Government launches "sweeping governance reforms"

The Central African Republic (CAR) is launching "sweeping reforms" to promote good governance, "an important step towards reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development", the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported on Monday.

The reforms include improving public services; promoting decentralisation and local governance; enhancing economic policies; and setting up an effective, transparent judicial system that respects human rights. Other areas of reform include the creation of an enabling environment for private-sector development, the promotion of civil society participation in public affairs, and the strengthening of the operations of the National Assembly.

CAR Prime Minister Martin Ziguele introduced the reforms earlier this month in the CAR capital, Bangui, at a national seminar organised by the CAR government and UNDP. Participants included government leaders and representatives from the private sector, civil society, political parties, local communities and development partners.

The seminar was intended to support government efforts to undertake "a complete reform covering all sectors of public administration", Ziguele said. It was hoped it would give a new impetus for all citizens to support the "exercise and protection of their basic freedoms, and to a judicial system that respects rights," he added. The seminar also reflected public calls for "improvements in public services, greater transparency in public administration, a better response to grievances and fairer distribution of development gains," he said.

To guide the reform process, participants set up a national steering committee that includes representatives of all social groups and a technical committee to deal with each reform area. They also agreed on a strategy and schedule. The next step will be the drafting of a good governance programme, based on recommendations from the technical committees.

"These are vital inputs to the good-governance programme, and a foundation for the preparation of a strategic framework for the battle against poverty," said Ziguele.

Pascal Karorero, a UNDP representative in CAR, said good governance should not be the concern of only a few senior government officials and politicians. "It is a challenge for all citizens, because through good governance people can become empowered personally and collectively," he noted.

Although it exports diamonds, gold, and timber, and has iron ore, limestone and uranium and potential oil fields, the landlocked CAR is heavily impoverished, with two out of three people earning less than a dollar a day. Decades of misrule have devastated the economy, and since 1996 there have been several army mutinies and attempted coups - "a legacy that demonstrates the need for reforms", according to UNDP.