a view to present a final report to the APR Forum of Heads of State and Government in February 2022 when South Africa relinquishes the chairship of the APR Forum.
6. Conclusion
In conclusion, I am grateful we had had this opportunity to meet again to deliberate on issues affecting our Continent and in the realisation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063. I implore all of us to use our influence to encourage Members States who are yet to accede to the African Charter, to do so. Harmonised public services on the Continent can only be achieved through working together on mutually agreed upon goals.
I thank you.
