MANAGING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT RESULTS By Dev Ruhee,OSK

MANAGING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT RESULTS

A plea for the creation of a Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results in Mauritius

The   publication   of the Director of Audit’s report on the national accounts for 2017/2018   triggered diverse reactions from local politicians, members of the  public  and the social media . As a matter of   fact, year in year out, the Audit report draws attention to shortcomings   in the management of public funds, more specifically in the execution of capital projects and implementation of development programmes.  While some of the criticisms may be justified, I believe that one should delve deeply  into the underlying  causes  of the inordinate delays in the implementation  of development projects which result  in high costs overrun before drawing  any firm conclusion as to who should bear  the blame  for the alleged mismanagement of public funds.

The   purpose   of this article is not to propose ready-made solutions for such cross-cutting issues because of their complexity.  However, I firmly   believe that if like-minded and well- meaning professionals and management practitioners from different segments of our society put their heads together we can come up with  pragmatic  solutions  for institutionalizing  a results- based management culture in the public service.

I am a retired civil servant who occupied the position of Secretary for Public Service Affairs and Supervising Officer of the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs & Administrative Reforms from 2000-2003. After my retirement from the Public Service in December 2005,  I  had the opportunity  to participate in a workshop organized   by the World Bank  in Uganda in December 2006 whose main  objective  was   to  create  an  African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results (AfCoP-MfDR). This initiative was taken following the   Declaration on Aid Effectiveness   adopted by Ministers of Finance from African countries who met in  Paris in May 2005 and who took the commitment  to introduce the  basic   principles   and practices of MfDR in their respective administrations so as   to sustainably change the living conditions of their citizens .

The African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results (AfCoP-MfDR) was finally   created in February 2007 and I was invited to form part of the Core Management Team. The Community   initially consisted of an informal network of African leaders and management practitioners having a common desire to share MfDR knowledge and experiences and establish mutual learning relationships for the dissemination of good administrative practices across Africa. These influential leaders took a pledge    to  act   as  agents of change at the country level supporting national development processes and promoting results-oriented public policies thus contributing to regional integration for  the implementation of  Africa's transformation agenda.

What do we mean when we refer to ‘ Managing for Development Results’ ?  MfDR is a change management process that aims at bringing changes in the lives of people through sustainable improvement of human development outcomes. It   focuses on strategic, results-oriented design and planning as well as the use of performance information to improve decision-making, in order to maximize impact while optimizing the use of scarce resources. It entails the use of  a set of well-structured  practical tools in order  to guide strategic and operational  planning, risk management , process monitoring , and outcome/impact evaluation.

 MfDR is an important aspect of good governance which rests on six pillars: leadership, planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, accountability and partnership. In other words, it provides   governments with a  sound  management  philosophical  framework , a holistic  approach and a set of tools for enhancing performance and expanding the scope of social accountability.

The African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results ( AfCoP-MfDR) today groups  over 5200 management practitioners  from 43 countries of the Continent. Its membership comprises   various   components of the society: public administration officials, parliamentarians, civil society, the private sector , the academia, the media and development partners. After 10 years of existence, the AfCoP changed its legal status and became an independent registered pan-African not-for-profit organization in 2017 with its head office in Dakar, Senegal.  The   AfCoP’s    overarching   objective is   to continue the development and promotion of a results culture in Africa in order to contribute to Africa’s  transformation agenda 2063  which was  adopted by the African Union  for the improvement of human development standards of the African people . It benefits from the support of the African Development Bank and the African Capacity Building  Foundation.  The AfCoP’s  vision is to become   a  leading  institution , a centre of excellence and the voice of Africa in managing for development results. In this context, I   wish to highlight  the fact  that  the  AfCoP  has assisted several countries , namely, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Malawi , Benin and Zambia to incorporate  MfDR principles  into their country laws, and policies to guide the implementation of national strategic plans and development programmes.

In March this year, the Executive Council  of  AfCoP  of which I am a member, adopted  a Strategic Plan for 2019-2023 which  provides  an architectural framework for reinforcing  its overall institutional growth and  results agenda. In  that context , it is called upon  to work with key stakeholders, including international  development partners, African  public authorities , Regional economic communities, thematic groups for youth, women, natural resources and regional integration, Civil Society organizations, the private sector, research institutions, universities, and think -tanks.

 The AfCoP’s ambition is to set up formalized national CoPs in all African countries. These will become AfCoP chapters with legal status recognized by the public authorities in order to be able to solicit financial   support  for  their  operational  activities . In this perspective, it will become a mainstream organization regrouping the community of African MfDR practitioners. The national CoPs will  thus  be able to    benefit from technical support  through  customized  training sessions in institutional capacity building. They  will  become the backbone of the AfCoP and the anchor point of all the organs of the  Community.

The  AfCoP  is  prepared ,upon request,  to carry out a readiness assessment in countries interested in adopting  MfDR principles in their integrated  results-based management systems and processes . Subsequently, the AfCoP will  propose  a partnership agreement for signature  with the Government that will define the collaborative framework between the country and AfCoP.

Coming back to the Director  of  Audit’s  adverse comments  on the management of public funds, I recall that suggestions were made in the past to the effect  that , where relevant, there would be a Project Implementation and Appraisal Unit reporting directly to the  Ministry of Finance &Economic Development but it would seem that  there has not been any active follow-up . MfDR  principles  place  a lot of   emphasis  on the need for  decision making and project evaluation to   be evidence-based.  Post-evaluation  of  development  project impact and outcome  is strongly advocated  to  enable policy makers to  take timely  corrective action  for ensuring  successful and sustainable  development results and outcomes. 

The creation of a Community of Practice on MfDR  in Mauritius with the active participation of well-intended  public administration officials, parliamentarians, civil society , academia, and the private sector will , to my mind, bring a positive contribution to our  national effort   to improve transparency,  accountability and efficiency  in project design, planning, and execution of capital projects  for achieving sustainable development results that will be beneficial to  the whole population.

In that spirit,   I  am extending an appeal to  all those who are interested to drive   the initiative  forward to get in touch with me  by emailing me on devruhee@gmail.com. I may also be  reached  on my mobile phone 52515006 for any additional information.

Dev Ruhee,OSK

Retired  Senior Chief Executive, Ministry of Education &HR

July 2019