Public Governance Seminar Identifies Challenges faced in APEC Governments

Improving governance and transparency in the public sector was the focus of an APEC Seminar today.

Sponsored by New Zealand, Malaysia and Japan, the APEC Public Sector Governance Seminar provided delegates from APEC Member Economies with good practice ideas that can be implemented in government departments around the region.

Speakers at the symposium included Mr. John Whitehead, New Zealand's Secretary to the Treasury, Dr Nguyen Khac Hung from Viet Nam's Department of International Cooperation of the National Academy of Policy Administration, and the coordinator of the World Bank's Governance and Anti-Corruption Thematic Group, Mr. J. Edgardo Campos.

In his presentation to the symposium, Mr. Whitehead identified essential elements involved in establishing a well-functioning bureaucracy that is transparent and functional.

"Improving the performance of government departments is an important APEC goal as many of the services delivered by governments are core to the well-being of citizens," Mr. Whitehead said to delegates.

"The seminar heard from a number of specialists on how reform of public sector governance can contribute to improving the level of quality and service they provide to their local communities."

Dr. Hung spoke of Viet Nam's experience in Doi Moi, the 'renovation' of public administration and reminded delegates of the important relationship between good public management and economic growth.

Mr. J. Edgardo Campos provided the symposium with World Bank experience in a broader global context of the challenges in designing well-functioning organizations.

"Whether developed or developing, countries continue to struggle as demands of an evolving global economy constantly change," Mr. Campos said.

"The typical developing state today is faced with rising expectations, an increasing and disparate population, and a changing international environment that are outstripping its ability to deliver public good and services."

Ultimately Mr. Campos said international research showed that transparency and voice are increasingly being found to matter when looking to improve the performance of the government sector.

"Ideally, citizens should be able to hold civil servants directly accountable for the poor implementation of policies and programs."

The symposium was attended by around 50 delegates from various public sector positions in the governments of APEC Member Economies.
APEC has identified five priority areas for structural reform work in the Asia-Pacific based on the APEC Leaders' Agenda for Implementing Structural Reform (LAISR). These areas are: regulatory reform; competition policy; public sector management; strengthening economic and legal infrastructure; and corporate governance.

As a follow-up to the seminar, New Zealand is producing a set of good practice principles for public sector governance which will be considered for endorsement by APEC member economies.

The seminar took place in the lead-up to the third meeting of APEC Senior officials for 2006 in Da Nang on September 17.