Dakar, Jan 23 (APS) – The panel meeting Thursday in Dakar to launch the “national consultations for public sector reform” noted several obstacles to the correct functioning of the Senegalese public administration and the proper execution of services provided. to users.
Defects inherited from the colonial administration, the poor reception of public service users in administrations, the absence of sanctions and evaluation of public agents, the inaccessibility of buildings housing state services for certain categories of society are among the many flaws noted by the members of the panel, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor Babacar Kanté and Aminata Touré.
”We have inherited many faults from the colonial administration, which explains the very poor quality of the welcome (…) Unfortunately, this colonial legacy is still there. This must change. There are profound changes to be made. We must achieve this through training,” said the High Representative of the President of the Republic and former Prime Minister.
Invited by the Ministry of Civil Service and Public Sector Reform to share her experience of public service as a former United Nations official, minister, head of government and executive of the Senegalese administration, Ms. Touré believes that certain public agents maintain ”relations of domination” with users, which must be replaced by ”relations of respect and even deference, because the civil servant is remunerated with the taxes paid by users…”
The Senegalese public authorities have retained this “dose of arrogance and contempt” of the colonial administration towards users, she said.
From left to right, Professor Babacar Kanté, Abdou Karim Guèye, panel moderator, and Aminata Touré
Ms. Touré suggests that the Ministry of Civil Service and Public Service Reform express upcoming changes and reforms both in French and in local languages.
”If we are mistreated in the reception services of the Public Administration, we have nowhere to go to complain. If only one thing had to change in the public service, it would be the reception. The quality of public service collapses at reception, where the level of mistreatment is very high. We consider the public service provided to the user as a favor,” analyzed the High Representative of the President of the Republic.
Abdou Karim Lô, management consultant and former general delegate for state reform, shares Ms. Touré’s concern. ”The quality of public service begins with a good welcome, which is not only physical. Sometimes you telephone or write a letter to an administration, which does not answer you,” pointed out Mr. Lô while intervening in the debate.
”Continuing and compulsory training”
Aminata Touré proposes ”permanent and compulsory training” as a remedy for the defects inherited, according to her, from the colonial administration.
”There must be sanctions, which almost do not exist in our administration,” she added, recalling that she was surprised to note, when she became Minister of Justice, that almost all the civil servants in this ministerial department had a score of 19.5/20. ”If someone is rated 17/20, there is a risk of a strike.”
”The rating system is non-existent (…) The system for evaluating public agents must be normal (…) Citizens must be given the opportunity to evaluate the quality of public service themselves,” proposed Ms. Touré to the Minister of Civil Service and Public Service Reform, Olivier Boucal.
Lansana Gagny Sakho, chairman of the APIX board of directors, believes that the evaluation of public services is fundamental. It must be done by independent firms, he said while participating in the debate.
There must be a direct link between the contracts of public officials and their performance, continued Aminata Touré, affirming that this is the rule in force at the United Nations since the early 1990s.
”Certain delays are unacceptable”
Associate professor of public law Babacar Kanté and philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne were keen to recall that the foundations of effective administration exist in Senegal. The first indicates the existence of countries where the public administration is only present in certain parts of the national territory, which is not the case in Senegal. ”Senegal has a history of which we can be proud (…) The State is present in every corner of the territory, no one is left stranded,” observed Mr. Diagne.
Specifying that he contributes to the panel as a user of Senegalese public services, the professor at Columbia University (United States of America) recommends that the Senegalese authorities ensure that “no region of our country feels on the outskirts…”
Time is also a fundamental dimension of improving public sector performance, according to Mr. Diagne. ”Certain delays are unacceptable. An administration must be able to measure the duration of the service offered to the user,” he argued, contributing to the panel by videoconference.
-Babacar Kanté, also former vice-president of the Constitutional Council, emphasizes that “there are three extremely important public sector services: health, education and justice.” ”These three social services pose a problem,” he added, advising public authorities to ”restore trust between the citizen and the administration”.
The Minister of Civil Service and Public Service Reform, Olivier Boucal
The relationships between public officials and users of administrations in Anglo-Saxon countries are exemplary, according to Mr. Kanté. ”In London, the policeman is obliged to take you home when you find yourself on the street at odd hours,” he said, noting that this is not the case at all. the same in Senegal.
”We must also stop this disempowerment of the citizen, who thinks that he only has rights”, and replace it with ”citizenship skills” and ”positive citizenship”, recommended Babacar Kanté.
Some users present themselves in public services ”without the minimum behavior that a citizen must have,” he pointed out.
Mr. Kanté advises public authorities to take into account the situation of disabled people and pregnant women.
”We must avoid creating discrimination”
Aminata Touré was also concerned about the access of people with reduced mobility to public administration infrastructures, and that of illiterate people to services provided by the State as well. ”We must avoid creating discrimination,” she said.
Public authorities can offer ”delegated services” to disabled, blind or illiterate people by mobilizing a workforce dedicated to this, which can generate jobs, proposed Ms. Touré.
Souleymane Bachir Diagne suggested using digitalization to improve the quality of public services. ”We do not need to be a hyperdeveloped country to resort to digitalization (…) Technology saves time,” he said, keen to point out that, for ethical reasons, ‘ ‘humans must be at the center of everything’.
”We must prevent users of public services from putting themselves in the shoes of beggars. He must feel entitled to ask for the service he wants,” argued the philosopher, evoking the American experience: ”In the United States, the user always has the possibility of complaining. It is established that he is not a beggar.”
”Depoliticization” of certain functions
It is allowed, in this North American country, to pay more than the usual rate to shorten the execution times of a public service, said Mr. Diagne. ”I’m not saying do the same thing here. We don’t have the same administrative culture,” he said.
Momar Ndao, president of the National Consumer Association of Senegal, believes that such a practice is similar to corruption. The consumerist goes further by asserting that ”the bases of our administration do not correspond to our culture”.
Souleymane Bachir Diagne says he hopes that the ”national consultations for the reform of the public sector” can make it possible, for example, to be more efficient, to have a civil status certificate issued in the United States of America, by the town hall of his hometown, Saint-Louis du Senegal, via the Senegalese consular services.
Aminata Touré also suggests resorting to the “depoliticization” of certain functions. She gave the example of Mauritius, where ”you cannot exercise certain functions if you are in politics”. Ms. Touré asked the Minister of Civil Service and Public Sector Reform to think about rationalizing public spending when implementing the desired reforms.
”The political will is clearly displayed. This is, in my opinion, our greatest asset in Senegal,” she said.
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