Mkondiwa elected VP for Africa Cabinet Government Network

Malawi government Chief Secretary George Mkondiwa has been elected as Vice President of the Africa Cabinet Government Network (ACGN) responsible for Southern Africa.

Mkondiwa  becomes vice president of the network
Mkondiwa becomes vice president of the network

Mkondiwa was elected at the just ended workshop of Cabinet secretaries from various countries held in the capital Lilongwe within the just ended week and he  highlighted that the workshop came a crucial time when Malawi is currently reforming the Public Service as this will take into account issues of embedding evidence in policy making.

“What was lacking was that before coming up with policies we need to consult the relevant stakeholders and also look at the history and resource envelope available to implement those policies. For instance if it’s a policy to do with youth the youth should participate in coming up with the policy,” Mkondiwa explained.

ACGN was established in 2014 as a voluntary organization for cabinet secretaries at its headquarters are located in Sierra Leone.

At the 2016 workshop, some of the topics discussed were Change Management Strategies, Building Policy Capacity in Government Ministries, Sustainable Development Goals and E-Cabinet among others.

The ACGN round table meetings are held annually aiming at giving the secretaries a platform to share ideas on how best to manage their respective ministries.

Delegates from various countries took part and these include Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and the host Malawi.

The workshop was held under the theme “Enhancing governments’ effectiveness through evidence informed policy-making” and it was funded by United Kingdoms Department for International Development (DFID).

President of ACGN who is also Sierra Leon Secretary to the Cabinet and head of Civil service Ernest Surrur said cabinet being the center of the government needs to be efficient so that government should be productive and make Africa the paradise of the world.

“During the one week we had deliberations we looked at common African problems and common solutions. We promised that individually and collectively we shall continue to take proactive and practical steps to increase the use of evidence to inform the decision making of our cabinet to support them and make better decisions that can be effectively implemented for the benefit of our people,” Surrur said.

Surrur further explained that regardless of the diversity among the various countries, they would want to ensure that cabinet procedures and processes are effective.

He said inquiring policy proposals need to include evidence that assist cabinet decision making and ensure that cabinet members have an opportunity to view proposals before cabinet meetings.

“It is time Africa realizes its potential to develop as it has the resources, like minerals and brains but heavy reliance on grants and aid from developed countries has dwindled the growth of the continent,” added Surrur.

The ACGN president therefore called upon African Government to run on their own resources, because loans and grants from developed countries come with conditions that sometimes do not marry with the recipient country situation.

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zoona
zoona
7 years ago

Zazii kusowa chochita. The guys from Rwanda Botswana and Ghana were the only intelligent guys. The rest madeya enieni.

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