The State designates all the institutions and services which make it possible to govern and administer a country: the Assemblies, Ministries, Directorates, Delegations, deconcentrated or decentralized Administrations are the main components of the State. The State is the foundation of the Nation, which is defined by a human community conscious of being united by a historical, cultural, linguistic or religious identity. As a political entity, the Nation, which is a concept born from the construction of large European States, is a community characterized by its own territory. It is the legal person made up of individuals governed by the same constitution.
The foundation and sustainability of a State lie in the quality of its Administration, as it is true that the way in which an Administration functions constitutes a powerful indicator of the level of organization and development of a country. By way of illustration, in the United States of America, the term “American Administration” refers to this imposing and well-articulated organization, in constant quest for effectiveness and efficiency. It is the expression of the guarantee of citizens’ rights and respect for the foundations of Democracy. Based on these considerations, a regime which has barely established itself must make its mark and set its benchmarks. Not to mention many other prerequisites necessary for the effective beginning of the colossal work in view.
Despite this structural reality, some of our compatriots are more or less anticipating criticism, while the Administration’s new system has not even finished being deployed. However, whatever the legitimacy of the desire for a break, this can only take place under conditions following steps that must necessarily be taken.
To all those who are impatient, demanding immediate results, either out of ignorance or simply through the premature expression of political adversity, there is more or less reason to explain that the appointment of a government is just the beginning of a long process that involves several steps to go through. Steps whose delicacy is more than proven.
Firstly, there is the development of the decree on the distribution of State services and control of public establishments, national companies and companies with public participation between the Presidency of the Republic, the Prime Minister’s Office and the ministries. This crucial step is an extremely arduous task, to the extent that the decision maker’s concern is to avoid any structural omission from the outset. But also any overlapping of responsibilities likely to create conflicts of competence between the different ministerial departments. As a historical reminder, corrections or readjustments have already been made after the publication of a decree and in response to the reality of the functioning of ministries.
In this regard, the BOM, at the invitation of the President of the Republic, has in the past had to provide decision-making elements with a view to arbitrating conflicts of competence between ministerial departments.
This work of distributing State services therefore represents a very delicate task. A task that cannot suffer from the slightest haste or groping on the part of authority. Such an exercise reaches its full potential in the formation of a new government where several ministries have been grouped together to form a single department.
In a second stage, the choice of skills called upon to assume state responsibilities and missions requires equal attention, prudence and serenity. Another task that is both delicate and arduous, particularly for a new administration that is being deployed, with no less than two hundred strategic positions to fill. The choice of those responsible must certainly obey criteria of skills, but also of good morality. Which necessarily involves investigations prior to the appointment of potential people.
Thirdly, transfers of service which concern all ministries and practically all national directorates and Agencies, must be carried out obligatorily and for the most part, under the supervision of the General State Inspectorate. For each structure, a report is drawn up and submitted to the authorities concerned.
At the risk of causing congenital defects with a negative impact on the expected effectiveness and efficiency of the new regime, no stage of this process should suffer from any haste.
In view of all of the above, wanting to demand results here and now is an eagerness which denotes a certain ignorance of the functioning of a public administration.
In certain large democracies such as the United States of America, the establishment of an administration can take several months after the installation of a new President. This, because of all the usual precautions taken before the appointment of those called the “President’s Men”.
These are the major reasons which explain the notion of a “grace period” of one hundred (100) days, in order to allow any new administration to get its bearings and better appreciate “the institutional temperature”.
This “grace period” results from a “gentleman agreement” between the government and the opposition which, however fierce it may be, refrains during this period from demanding immediate achievements from the new authorities, knowing that such approach at this stage would rather be utopian. No pressure of any nature whatsoever should lead the new authorities into haste, improvisation or trial and error.
This decisive step requires calm and serenity on their part. The citizens who elected them must also be patient and demonstrate a positive spirit while keeping in mind this maxim of the late El Haadj Abdoul Aziz Sy Dabbaakh (RTA), inviting us to always pray so that no misfortune comes to strike the boat in which we are all embarked.
*Start of a series of interviews and contributions, this column is signed Abdoul Aziz TALL, public management advisor and former Minister of the Republic. He shares his experience of decision-making processes and levers of social and political transformation
