The Capacity Building Seminar for officials from State Parties to the African Charter on the Values & Principles of Public Service and Administration of the Southern Africa Region on the implementation of the States Parties’ Assessment Tool (SPAT), which is organised jointly by the AU Commission (AUC) and the African Management Development Institutes' Network (AMDIN) kicked off on 18 October 2021 in Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho.

This capacity building aligns with the declaration of the Second Conference of State Parties to the Charter held from 27 to 29 April 2021 (Para 3) which called on the African Union “to ensure capacity building seminars are organized whenever necessary, especially at the beginning of the use of the SPAT, to enhance the understanding of Member States on key performance areas for effective implementation of the Charter.

The objectives of the seminar are: (a) Familiarizing participants with the provisions of the Charter and tools for effective reporting on its implementation; (b) Making participants understand when and how to conduct a state party assessment and the requirements for ensuring objective and impartial assessments; (c) Familiarizing participants with the SPAT framework for assessing implementation performance and the detailed mechanics and technicalities of its administration; and (d) Learning how to summarize findings and conclusions into a factual, good quality and coherent implementation assessment report that meets the requirements of the AU Commission;

Held in hybrid format, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the training brought together representatives from Management Development Institutes and officials from public service ministries of State Parties of the Southern Africa Region (Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Malawi)

The Principal Secretary for the Public Ministry of Lesotho in his statement, delivered by Ms Nthabiseng Thlomola, Director General of the Lesotho National Institute of Government, said the event is important and timely not only because of the challenges faced by the Public Administrations but also because the Charter is an important instrument to be relied upon for the realization of Agenda 2063. She further added that the Charter will help limit fraud & corruption in order to boost transparency and accountability in day- to- day interaction with the citizens.

In his address, Prof. Ludeki Chweya, President of the African Management Development Institute (AMDIN) mentioned that in the spirit of disseminating the Charter in the continent, a curriculum has been developed as well as the required training materials, in readiness to roll out the capacity development program through MDIs at respective national levels. He added that the experience and achievement of the Southern Africa Region at this workshop will provide valuable lessons to other regions that will also be seeking to take steps to promote the objectives of the Charter, especially since the East African region will be meeting next week for the same purpose.

Speaking on behalf of H.E. Amb. Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, (AUC), Mr. Issaka Garba Abdou, Acting Head of the Governance and Human Rights Division stated that the Charter serves as a roadmap for standard setting for quality public service delivery and member states’ responsibilities toward service delivery as well as mechanisms for implementation of the Charter. He reiterated that the effectiveness of the Charter lies in its holistic implementation and translation of its provisions by Member States to ensure quality, efficient and corruption-free public service delivery. He callied upon participants to share collective expertise and individual experiences, to make the seminar a rich experience sharing opportunity.

In his opening remarks,Hon. Keketso Sello, Minister for Public Service of Lesotho, the seminar came at an opportune time when the African Public Service is required to act on several fronts at the same time, in an economic environment characterized by ever increasing financial constraints, where the Public Service is clouded by reports of unprecedented corruption and where public officers are required to do more with less resources amidst diverse challenges of which, amongst others, is the COVID-19 pandemic. He emphasized the pivotal role of the Charter in strengthening the capacity and capability of the Public Service for the improved performance and service delivery at respective national levels.
For further information, please contact:

Mr. Issaka Garba Abdou – Ag. Head of Governance & Human Rights Division| Political Affairs, Peace & Security Department | African Union Commission | E-mail: garbaabdoui@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
For further media inquiries, please contact:
Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communications Directorate (ICD) | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org

Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org
Web: au.int | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube