Workshop:

Context and problems

Issues related to public affairs management have been for a long time monopolized by a small minority group composed of administrative, political, intellectual and economic elites. This marginalization of a large number people was playing in favor of the political game with its quite closed systems, from the administrative system that is imitating and giving priority to administrative technicians who are deciding about everything without consulting or involving concerned populations. Therefore relationships between rulers and population obeying were significantly commanding and obeying relationships, with the consequence of weakening state legitimacy and public policy efficiency.

It is obvious that governance cannot be accommodated with any type of exclusion. Societies and generated legitimacies, organizations and representatives they give themselves, political parties and representatives they are choosing, state and its institutions, every citizen who has the wish should be able to get opportunities and guarantees to express himself and act on public affairs matters, then participating actively to the definition and accomplishment of the collective governance project.

The governance notion is giving sense to the public policy regulations polycentricism where government modes elaboration is not handled by state hegemony considered as the only public action actor.

Partnership between actors are indeed in the heart of modern governance, whether it is for ensuring basic services access-water, sanitation, security, education, health, etc.- or for economic development.

Associating all society actors to public affairs management

Every governance mode to be legitimated should be built on inclusive processes. Therefore it is essential to break the “ghettoisation” and governance isolating system that is distinguishing actors categories and legitimacies types. It is important then to be aware that governance is not exclusively public institutions –local, national and international- and social political dominant groups. In a correlative way, there is no passive actors, simple receivers and consumers of public policies or moreover legitimacy types that are confined in the “non formal” governance while they still very significative inside society.

Issues for discussions:

  • What kind of spaces and mechanisms to ensure inclusive and consensual deliberation and public affairs cogestion?

  • What kind of values and guinding principles for public services and goods partnering managment ?

  • How can we prepare and strengthen every actors category to participate in public affairs management and ensure responsibilities with ethics and efficiency are undertaken?

Inventing another approach for « city public affairs management »

Representative democracy is supposed to organize diverse interests and opinions representation among different levels of power (executive and parliament); but in many countries its current way of functioning is reducing this representation principle: ballot marginalizing minorities, political change mechanisms locked, majority omnipotence inside institutions etc.

Africa should find a new way of elaborating political perspectives. Programmes cannot be elaborated by political parties apparels that are in many cases used as power conquering tools in the hands of leaders whose only agenda is accessing power and enjoying public goods. Society projects and political programmes who are issued should reflect what society needs. Tailored public affairs management methods are needed. In a game where the winner-takes-all syndrome is used, priority is given to partisan interests upon state interest. That’s why state continuity is perceived as uncertain even though political changes are happening.

Issues for discussion:

  • How can we strengthen representative democracy viability and sustainability in a participative democracy development context?

  • How can we ensure gender parity, minorities and vulnerable groups representation inside representative bodies ?

  • What are the suitable representation systems for African societies, with especially religious and traditional legitimacies?

  • How can consensus be built between all categories, at all levels around shared concerns?

Working with an active civil society for equitable public management

Government and public administration action is supposed to search for citizen satisfaction. And this can be appreciated, measured and realized only when citizen involvement, aspirations are taken into account from public policies elaboration stage to the execution stage.

Then citizens through organizations they are creating in the civil society development process should obtain the right to participate in public policies elaboration and evaluation. To make this right of participation efficient and effective citizens should have enough actions resources such as strong recognition of this right coupled with the right for information and other additional citizen rights.

Issues for discussion:

  • How can civil society be rationalized and its institution be empowered (knowledge and recognition by other categories of actors especially public institutions)?

  • How can civil society actors action and participation capabilities be reinforced especially regarding elaboration and public action control?

  • What types of information and training tools for civil society actors? How to optimize NICT for example regarding public policies evaluation?

Training public managers serving society

Public service needs for its functioning at all levels capable agents who know and understand their society, and who have a civil servant culture, serving their society, and moving according to their society needs and challenges adjusted to world changes. Training should play an important role in this case.

Most of public affairs training institutions in Africa were created in the authoritarian states context and were training public elites using conservative prisms leading them to have a “commander” behavior vis-à-vis citizens rather than a civil servant behavior.

This training sector is still in the hand of governments. Reforms implemented are done without citizen control encouraging then conservative pattern reproduction. With the neo liberal wave, private investments in the training sector are more oriented toward the market, forgetting public affairs.

Issues for discussion:

  • What values and principles should be introduced in public agents training to create a more tailored, rationalized and efficient public interest management?

  • How can be created an interafrican network training system on public affairs that could work with the African Cities Association (CGLU-Afrique), centers and institutes in training territorial agents, and national administration existing schools?