In progress at UNHQ

AFR/42

CONFERENCE ON GOVERNANCE ON AFRICA TO BE HELD IN ADDIS ABABA, 2-6 MARCH

3 March 1998


Press Release
AFR/42
REC/21


CONFERENCE ON GOVERNANCE ON AFRICA TO BE HELD IN ADDIS ABABA, 2-6 MARCH

19980303 NEW YORK, 2 March (DESA) -- A major Africa-wide Conference on Governance in Africa will be held at the Conference Centre of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, from 2 to 6 March. The Conference, whose theme is "Consolidating the Institutional Foundations", is jointly sponsored by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the ECA, with the collaboration of the Governments of Italy and Japan.

The Conference will be opened by Ethiopia's Minister of Justice, Werede Wold Wolde. The former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, is the Conference's convenor and will also deliver the keynote address.

The event will be organized at two levels. The first is a two-day round table involving a select group of about 20 senior personalities from Africa and drawn from governments, the private sector and various professions within civil society. Also participating in the round table are senior personalities from Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America, who are expected to contribute an international comparative perspective to the discussions. The round table will focus its deliberations on an analysis of strategies for strengthening central institutions such as the constitution, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive as well as electoral institutions and processes, with a view to making those institutions more effective, transparent and accountable.

The second level of the Conference will be a three-day workshop involving about 50 participants invited in their personal capacity and also representing different sectors, including government, private sector and civil society. The workshop will examine at some depth means and ways of strengthening the "rule of law" in African countries and the role of civil society, including the rights and responsibilities of citizens. There will also be a working group on how to improve the capacity of the public service in order to make it more cost-efficient in conducting primary government functions and more effective in meeting the needs of the populace.

According to the Conference Chairman, K.Y. Amoako, ECA Executive Secretary, the overall objective of the Conference is "to provide a platform

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which brings together people from different walks of life and from different African countries to reflect on how to strengthen governing institutions and maintain a balance between them in order to create appropriate foundations for good governance". Mr. Amoako further noted that the importance of the conference lies in the fact that "it provides an opportunity for leading personalities in Africa to undertake an Africa-based diagnosis of the vexing problems in Africa and identify strategies appropriate to the African reality in fostering good governance".

Guido Bertucci, Director of the Division of Governance, Public Administration and Finance at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, observed that the Conference will build on a number of similar initiatives organized through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other United Nations agencies in the past. A unique aspect of the Conference will be the combination of candid dialogue and discussion from respected African leaders and the applied nature of the workshop. In the workshop, distinguished African practitioners will be asked to translate the dialogue into an action-oriented agenda of implementable strategies and initiatives to best accelerate the process of creating a conducive environment and consolidating the institutional framework for good governance.

The conclusions of the Conference will be shared with a wide range of African policy makers and opinion leaders, with a view to advancing the ongoing dialogue and efforts at improving governance in Africa.

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For information media. Not an official record.