This follows deliberations during the 4th Meeting of the Ministerial Bureau of the 5th Pan-African Conference, held in Windhoek, Namibia.
The meeting, held on Wednesday and Thursday this week, reviewed progress made in the collective work of the Ministers of Public Service, under the auspices of the African Union Commission (AUC).
Reports on the Africa Public Service Charter championed by Algeria, the African Management Development Institutes' Network (AMDIN) and the All Africa Public Sector Innovation Awards championed by Mauritius were received.
A presentation on E-Government and Free Open Source Software was also given.
A statement following the conclusion of the meeting explained that the delegates had decided to review the African Public Service Charter with a view for its formal adoption by the African Union.
"Algeria is championing this aspect of the ministers' programme and will host a seminar on the 3 December in Algiers.
"Most African countries have their own codes and rules relating to public service that overlap with the Public Service Charter. The meeting resolved that the Charter be used as a basis to evaluate the efficacy of the codes established and to ensure alignment between their codes and the Charter," the statement said.
It adds that the meeting noted the potential of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) to improve access to service delivery, efficiency and effectiveness because it had the potential to cut costs and also facilitated open communication between governments and citizens.
"In taking forward the usage of FOSS, it was noted that there needs to be recognition of the importance of the coexistence of different software platforms and applications within public sector organisations.
"The movement towards FOSS usage in government is growing and a number of governments have made decisions on the full utilisation of FOSS for the delivery of services," the statement said.
It further explained that the AMDIN report noted positive developments.
The new executive of AMDIN now has representation from all five African regions, the statement said.
A second training programme was delivered and recorded participation from all African regions.
"AMDIN has acknowledged that its initial emphasis and take up had been with national Management Development Institutes [MDIs], but has now undertaken to include all relevant regional and continental entities and networks in its prospective membership campaigning," it said.
The work on anti-corruption that was championed by Nigeria was also discussed. It emphasised the need to mobilise resources to ensure the realisation of the Ministers' work.
The meeting agreed to assist Burundi to source funding to host a workshop on Post Conflict Public Service Reconstruction.
The Ministers also discussed preparations for the 6th Pan African Conference of Ministers for Public/Civil Service to be held in April 2008 and agreed that the work of the various champions would be thoroughly documented in preparation for the event.
Another issue that is still on the Ministers' agenda is capacity development on the continent.
South Africa's Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, the Chairperson of the 5th Pan African Conference of Ministers for Public/Civil Service chaired the meeting, which was hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia Libertina Amathila and included participation by the Commissioner of Political Affairs in the African Union Commission Julia Dolly Joiner.
Quelle/Source: BuaNews Online, 26.10.2007
