CONSENSUS REACHED ON SEVERAL GUIDING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PRINCIPLES, PAKISTAN TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESUMED SESSION
Press Release
GA/9063
CONSENSUS REACHED ON SEVERAL GUIDING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PRINCIPLES, PAKISTAN TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESUMED SESSION
19960418 Cites Transparency, Accountability As Principles Now Taken Seriously; Six Other Speakers Address Issues of Corruption, Role of Private SectorA virtual consensus had been reached in many countries in recent years on several guiding principles concerning modern public administration, the representative of Pakistan said this morning, as the General Assembly heard seven speakers in its continued consideration of the role of public administration in development.
Such notions as transparency and accountability were no longer being paid "mere lip service", he said. On the other hand, "generic prescriptions" were not feasible due to the obvious diversity of local conditions.
The representative of India said that some guidelines were necessary for the other players in civil society, such as the private sector. Corruption in the public sector "was not unrelated to promotion of corruption in the private sector", the permanent representative said.
The representative of Nicaragua described how his country had dealt with the aftermath of civil war and the double challenge of shifting from a centralized structure to a market economy, as well as taking steps to promote sustainable development.
Statements were also made by the State Minister of the Ministry of Manpower of Sudan, the Minister of Modernization of Senegal, the Minister for the Civil Service and Administrative Reform of Benin, as well as the permanent representative of Zambia.
The Assembly will meet again to continue its resumed session at a date to be announced.
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this morning to continue its consideration of the role of public administration in development.
Statements
IBRAHIM ABOUAF, State Minister of the Ministry of Manpower of Sudan, said that his country was undergoing fundamental changes, which required a public administration able to respond to the changes at the national and international levels. Transparency and accountability were perhaps the most important features required both of the administration and of government itself.
The Sudanese Government had taken concrete steps to improve its public institutions, according to its available resources, he said. One of the most important of those measures had been the reorganization of the executive organs at the national and provincial levels, based on the concept of participation at the local level, "so people would be able to administrate their affairs by themselves".
He said another important policy implemented by the Government was the National Comprehensive Strategy, designed to improve and enhance the performance of the Sudanese public administration. Various policies and programmes had been implemented as a result. For example, steps were taken to downsize the civil service, in order to rationalize the service and eliminate overlapping functions and personnel. In the area of financial administration, reform had also been undertaken. In the area of social development, a Ministry for Social Planning had been created. A free economic policy was in place and laws regarding the protection of the environment were also being implemented.
BABACAR NENE MBAYE, Minister of Modernization of Senegal, said his country, like many in sub-Saharan Africa, was facing the urgent need to promote its economy. The public administration had not lived up to the hope that had been placed in it for the promotion of economic and social development. Instead of being a driving force, it had proven a burden on the economy, through its ineffectiveness and inertia. The breakdown in the 1980s had led to a programme of structural adjustment, which included the reform of public administration.
In Senegal, new approaches were being advanced for the management of personnel in the civil service. A strategic and organizational audit of the ministries had been instituted, aimed at refocusing the administration on essential tasks, establishing supple procedures and developing appropriate methodologies. It involved studying staffing tables, defining training
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programmes, preparing a social plan to redeploy personnel, establishing communications systems, preparing a decentralization system, making certain structures more profitable and promoting cost-reduction.
There needed to be an evolution in the system of public financial management, he said. That applied, in particular, to reducing payment arrears and rationalizing budgetary procedures. It was necessary to adapt public expenditures to a growth strategy. New savings measures included programmes for professional training and retraining. The speedy globalization of the economy made ongoing training imperative. Reform of professional training schools allowed the administration to be more selective in the acquisition of staff. An assessment system based on productivity, merit and innovation was essential.
PRAKASH SHAH (India) said that his delegation had gained considerable insight from the national experiences of the Member States described in their statements during the present session. It was significant that in every case the national experiences "have been tailored to meet the very special needs of the countries concerned".
He supported the two-fold role of the United Nations as suggested by the Secretary-General, which consisted of the generation and dissemination of information on experiences, and customizing on request appropriate improvement programmes and practices in individual countries. The United Nations should continue to operate based on those two core themes. It would, however, be unwise for the United Nations to pursue suggestions for standard-setting. The diversity of Member States, the different stages of their development, the special circumstances in each country or region, and different levels of infrastructure were only some of the reasons.
However, he continued, it was equally important for the international community to consider laying down guidelines for other players --namely, the civil society and the private sector -- to follow. "We all know, for example, that corruption in public administration is not unrelated to the promotion of corruption in the private sector", he said. Those guidelines should address, for example, the role of the private sector, the manipulation of market forces and so forth. India had already put in place several mechanisms for follow-up to the major United Nations conferences. There was a constant monitoring of possible improvement of the civil service, by the continuing efforts of the Union Pubic Service Commission, "one of the oldest and most respected institutions in our country".
ERICH VILCHEZ ASHER (Nicaragua) drew attention to the problems encountered in the aftermath of his country's civil war. It was necessary to arrange for the return to civil society of those who had once taken up arms. The socio-economic conditions which led to war had to be addressed. Steps had
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to be taken to facilitate the shift from authoritarianism to democracy and from a centralized to a market economy, as well as to achieve sustainable development.
Nicaragua's Government had inherited an economy characterized by hyperinflation, he said. So far, 90 per cent of State enterprises had been privatized. Efforts had been undertaken to promote Nicaragua's agricultural and industrial trade. The Government had to be decentralized, and responsibilities shifted to the regional and local levels. It was at those levels that the private sector could be more effective in meeting the needs of the people.
The Social Security Institute had been separated from the Welfare Department, enabling it to provide better services more cheaply, he said. Private hospitals were contracted to provide services for those having insurance. The Government had returned thousands of properties to their original owners, and the National Assembly had adopted a law on private property. Resources which used to be spent on war were now being spent to strengthen economic and social institutions. International support was needed in that process. Efforts were also being taken to encourage respect for human rights.
He said the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) should continue playing a major role on the ground in connection with the processes of State reform. An effective public administration was the foundation for the establishment of a strong civil society. United Nations support was essential in those areas.
ASSOUMA YACOUBOU, Minister for the Civil Service and Administrative Reform of Benin, said that his country, due to the democratization process, was undergoing a profound reform of State structures and the promotion of an administration for development at all levels.
It was a question of moving from an inflexible administration to an administration of development, he continued. Benin had conducted studies on the following: remuneration in the civil service; audits in several ministries; rapid diagnostics in the ministries that had not been audited; administrative practices and the law; the general status of the civil service; the image of the public service; and the ethics and professional conduct of the civil service. Those studies had made it possible to reach the objective of realistic information on the mechanisms of the civil service of Benin.
He said a comprehensive reform plan was based on those studies, pursuing three objectives: the improvement of productivity of public institutions; public responsibility; and an improved service to users and civil society. One of the great advantages was that all those projects were done with
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national expertise. The costs were relatively low and national values were integrated into the different proposals and suggestions. The United Nations should continue to help in the exchange of experiences. Seminars and the exchange of missions would also be useful.
KHALID AZIZ BABAR (Pakistan) said that at the conceptual level there had been a remarkable convergence in recent years on the framework in which public administration institutions should function. The principles of transparency, accountability and greater participation by people "were no longer viewed as idealistic slogans to which lip service must be paid. Rather, these have come to be accepted as fundamental prerequisites for promoting development".
Difficulties persisted, however, in translating agreed upon principles into practice, he continued. The concepts of transparency, accountability and participation were not all that easy to operationalize. "Generic prescriptions" were sometimes impossible to implement due to differences in local conditions. It was an "inescapable conclusion" that the principles pertaining to the role of public administration needed to be applied to local conditions.
Public administrators in advanced countries needed to have a better understanding of the impact of their macroeconomic policies on the world at large, in particular their impact on the prospects of developing countries, he said. "This is simply because in an increasingly developed global economy, growth in the advanced countries cannot be sustained over the long term if the growth of developing countries is not ensured as well."
PETER L. KASANDA (Zambia) said that developing and managing an efficient and productive public sector was expensive. It required support by the United Nations system and exchange of national experiences. In Zambia, public administration had always been seen as integral to national development efforts. However, by the late 1980s it had become clear that the existence of a large public sector was a hindrance to economic and social progress. Although reforms had been undertaken, "there was little progress made because the bleak economic situation and the bloated public service were an integral part of a one-party political system and socialist ideology which also needed to be changed".
The new Government, which came to power in 1991, was instrumental in launching a more vigorous public reform programme, he said. It saw such reform as an absolute necessity, within a nationwide structural adjustment programme. Current reforms did not merely aim at reducing the number of public servants. They aimed at creating a lean, efficient and highly motivated civil service.
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He said assistance was needed to develop capacity in science and technology and to support the transition from a State-dominated economy. United Nations assistance to developing countries in the field of public administration in development was essential for the success of national efforts. He cited in particular the capacity-building programmes of the UNDP. Beyond assisting with public service reforms, UNDP was helping Zambia in developing its private sector. Other United Nations agencies should be involved in the programme approach currently used by the UNDP and other programmes of the United Nations development system.
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