PRESS CONFERENCE ON DRAFT CHARTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE IN AFRICA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON DRAFT CHARTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE IN AFRICA

A draft Charter for the public service in Africa, including a code of conduct for public service employees, is to be adopted early next year, a Headquarters press conference was told this afternoon.

Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, South African Minister for Public Service and Administration, said the need for the code of conduct emerged from the Second Pan-African Conference of Ministers of the Civil Service, organized with the support of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, and held in Rabat, Morocco, from 13 to 15 December 1998.

A working group was set up under the chairmanship of the Minister of the Civil Service and Administrative Reform of Morocco, to take measures to enhance professionalism and ethics in the public service in Africa, and to elaborate a draft Charter for the public service in Africa, including a code of conduct for public service employees.

Ms. Fraser-Moleketi said the working group’s purpose was also to look at professional values required in a public service pertinent to Africa, and taking into account the realities on the continent. She emphasized that the draft was a consensus document, and the principles considered included equality of treatment of citizens, and neutrality and a stable environment conducive to the strengthening of ethical values and the image of the public service, as well as the professionalism of its employees. The major focus was to ensure accessibility to services, and to put in place sustainable services for the public, as well as ensure the right of participation and consultation with members of the public when and as required. One aspect was the need to ensure that there was no conflict of interest in which public servants might exploit their positions for personal gain.

The draft Charter was an initiative taken on the African continent and by African Ministers, she said, adding that it clearly reflected the desire to put in place more competent public administration.

Guido Bertucci, Director of the Division for Public Economics and Public Administration of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, who presided over the conference, also emphasized the African origin of the enterprise. He said it was not copied from outside the continent, nor was it imposed. It was a spontaneous initiative that had yielded a positive result. A number of officials and experts attending a meeting on “Globalization and the State” at Headquarters had expressed interest in the draft African Charter for possible application in their regions.

He said there had been a proposal for a universal charter of public service sponsored by the United Nations, and the African initiative would be a major contribution to that in view of the heavy demand being put on public institutions by the forces of globalization.

Africa Charter Press Conference - 2 - 12 May 2000

Ms. Fraser-Moleketi added that the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) had played a critical role in facilitating and providing technical support for the Rabat Conference.

Responding to questions, Ms. Fraser-Moleketi said the draft Charter for the public service in Africa would be adopted at the next Pan-African Conference of Ministers of the Civil Service in the first quarter of 2001. It was also envisaged that subregional conferences would be organized for its adoption. What was critical was making the document a national reality, too, with the various Member States ensuring its implementation.

A correspondent asked whether the draft Charter -– an important positive development -– could be adopted before the September Millennium General Assembly session. Ms. Fraser-Moleketi said it had been circulated to Member States, but there was difficulty in timing. A meeting of senior officials, with some ministers attending, had been scheduled for Abuja, Nigeria, next June. “But we have to wait for the senior elected and appointed public-service officials to take that decision”, she said.

Mr. Bertucci said the Secretariat intended to disseminate the draft Charter to the United Nations membership and the media once it was adopted by the Conference of African Ministers.

According to a United Nations Secretariat document (ST/SG/AC.6/2000/L.3), the draft Charter defines a framework to guide the public services in Africa in taking such legislative, regulatory, technical and practical measures as might be required to create propitious conditions for the proper functioning of the public service and to improve the quality of its services.

The document expressed the will of African States and underscored their political and moral commitment to streamline the services provided to citizens, and to ensure the efficient use of the resource allocated for such services.

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