Concord Times (Freetown)
Pel Koroma
13 May 2008
Today, ECOWAS Commission Ministers of Presidential and Public Affairs are expected to adopt resolutions put together by ECOWAS experts of public service and other partners after a three-day deliberation at Bintumani Hotel.
At this year's conference, which is the fourth edition, pertinent and insightful topics were discussed extensively.
Experts discussed 'Integrating sustainable employment principles in governance and public service delivery; integrating decent work agenda in governance and public service delivery; and participatory governance and public engagement in service delivery.
If adopted, the resolution formed out of these series of deliberations will change the face of public service in West Africa.
What was more insightful for the growth of West Africa was integrating decent work agenda in governance and public service delivery. Corruption has been the key factor for the backwardness of a country like Sierra Leone.
As our country's presidential and public affairs minister puts pen to paper today, he should try to understand clearly the guiding principles and efforts disbursed by the experts to come up with cogent information which, if practiced, has the propensity to cut down on corruption and bring relief to the public service sector.
Kennedy Basisa, Principal Programme Officer, Social Affairs section of the ECOWAS Commission, dilated broadly on the guidelines for regional framework for award of excellence in public service which will serve as an impetus for decent work. That is individuals and institutions will now be awarded for best practice or decent work.
Will Sierra Leone ever qualify? Yes, if we fight corruption vigorously and change our perception. The $5 million award for the best leader in governance initiated last year for the whole of Africa is to encourage leaders to shy away from corruption.
Once it is agreed today, Sierra Leoneans should know henceforth that ECOWAS Commission will start dishing out regional awards for public service delivery.
Basisa articulated the rationale for the awards, the title of the awards, objectives, the categories of awards, value of the awards, the duration, the criteria for the awards and who to receive the awards -whether individual or institutions.
It will be vital for a collective resolve of African Ministers of Public Service to bring about the highest professional and ethical standards to our continent.
Job creation was also a focus and how to create them as governments are the highest employers in Africa.
At the conference, it became clear that the World Bank and IMF have shied away from job creation. So governments should now create the right environment to create employment.
Policies that will attract investment should be created and not just carry away the raw products.
Conditions that militate against development should be ignored.
West Africa countries should give out incentives, improve on infrastructures, security and create indigenous business-class. A professional civil service should be maintained and the civil service should not ignore research capacity.
A unified salary structure is urgently needed in the public service delivery. Clearly, the activities of investors should generate meaningful jobs and use local resources. Contract policies should also incorporate local value for sustainable development.
Investors should be monitored and evaluated to ensure compliance. It was suggested that legal practitioners should be employed especially in the trade and foreign affairs ministries.
It is true that some public service officials do not fully understand the contracts they sign with international bodies so legal people will look into the short and long term benefits of agreements.
Investors' obligation should be targeted in any state.
It appeared that location of businesses matter as it is often politicized.
Academic curricula should be revisited to meet ECOWAS demand for paramedics and engineers.
Courses in mining, petroleum and engineering should be enforced to meet the technological demands of states.
More resources should be spent to develop areas that will fast-track development.
It was pointed out during the deliberation that the top echelon of civil servants has become politicians and even advises the government.
One other key area is to mainstream macro-social sectoral policies and that strategic plan and budgetary process should be participatory. Areas of investment should be defined in member states.
ILO representative, Mohammed Gassama, maintained that 'decent work', security and the preservation of decent work is their organization's primary goal.
There should be fundamental right to pension, provision of full employment, and social protection, freedom of association both in the formal and informal sectors as they are central to the reduction of poverty and sustainable development.
The capacity of service providers should be built and conditions of workers in the public service should be improved.
The conference's resource person, Nigeria's Professor Dafe Otobo dwelled on participatory governance.
According to him, corruption is inherent in man so states should not leave their economies to market forces.
He said economic development can be planned and states should take the lead for reforms. African economic crisis stems from state dominance under politics of decolonization, of independence, economic planning and small private sector which led to the rapid growth of parastatals.
Also, inter-elite rivalry, planning process and national economic mismanagement and wide spread corruption are responsible for mass poverty and mass unemployment in Africa.
Ethnic/racial balancing, recruitment, placement, poor training and promotion, culture of arbitrariness have hindered progress in the public service. He also stated that under military rules and dictatorship, mismanagement, indiscipline and corruption as well as funding and service delivery challenges, have been some of the impediments to development.
He said it is clear that main civil service and parastatals are also influenced by politicians and their governments. Equality of treatment, neutrality, legality and continuity are the key principles of public service provision.
There should be professionalism in the public service, ethics, integrity, moral rectitude, declaration of assets, political neutrality and duty of confidentiality. And there should be no conflict of interest because public service providers are the bed rock for the development of member states.
Having said all these, it is my hope that the principles of best practice mandated by ECOWAS would be implemented to the fullest in Sierra Leone. In fact, the attitudinal change propelled by President Ernest Koroma hinges on best practice.
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