INTRODUCTORY REMARKS TO THE REPORT BACK BY PROF SS SANGWENI, CHAIRPERSON OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA AT THE MEETING OF AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONS AND OTHER SERVICE COMMISSIONS ON 9 APRIL 2008 AT THE SPEKE RESORT IN KAMPALA, UGANDA: BACKGROUND TO THE PROPOSED ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION

Chairpersons of Public Service Commissions and other Service Commissions, Permanent Secretaries, Colleagues, all protocols observed. Dear Friends, I am certain you will agree with me that today for us marks what I believe is a significant milestone in the history of Public Service Commissions in Africa. As I said in my opening remarks, today we stand on the threshold of establishing the Association of African Public Service Commissions and other Service Commissions, and I am sure that I express the excited sentiments of all of us gathered here, as custodians of good governance in the African Continent, that collectively we can make a fundamental difference to public administration in Africa.

Let me reiterate our appreciation to the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) for agreeing, following my request, that we could have our meeting on the fringes of their Workshop. While grateful for their continued generosity to our efforts, as witnessed by a similar gesture in Mbabane Swaziland, I trust that the next time we meet it will not be on the fringes of another Association but will reflect the distinct identity of our own Association. Hopefully this meeting will see us taking ownership of our unique identity.

Together we have traveled to this momentous point on our journey and it is therefore appropriate that, as we stand on the brink of formalizing the establishment of the Association, I briefly reflect on our collective journey and report back on the responsibilities given in Mbabane, Swaziland. In doing so, I remain humbled by the confidence bestowed on me and my team to carry out the instructions given to us, first at the CAPAM Biennial Conference held in Sydney, Australia in October 2006, then at the Roundtable Conference of AAPAM in Arusha, Tanzania in December 2006 and finally at the Roundtable Conference of AAPAM in Mbabane, Swaziland in September 2007.

Colleagues, as fellow Africans we all share a common vision of a Public Service that delivers effectively and efficiently on the mandate given to it by the society that it serves. We also are aware of the instrumental role that Public Service Commissions and other Service Commissions play in making this vision a reality. For too long we have been the key supporting partner in the transformation of our Public Services. Therefore, the knowledge and insight that we collectively possess in the field of public administration should actually make us the key drivers for Public Service transformation. It is therefore quite appropriate that one of the envisaged objectives with the establishment of this Association is to create a platform for the sharing of best practices in public administration. Through the knowledge shared and the learning that will be achieved through this Association, I am confident that the individual members will be able to enrich their own Public Services with innovative ideas to improve service delivery and in so doing, positively change the public administration landscape of our Continent. Through these efforts we should promote solidarity among ourselves by fostering relationships towards a shared vision on public administration and management in Africa.

Colleagues, this thrust towards good governance and public administration remains true to the informal discussions which were held on the margins of the CAPAM Biennial Conference in Sydney, Australia in October 2006 where at a luncheon working meeting the idea of a common platform for African Public Service Commissions and other Service Commissions was discussed. At that working luncheon the PSC of South Africa was given the task of taking the matter further by conducting a scoping exercise on the mandates, functions and structures of the various PSCs, and to coordinate the first formal meeting of these institutions. Subsequent to this, at the Roundtable Conference of AAPAM held in Arusha, Tanzania in December 2006, another informal meeting of African Public Service Commissions and other Appointing Commissions was convened where the desire to proceed with the initiative of establishing an African association of PSCs and similar institutions was reinforced.

Upon the completion of the exercise which the South African PSC was requested to do, the report emanating from these initiatives was forwarded to the Heads of PSCs and similar institutions that participated during the working luncheon in Sydney and the informal meeting in Arusha. The responses received from some of these Commissions and other information sourced from the internet, allowed the identification of other Commissions in Africa that did not participate during the meetings in Sydney and Arusha. Based on the information obtained, a schedule was developed which outlined the mandate, functions and structure of such Commissions. This schedule was forwarded to the Chairpersons of the various Commissions and formed the basis upon which contact was made as preparatory activities unfolded.

Again, as a result of an opportunity afforded to us at the AAPAM Roundtable Conference that took place in September 2007 in Swaziland, African Public Service Commissions and other Service Commissions met. This meeting allowed the South African Public Service Commission an opportunity to report back on the task that it had been assigned to do. At that meeting I also encouraged colleagues to seize the moment to focus on critical questions relevant to the objectives, structure and format of the proposed Association. Most significantly, a Record of Understanding was reached by the 31 representatives of the respective Commissions present who expressed unanimous support for the establishment of the Association. This meeting marked a watershed moment in our journey in that it witnessed a move away from ideas to an action oriented approach to realize the formation of such an Association.

Since finality could not be reached at this meeting on the structure and format of the Association and in order to ensure that the momentum built towards the Association thus far may not be lost, a strong consensus emerged that a technical team comprising of secretaries be established to consider the structure of the Association, and the legal and other implications involved in its establishment. It was agreed that a meeting of all secretaries will be convened by the Director-General of the South African PSC as a matter of urgency.

The broad terms of reference given to the secretaries were to:

1) Prepare a founding framework for the Forum.

2) Determine and address any legal impediments.

3) Contact those Commissions not represented at the meeting in Swaziland.

4) Explore the possibility of setting up a website to facilitate interaction between the various delegates.

5) Table the preparatory work done at the meeting of Chairpersons to be held in Kampala, Uganda.

I am reliably informed by my Director-General, Ms OR Ramsingh, that the meeting of Secretaries held at the Sandton Sun, in Johannesburg, South Africa from 20 to 22 November 2007 was attended by 22 secretaries, deputy secretaries and other officials representing 12 countries. I am further told that the task allocated through the Record of Understanding reached in Swaziland was approached with vigor and that all participants pronounced the meeting a resounding success.

At the conclusion of the meeting an agreement was reached by all Secretaries present on a draft Founding Document for the establishment of an Association of African Public Service Commissions and other Service Commissions. It was agreed that the Secretaries would submit the document to their principals for engagement and readiness for discussion at this meeting. The Secretaries present also signed an agreement during the meeting indicating their concurrence that the draft Founding Document be submitted to this meeting of the Chairpersons of the African Commissions for consideration.

Secretaries were also requested to forward copies of the draft Founding Document to Commissions not present at the Secretaries meeting for input. In response to this request, inputs were received from the Mauritius Local Government Service Commission and the Zambian Public Service Commission on the draft Founding Document. As will be reflected there were no real material and fundamental differences with the document save for inputs on the name of the Association, the Presidency and certain editorial amendments. These inputs will be discussed at this meeting and I am confident that agreement will be reached.

The development of this draft document must be seen as a significant milestone towards the establishment of the Association and the Secretaries should be commended for carrying out the important task entrusted to them at the Swaziland meeting. Administrative leadership as demonstrated by the successful cooperation between the secretaries bodes well for the success of this Association.

At the meeting of the Secretaries, it was furthermore agreed that the there will be a coordinating committee to take forward matters identified during the meeting and that the Director-General of the Office of the South African Public Service Commission will take the lead in the coordination process. The other members are Mr D Ndagula, Deputy Secretary of the Tanzanian PSC, representing East Africa and Mr J Nwosu, Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian PSC, representing West Africa. As there were no delegates from North and Central Africa at the meeting of Secretaries, these Regions were not represented in the Co-ordinating Committee. In the past few months since the meeting of the Secretaries, a Draft Memorandum of Understanding, a Registration form and an official website for the Association have been developed and are ready for consideration by this meeting. This coordinating committee has also recommended that I should chair this meeting to take matters forward, given the coordinating role that my Office has played in the activities leading up to this meeting.

Colleagues, having had the opportunity to interact with the solid groundwork undertaken by the secretaries, it is now up to us to propel this momentum to greater heights. As the leadership of Public Service Commissions and other Service Commissions across Africa we have the opportunity to lead our institutions into the forefront of promoting excellence in public administration. It is an opportunity that we must not miss!

Today we must therefore grasp the opportunity that presents itself through this meeting, less we be found wanting, and agree on certain specific outcomes within the time limit afforded us. Importantly:-

  • We need to obtain agreement on the draft founding document and memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the Association. Through the agreement on the draft memorandum of understanding and the appointment of an interim presidency we will move towards formally establishing the Association and subsequently launch it.
  • We need to appoint an Interim Presidency for the Association to deal with any outstanding issues and to prepare for the formal launch of the Association. This would involve the appointment of an Interim President and one interim vice president from each of the five geographical regions of Africa (East, West, Central, North and Southern Africa). The interim Presidency will constitute the interim executive committee together with the Secretaries of the Offices of the Commissions of the Interim President and the five Vice Presidents. The secretariat of the Association will in terms of the draft founding document be linked to the Office of the elected President and draw on administrative capacity that is available.
  • We then need to decide on the way forward that the Interim Presidency would have to take in laying the foundation for a fully functional Association. This would include convening the first meeting of the Interim Presidency, developing proposals on standing committees and ad hoc committees of the Association, considering the registration fees to be levied for the Association for approval by the General Assembly, developing a draft agenda for the first meeting of the General Assembly of the Association and sourcing funding for the Association.

All of us have had the opportunity to engage with the documentation to be discussed at this meeting. Therefore, as the time at our disposal is very limited, I implore upon us to focus our discussions so that we indeed give justice to this monumental event.

Together let us as Public Service Commissions and other service commissions in Africa take hold of our destiny and be at the helm of our own ship as we steer it towards better governance, shared knowledge and more effective public services for the people of Africa!

Thank you

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