44thth Pan Africa Meeting of Pan Africa Meeting of Ministers of Public ServiceMinisters of Public Service

4-6 May 2003

Analysis of Donor Support to Analysis of Donor Support to Public Sector Reform in AfricaPublic Sector Reform in Africa

CentreCentre for Public Service Innovationfor Public Service Innovation

Introduction Introduction –– Analysis of Donor SupportAnalysis of Donor Supportto Public Sector Reform in Africato Public Sector Reform in Africa

• Terms of reference– Development of knowledge base of donor

supported initiatives in Africa over the last 30 years / next ten years / gaps and areas of commonality

– Development of interactive database– Finalisation of analytical reports

• Conceptual framework

• Strategic value of the study

Client and Executing AgencyClient and Executing Agency

• Client – Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA – South Africa)

• Executing agency – Centre for Public Service and Innovation (CPSI)– Section 21 Company established in September 2001 by

the Minister for Public Service and Administration to identify, support and nurture innovation in public services

– Vision: ‘Innovative services for growth and development’– Mission: Promote and support innovation by

demonstrating practice, facilitating partnerships, rewarding initiative and sharing knowledge

– Role: CPSI functions as an enabler, facilitator and champion for innovative ideas

Partnership with the African GovernancePartnership with the African GovernanceInventory (AGI)Inventory (AGI)

• AGI– The Africa Governance Inventory (AGI) is a

database containing financial and descriptive information on governance initiatives implemented in sub-Saharan Africa covering 24 countries

– Executed by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (UNDESA)

– Responded to the need for a database as expressed by participants in the First Africa Governance Forum (AGF), held in Addis Ababa in 1997

• Strategic partnership with the AGI• Possible collaboration for the future

Overview of presentationOverview of presentation

• Status of study

• Key findings

• Interactive database

• Recommendations

STATUS OF STUDYSTATUS OF STUDY

• Current- database containing data of at least 36 of the 53 countries- a number of sources accessed - ten countries visited - academic workshops (South Africa and Morocco)

• By end of May 2003- validation of data and data gaps- Donors’ conference in Tanzania- Finalisation of interactive database- Finalisation of all deliverables and packaging- Handover

KEY ELEMENTS OF THE STUDYKEY ELEMENTS OF THE STUDY

Para

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Public sectorreform

Governance components- Public Administration- Decentralisation- Rule of law and humanrights- Electoral system- Parliamentary system

Functional areas- Policy development andregulation- Systems and process design- Institutional restructuring anddevelopment- Cross cutting themes such asgender and HIV / AIDS- Monitoring and evaluation

Branches of the State- Judiciary- Legislature- Executive- Oversight bodies

The range of governance andpublic sector reform initiatives and

components

Key functional and institutionalinterventions underpinnedby capacity building as the

generic value add

Key institutional formsoperative in the public sector

At the countryand sub regionstructure levels

Regional, sub regionaland national perspectives

Key findings Key findings -- overviewoverview

Key findings divided into:

•Overall finding

•11 specific findings

Constraints:

•General difficulty in accessing data

•Outputs and impacts not reflected

•Interim findings (data gaps)

•Data reflected over the last 10 – 15 years

Overall findingOverall finding

Donor support to Public Sector Reform has not yielded long-term sustainability of reform or capacity development in most African countries

Technical AssistanceForeign best practiceMechanisms of engagementCorruptionLack of political legitimacyStrife and internal conflicts

Specific findings Specific findings –– Dependence on DonorDependence on Donor

Spend per component of governanceSpend per component of governance

Country Spend on Public AdministrationCountry Spend on Public Administration

Key donors active in Public Sector Key donors active in Public Sector ReformReform

Government contribution to Public Government contribution to Public Sector ReformSector Reform

• The sampling of countries demonstrates the trend that government contribution to PSis insignificant relative to donor spend

• Contributions in kind have not beequantified but suggest that government contributions are more significant than reflected

Spend by lending institutionsSpend by lending institutions

• The World Bank remains a significant supporter of PSR but in the context of Structural Adjustment Programmesand loans

Total spend on PSR per NEPAD Sub Total spend on PSR per NEPAD Sub regionsregions

Sub regional structuresSub regional structures

• Including:- COMESA- SADC- ECCAS- ECOWAShave currently no clearly defined interventions and processes related to PSR in their member countries

Donor CoordinationDonor Coordination

• Lack of Donor coordination at the country and sub-regional levelsresulting in:

duplication and wastageover-funding Lack of response to country priorities

Indicative of “fad based” approach to funding

Direct and indirect contributions by Direct and indirect contributions by donors donors

• Many Donors contribute to countries directly(through bi-lateral funding) and indirectly (through their contributions to multi-lateral institutions)

Bilateral Aid by type 1999 ($33 910 millions)

$13 033m

$18 517m

$3 951m $3 049m

$2 277m

$4 365m

$1 045m

Technical co-operation

Developmental food aid

Emergency & distress relief

Debt forgiveness

Administrative costs

Bilateral loans

Contributions to multilateralinstitutions

Technical assistance and capacity Technical assistance and capacity developmentdevelopment

• Technical Assistance and capacity building is more supply than demand driven – tend to meet short term results but no evidence of long term and sustainable impact

• Foreign best practice has reinforced international perspectives and experience at the expense of indigenous knowledge, contextual conditions and cultural sensitivities

Interactive database Interactive database

• Has been designed with development tools and softwarethat makes it accessible across the region

• Will currently be packaged on CD ROM but can be web enabled for the future (internet access)

• Will migrate to a relevant institutional form within the African Union as a regional resource and monitoring instrument

• Recommend that it be temporarily housed and maintained by the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) in South Africa - in the interim

• Will be fully interactive by the end of May 2003

Snapshots of databaseSnapshots of database

Recommendations Recommendations –– Framework of ActionFramework of Action

PublicSectorReform

DonorSupport

Pan AfricaMinisters meetings- every two years

Public Sector ReformPublic Sector Reform

• Common understanding of definitions (Public Administration, Public Sector, Civil Service, Governance)

• Share African success stories and lessons learnt –reflecting the African experience for Africa’s development

• Manage a dialogue and network platform that cuts across language divides (exploits the IT revolution and emphasis on knowledge societies)

• Engage and actively mobilise African expertise and academic resources for PSR development in the region – regional register of experts and specialists

• Engage existing regional and sub regional institutions to mobilise efforts in addressing PSR challenges in the region

• Encourage the development of PSR indicators and the setting up of a regional monitor

Donor SupportDonor Support

• Call donor conferences at Regional and sub-regional levels to critically reflect / plan

• Set and respond to priorities and trends with reference to Donor support to PSR

• Review and advocate more empowering governance arrangements and mechanisms of control

• Advocate Donors to use African expertise and best practices in their TA and capacity development processes - reducing foreign best practice

• Monitor donor spend, outputs and impacts on PSR• Provide a platform for Donor critical reflections of

challenges and successes that mitigate or enhance the impacts of their PSR efforts

• Call for greater sensitivity towards language, culture, indigenous knowledge and African best practice

• Advocate donors to align their funding interests with country or regional priorities

Pan Africa Meeting of Ministers of PublicPan Africa Meeting of Ministers of PublicServiceService

• Ensure currency of database on PSR• Review decisions and plans with reference to

donor support to Public Sector Reform • Commission evaluation studies, research and

academic papers on PSR • Reflect on and determine regional and sub

regional priorities in PSR • Call for comprehensive regional reports on

donor support to PSR

Sources of dataSources of data

• Publications• Websites, such as:

- Donor sites- Country sites

• Project documents:- country specific documents

• Interviews of key resource persons in embassies, government and donor agencies

• Meetings and seminars• Databases• Journals• Books• Country visits

- Donor representatives- Government representatives

Thank youThank you