The Dubai School of Government (DSG) yesterday opened the first Regional Forum on Reinventing Government in the Arab States, organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the UNDP Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR), where delegates from the Arab world reinforced efforts to shift the mode of governmental decision making and action to a transparency and accountability, creating a model of “engaged governance”.
Over 40 high-level government and civil society delegates from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen outlined the different degrees of progress towards engaged governance across the Arab region. The Forum reviewed the promising efforts of some Arab countries towards integrity, transparency and accountability, including in some cases the establishment of an independent judiciary, the creation of specialized oversight parliamentary committees, the review of civil service rules and decentralisation policies, and stronger financial and managerial audits.
Nabil Al Yousuf, Executive Director, DSG, hosted the Forum in Dubai, which is the precursor to the Arab Region participation at the 6th Global Forum on Reinventing Government in Seoul, Republic of South Korea in May 2005.
Modernisation is essential and is on the way, Forum delegates heard, particularly in civil service management and in the ways policy is formulated, and decisions are made and implemented. The capacity of parliaments to oversee government actions and assess their performance needs to be backed up and their legal mandate reinforced, according to delegates. Budding civil society needs assistance to learn how to oversee public behaviour together with a media that is still working towards vibrancy in the Middle East.
The 3-day Forum showcased in-depth case studies from Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan. Speakers highlighted the fact that Arab administrations share many similarities, so that seeking solutions together and networking for joint efforts only increased their capacity to improve quality and raise the standards of public sector management.
Forum discussions, which included presentations from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the UN and the TIRI Organization (UK), emphasised the need for ongoing cooperation among Arab countries with UN agencies and other development partners. Experience sharing, continuous learning and mutual support would build capacity to reinforce legal systems and reinvent administrative rules and procedures.
UNDESA presented lessons learned from a Regional Survey on Public Sector Transparency and Accountability, while the TIRI Organisation gave the big picture with Mapping The Integrity Movement In The World.
