AFRICAN MINISTERS OF PUBLIC SERVICE ADOPT CHARTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

AFR/302*

DEV/2281

8 February 2001

AFRICAN MINISTERS OF PUBLIC SERVICE ADOPT CHARTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

        NEW YORK, 8 February (DESA) -- Forty-one African Ministers of Public Service unanimously adopted a Charter of Public Service for Africa at the conclusion of the third biennial Pan-African Conference of Ministers of Civil Service, held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 5 to 6 February.

        The Charter’s adoption is the beginning of a campaign by African governments to restore prestige and dignity to the public service, reinforce integrity in public life and raise performance levels and competence in government at large.  It was drafted with the assistance of experts on public service matters from the United Nations and the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD).  It took two years to complete, and several meetings of ministers and experts to arrive at a consensual text.

        Strengthening the public service is considered a necessary prerequisite to building the capacity of African States to face the many challenges of globalization, and to play a leading role in development for Africa.

        The fifteenth Meeting of Experts on the United Nations Programme in Public Administration and Finance, held in New York from 4 to 8 May 2000, reviewed the draft text and recommended that the United Nations provide support to African governments to develop and implement it; a recommendation supported by a decision from the Economic and Social Council in July 2000.  The Meeting of Experts also suggested other regions be encouraged to develop similar initiatives.

        In line with the above recommendation, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has developed guidelines on professional ethics for African countries.  These will be made available in electronic format and will also be used in special training courses intended to enhance governments’ capacities to promote public service professionalism and combat corruption.

        The meeting was convened under the presidency of the Prime Minister of Nambia, H. Geingob.

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*       Press Release SG/SM/7707-AFR/310 of 7 February should have been numbered SG/SM/7707-AFR/301.