Welcoming remarks by Mr. Yousif Suliman, OIC of the Commission

on behalf of Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of ECA

11 December 2006

Your Excellencies

Distinguished participants

On behalf of Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and on my own behalf, let me warmly welcome you all to Addis Ababa for this Regional Forum on Reinventing Government in Africa. This conference is organized in preparation for the Seventh Global Forum on Reinventing Government, scheduled to take place in Vienna in June 2007 on the theme of “Building Trust in Government”. Hence its unique importance. In this regard, let me, at the outset, commend the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs (UNDESA) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the initiative, and indeed the excellent preparations made to make this forum a great success. The diversity, broadness and the high level of participation are a source of great delight and an obvious indication of the great promise of your meeting. We have amongst us ministers, senior government officials, Civil Society Organizations activists and researchers, as well as participants from other UN agencies.

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Over the past few years, Africa has recorded encouraging and positive signs of progress in the long struggle to build and sustain good governance. The positive change is particularly visible in the area of consolidation of democracy- through greater political inclusiveness and increased accountability. Economic growth has also picked up, also thanks to improved economic management in many African countries.

However, a number of major challenges need to be addressed if peoples' confidence in governments is to be built, strengthened, and sustained.

Among these challenges is the lack of strong and functioning institutions, particularly in the judiciary and legislature, where inadequate financial and other operational resources have impaired the delivery of services. The lack of independence of governance institutions weakens their ability to function effectively and establish accountability mechanisms. Moreover, insufficient, or technically poor, human resources seriously reduce the capacity of institutions to influence governance.

The continued and growing presence of these adverse factors seriously undermine peoples' confidence and trust in their governments.

Corruption remains a major factor in the mistrust in governments. . Corrupt practices undermine the credibility and effectiveness of government institutions, impede investor confidence and deprive citizens – women and the poor in particular – of essential public services. Although many countries have made significant efforts to address the issue of corruption by establishing anticorruption commissions and bureaus, yet inadequate resources, and lack of will to fight corruption, have rendered such mechanisms largely ineffective.

Distinguished participants,

In close collaboration with our partner institutions, we in ECA are actively engaged in activities aimed at building and promoting good governance through active participation of various stakeholders. In this regard, through its new Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD), ECA will continue to strengthen its efforts in some key areas, notably:

• Research to develop Africa-specific mechanisms and indicators for measuring and monitoring good governance trends on the continent. Results covering 28 African countries were published in the first edition of the African Governance Report in November 2005. The next edition of this report is expected to cover more countries and deepen the previous findings.

• Technical support to member states on political, economic and corporate governance and on institutional effectiveness issues.

• Building and strengthening of accountable and transparent governance institutions as critical elements in the fight against corruption. Here focus will be on analysis of the impact of corruption on development, and the organization of training programmes and workshops on corruption. Target groups include relevant institutions, Civil Society Organizations, policymakers, the judiciary, government procurement agencies and schools.

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Building trust in government is an important component of the overall discussion on good governance in Africa. Hence, the outcome of this regional forum can make a pivotal contribution to enhancing the efforts of those engaged in building good governance on the continent. To this effect, we look forward to the outcome of your insightful discussions, which I am sure, will provide constructive inputs to the forthcoming Global Forum in Vienna in June 2007.

It only remains for me to wish you successful deliberations and I thank you for your kind attention.