In 2017, work started on the development of an African Charter programme on the Values and Principles of Public administration. The programme intends to popularise the Charter and promote its embeddedness within the African public service across various regions on the continent for an effective and people-centred public service. It targets public servants at various levels in public organisations. The programme objective is to assist participants to have a broad understanding of the Charter and how it relates to their daily work. Therefore, this programme will assist Public Servant Agents to gain insights into the efforts required for building a public service that is people-centred, share experiences and embed the concept of African Renaissance in the public service while promoting our ‘Africanity – our pride of being Africans. In addition, it will promote the use and development of the Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Administration on the continent.

The Charter has seven Chapters but for the purpose of this programme, the focus is mainly on the following four chapters:

  • Chapter II: Duties of the public service and administration;
  • Chapter III: Code of conduct for public service agents;
  • Chapter IV: Rights of public service agents;
  • Chapter V: Management and development of human resources.

The programme contains ten (10) modules covering:

  • Overview of the African Charter;
  • General duties of public administration;
  • Users’ rights within the public service;
  • Modernisation of the public service and administration;
  • Code of conduct for the public service;
  • Public service agents’ rights;
  • Management and development of human resources;
  • Public financial management;
  • Institutionalisation of a culture of accountability;
  • Effective, efficient and responsible management of resources.

Course outcomes include:

  • Describe the context in which the African Charter on Values and Principles of public administration was developed;
  • State the role and importance of public administration in a modern state;
  • Identify public services users’ rights and apply laws and regulations that guide the public service;
  • Explain the importance of modern and innovative procedures and systems for the public service;
  • Use the measures and mechanisms that prevent and combat corruption in the public service by promoting accountability and appreciation of their relevance in a public organisation; and
  • Apply the basic principles that promote equality, effectiveness, efficiency and responsibility in the use of resources.

AMDIN MDI partners will be used to roll-out the programme on the continent. AMDIN is a network of management development institutes (MDIs) of Africa. The purpose of AMDIN is to be a network of African government MDIs so as to create a platform for the African MDIs to articulate their collective voice and promote mutual partnerships, peer support and collaboration in the development of leadership and management capacity in response to the needs of the African people and their governments.