Rwanda will on Monday host a high level African meeting that seeks to strengthen the capacity of public service to respond to the global economic and financial crisis. The two-day forum expects to examine and propose concrete measures African governments need to implement in order to enable public service function that supports the economic and social transformation of Africa. The conference, organised under the theme “Africa in post-crisis global economy: the role of the public administration in Africa’s transformation”, will bring together hundreds of high-level participants including academics, political leaders, representatives of international organisations, chief executive officers, and civil society organisations among other officials from all over Africa and outside the continent. The African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) and the government of Rwanda organised the forum. It will take into account proper reforms needed to champion good working conditions in the public sector, particularly on sectors that are crucial to job creation. Speaking to The Sunday Times, the advisor to the Minister of Public Service and Labour, Edmond Tubanambazi, said Rwanda was delighted to host the forum because the country is on the move to strengthen capacities for both the public and private sectors. “The meeting will give us an opportunity to identify and evaluate how the public administration is responding to threats on the progress of the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development,” he said. According to the organisers, the theme of the conference was chosen based on the fact that the global economic crisis had culminated into a worrisome meltdown in the economies of most developed countries. “In order to tackle the crisis directly and decisively, it was necessary to strengthen the public administration and management systems,” Tubanambazi said. He further noted that participants are expected to assess the role of public administration in African countries and devise means that will promote the continent’s growth. Rwanda has recently established a National Capacity Building Secretariat (NCBS) to boost the activities of both the public and private sectors to achieve the targets outlined in the country’s second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II).
