SUMMARY REPORT: DPSA SUPPORT TO NEPAD
(PREPARED FOR THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION)
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) support to NEPAD is focused in two specific areas of engagement: 1) ‘Governance and Public Administration’ Policy and Research and 2) ‘Capacity Development’ Interventions. Within these areas, there are both short and long run supportive interventions. In establishing its support and related programmatic activities, the department has been building on ongoing partnership engagements within the continent and works under the guidance of the Minister of Public Service and Administration (MPSA). The department also maintains an accountability link with the NEPAD Secretariat and appropriate NEPAD governance and coordination structures.
The ‘Capacity Development’ initiative is a short to medium term programme intervention directed at enhancing institutional capabilities for the implementation of NEPAD. In close partnership with the NEPAD Secretariat, DPSA is leading the initiative with a view to establishing it as a well-resourced and coordinated capacity development programme of NEPAD. In partnership with the NEPAD Secretariat, DPSA hosted a ‘roundtable discussion’ on Capacity Development on the 8th March 2002. Participation in the ‘roundtable’ was from the 16 countries represented on the NEPAD Steering Committee. The meeting identified four priority capacity intervention areas: I) Regional Integration, II) Governance, III) Peace and Security and IV) Public Sector Reform. A brief report from the meeting is attached as Tag A.
In establishing the ‘Capacity Development ‘ interventions, DPSA is working closely with a range of training and capacity development partners across the continent (African Capacity Building Foundation and CAFRDA). In addition, DPSA has participated in meetings with donors to encourage support for the initiative. In general, donors have commitment themselves to supporting rapid capacity development interventions across the continent. In line with this DPSA has developed a detailed Capacity Development Programme (Tag B). The programme was presented to a NEPAD Steering-Committee meeting and the NEPAD Heads of State meeting in Rome (June 2002). The programme has been incorporated into the overall implementation programme of NEPAD and has been presented to various donors and partners.
To ensure a medium to long-term impact, DPSA is also involved in enhancing NEPAD’s Capacity Building Programme through various focused policy oriented research projects on ‘Governance and Public Administration’ issues. The overall objective of the research activities is to enhance policy capabilities and to build an empirical knowledge base for effective policy development in governance and public administration. The department has mobilized some initial resources for the following specific research projects:
Governance and Public Administration Data Project:
This project is directed at collecting and collating data and information on governance and administration issues across the region. An initial framework for the data to be collected has been completed. It is expected that the project will result in the establishment of a sustainable information resource base on public administration systems across the continent. The framework guiding the collection and collation of the information is attached as Tag C.
Governance and Public Administration Case Studies:
This project is directed at encouraging the development of case studies on specific public administration practices from across the continent. At this stage, resources are available for the production of eight cases. DPSA is in the process of soliciting case writers and is approaching other partners to support the development of additional case studies (Tag D).
Governance Indicator Project:
This project is directed at establishing a framework of indicators on Governance and Public Administration. In view of the momentum within NEPAD on the implementation of the Peer-Review mechanism, DPSA is currently assessing the project with a view to ensuring that it fits appropriately with developments within NEPAD.
Assessment of Donor Support to Public Sector Reform Programmes:
This project is directed at assessing the resources invested and interventions in public sector reform across the continent. At a policy level, the results of the assessment are directed at enhancing greater exchange of information and experiences on public sector reform. The terms of reference for the project are attached as Tag E.
In line with the support provided to NEPAD and DPSA’s ongoing engagement with governance and public administration partners across Africa, a conference of Ministers and Administrative Heads of Public Service will be hosted on the 23rd to the 26th March 2003, in Cape Town, South Africa. It is anticipated that the outputs of the research projects will be presented at the conference and the conference will discuss and confirm an overall Pan African ‘Capacity Building ‘ and ‘Governance and Administration’ programme for NEPAD. An initial concept note for the conference has been developed (Tag F).
Preparations for the March 2003 conference are at an initial stage and the concept paper and relevant documentation is likely to change as further expertise are brought into the preparation process and as consultation is broadened. Given the scale of the conference and the expected output, much of DPSA’s focus over the next few months will be to ensure that the required documents are prepared for the conference and that the conference be attended by all Ministers of Public Service from the continent.