By BRIAN SIWISHA –

PUBLIC administration is one core function that any country cannot do without as it plays a key role in steering national development.

Since 1960s, most African countries experienced a shift from the once ever-present system of authoritarian, single-party rule to multiparty rule.

The democratisation of the African countries, which has taken root, has also entailed a change in the way national affairs are being managed.

With these changes overtime, management of both human and economic resources has drastically changed demanding new approaches.

Public administration,as defined by scholars, is a branch of political science dealing primarily with the structure and workings of agencies charged with the administration of governmental functions.

It is also the machinery used by the State to place itself in a position to make plans and programmes that can be carried out.

It is the instrument of change in the society and is expected to accelerate the process of development.

Furthermore, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has defined public administration as having two closely related meanings:

The management and implementation of the whole set of Government activities dealing with the implementation of laws, regulations and decisions of the Government and the management related to the provision of public services.

The aggregate machinery (policies, rules, procedures, systems, organisational structures, personnel and so forth) funded by the State budget and in- charge of the management and direction of the affairs of the executive government, and its interaction with other stakeholders in the State, society and external environment.

Many governments in Africa have undertaken the task of leveling down the economic inequalities through spreading education among all, securing equality of status, rights of women and effective and all round economic and industrial development.

The burden of carrying out these social changes in a planned and orderly way rests upon the Public Administration of African countries.

Historically, Zambia which attained self-rule from Great Britain in 1964, as in the cases of all former Anglo and Franco-phone countries, public Administration in the newly independent Zambia, was entrusted with two inter-related missions.

These were to maintain law and order on the part of the subservient population in the colony, and facilitate the extraction of economic resources and to deliver such resources to the colonial power.

The machinery of public administration as inherited from the colonial power, Great Britain, was therefore not oriented to perform the role of central agent for the promotion of social and economic development.

As such Zambia since 1964 continues to quest for transformation of its systems in order to improve the livelihood of its population and also have an efficient public service for overall national development.

It is for this reason that Zambia, a member of international bodies and signatory to a number of international treaties, is yet again hosting a high profile conference where more than 500 delegates will assemble in Lusaka to tackle and seek solutions to issues of public administration at continental level.

The conference is called the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) which will be the 37th Roundtable meeting.

This annual conference will be held under a theme dubbed: “Transforming Public Administration and Management (PAM) in order to contribute towards the Agenda 2063 within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals” at the Mulungushi international Centre (MICC), from 29th February to 4th March, 2016.

The African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) is an International professional organisation that promotes best practice, Excellence and Professionalism in public administration and management in Africa through research, publications, training seminars, conferences and awards.

Initial efforts to its birth dates back to 1962, when a group of Permanent Secretaries in- charge of Public Services from several African countries, met to discuss and address the issues facing the African Public Services.

In 1971, this network of Heads of Civil Service decided to formalise their assembly in Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, giving birth to African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM).

The Association was inaugurated by the President of Sierra Leone, the late Siaka Stevens and had Kenya’s Cabinet Minister Robert Oukoas as the first President of AAPAM.

According to records, the previous presidents that served in the association include William Wamalwa (Kenya), Robert Dodoo (Ghana), Jonathan Chileshe (Zambia), John Mitala (Uganda), Tlohang Sekhamane (Lesotho) and Abdon Agaw Jok Nhial (South Sudan).

AAPAM has led efforts to strengthen the administrative and management capacities of African public administration systems.

The continental body has a membershipof over five hundred top administrators and managers from African Nations and fifty corporate members.

The membership includes Institutions and schools of Public Administration and Management, as well as public sector institutions in Africa.

Others are African governments and donor institutions that have a keen interest towards the enhancement of development and professionalisation of public administration and management that support AAPAM with subventions and grants.

The AAPAM conference, not the first its kind, came to be held every year in rotation in various capital cities of independent Africa, and by 1965 every Head of Civil Service looked forward to attending the Inter-African Public Administration Seminar, as the meetings came to be known.

Zambia is hosting the conference for the second time as one was earlier held in 2005 where African countries meet to discuss matters pertaining to public administration.

The country has been a very active member since the inception of the association as evidenced by it holding the presidency on two occasions.

Secretary to Cabinet Rowland Msiska is new AAPAM president after having been elected as president for the association at the last 36th Roundtable conference held in Morocco will serve until 2017.

In an interview at his office, the new AAPAM president states that the hosting of roundtable meeting conference is another opportunity for Zambiato sell itself.

“The AAPAM conference will significantly benefit the Zambia public service as government strives to achieve one of the public services in the region, which is globally competitive. It will also renew and raise awareness among public sector managers of their pivotal role in national development,” Dr Msiska elaborated.

Owing to Zambia’s central position in the sub region, the conference which is first to held among other high level meetings expected to take place in the country this year, Secretary to Cabinet said the benefits to be accrued were immense.

He said Zambia is hosting the conference for the second time having first hosted it in 2005 adding that it will provide an opportunity to further entrench the core values of professionalism, integrity, confidentiality, client focus, transparency and courtesy in the Zambian public service.

“The publicity will also benefit the tourism sector of the country and boost investor confidence in the Zambian economy. It will also build confidence of the international community on Zambian’s stability.

“The fact that there will be more than 600 delegates in the country during the conference days, this is expected to benefit the hotel industry, transporters and other service providers,” Dr Msiska said.

The head of the civil service also said Zambia should be proud because two of its technocrats has already led the association, the first being Jonathan Chileshe in 2005.

Dr Msiska pointed out that Zambia is ready for the conference as a local organising committee had already started preparations and logistics have since been put in place. He said as a country, his office is confident that preparations on course will lead to the successful hosting of the conference.

“Preparations started last year and government had budgeted for the conference activities under the 2015 and 2016 national budgets. Other international and local companies including stakeholders have come on board to sponsor the conference,” revealed Dr Msiska.

According to an AAPAM communique issued in December, 2015, the meetings will attract ministers from member states drawn from the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the government, heads of national planning ministries, renowned scholars and civic leaders.

Others invited include leaders from the private sector and partners from the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and other regional and international groupings.

Just as the theme states,”Transforming Public Administration and Management (PAM) in order to contribute towards the Agenda 2063 within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals”, there is need to transform and empower the public administration and management in Africa as Key to achieving the African Union 2063 agenda and the millennium sustainable goals(SDGs).

And the Zambia Society of Public Administration (ZSPA) has hailed the hosting of the conference by Zambia.

Society president Kelvin Esiasa noted that the country has proven to be a haven of peace as this year alone, it will host three high level meetings namely the Inter-Parliamentary Union (March), AAPAM (Feb-March) and African Development Bank Annual Meeting (May).

Mr Esiasa explained that such conferences were important to understanding the role public administration played in the country. He observed that politicians often over shadow the role of public administration towards national development.

Mr Esiasa whose organisation is an advocacy body, noted that this will also enable non-governmental organisations such as his to have a platform of sharing experiences with other partner organisations from Africa.

One of AAPAM’s stakeholder, the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) too is of the view that transformation of the way things are being done in African administrations is inevitable.

Bonald Mwape, Director General of ESAMI, whose headquarters is in Arusha, Tanzania, said the conference could not have come at better time.

“AAPAM is of great importance to Africa because it gives a platform for articulation and dissemination of ideas on capacity building and development issues in the African region. AAPAM programmes provide a forum for exchanging ideas and experiences between Administrators and Managers in Public administration which is an area of interest to ESAMI,” Professor Mwape explained.

The professor stated that the holding of such a forum positions administrators and other technocrats to inform each other and come up with ideas on how best they can improve in the way they manage their affairs of the countries.

Professor Mwape also said it was time Africa broke the authoritarian type of leadership in the public service if meaningful development is to be achieved.

More than ever, Africa is under scrutiny and pressure to demonstrate practical action to divest itself from the course of under-development and stagnation onto a path of sustained development.

In spite of accelerated efforts to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals to halve poverty by 2015, much of Africa continues to experience deepening levels of poverty.

The rapid pace of globalisation and its associated negative effects have strained the already limited capacities and disabled most countries from optimising the opportunities created by a globalised world.

African people have become more aware, more expectant and in fact, more assertive in demanding increased accountability and greater participation in decision-making processes and in the delivery of public services

The AAPAM, its associates and fraternity believe that this action plan will be effectively implemented to achieve Sustainable Development in Africa, when implemented with the support of robust governance, public administration and management in Africa.

It therefore becomes imperative for African states in particular Zambia to be equipped with abilities to flexibly and proactively make definitive choices that are in the interest of its long term and sustained development.