[ad_1]
Africans “know and understand what development should be like,” says President Uhuru Kenyatta Kenyatta noted that on a continent of around 1.
3 billion Africans with a median age in their 20s, there is a very tangible underlying sense of urgency when it comes to government expectations Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta urged African governments to put their citizens in the right center of service delivery during Africa Delivery Exchange 2020, a virtual event that opened on Tuesday.
Speaking to kick off the two-day workshop, Kenyatta noted that on a continent of around 1.
3 billion Africans with a median age in their 20s, there is a very tangible underlying sense of urgency when it comes to government expectations.
“Our people know and understand how development should be and what benefits it should bring to their social and economic well-being.
Therefore, any failure to quickly address the missing environment within the development paradigm could create a deficiency of trust between the electorate and those in leadership positions, ”said Kenyatta.
The event was jointly organized by the President’s Enforcement Unit of Kenya, the African Development Bank and the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) for Global Change.
Kenyatta acknowledged the Bank’s and TBI’s support in promoting Kenya’s development, and thanked the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who joined him on a panel.
“Without the lessons of TBI, we would have had to reinvent the wheel, but instead, we started with a tried and tested model, and have improved it to reflect our unique circumstances here in Kenya.
In his remarks, Blair noted that the demands for leadership have changed and that governments are expected to do much more than they have traditionally done.
“They have to provide services for their people; They have to set the right environment for their economy, they have to deal with all kinds of huge crises, of which COVID-19 is just the latest example.
All of these require extraordinary focus, clarity, and decision making.
”Our people know and understand what development should be like and what benefits it should bring to their socio-economic well-being. To meet these delivery expectations, governments must focus on managing priorities, policies, personnel, and performance.
“Performance management is the most critical.
The difficult thing is that each of these systems that you are trying to change will have interests that will often obstruct.
They will need areas that need you to go all over the government, to do something in one area of the government, they will have complicated politics around them.
Adesina praised Kenyatta for focusing on ordinary citizens and praised the Kenyan government’s ‘Big Four’ agenda, which prioritizes food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare for all, highlighting a fifth area in which the country had made great strides.
“Mr.
President, you are doing an exceptional job on energy.
You’re connecting your people across the country in an incredible way with last-mile delivery.
If you add energy, you will actually have five grand.
”The president of the Bank presented some execution lessons: a clear vision; post delivery expectations to build accountability; establish a culture of responsibility; rigorous measurement of results; ensure sustainability.
“The Bank is currently developing a new index of public service delivery in Africa, which will help to rate African countries, including subnational ones, on the delivery of public services,” he added.
The COVID-19 pandemic formed a backdrop for the event.
This is not the first pandemic we have faced, Adesina said, but it should never happen again that the continent is unprepared.
“Africa has invested massively in health care.
We need to change and give Africa a quality health care advocacy system to make sure we have excellent primary health care.
“One question is, how do you maintain the sense of urgency that you had when dealing with the illness and carry that same sense of urgency and focus on rebuilding better afterwards?” The African Development Bank has formed strategic alliances with Government Execution Units in Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia and is working to approve a fourth in Senegal.
In January 2019, the Bank led the launch of the African Network of Delivery Units to provide a platform for sharing knowledge, experience and knowledge among implementing units of African governments.
The two-day event includes technical sessions and presentations by specialists, including representatives from the national and municipal government, multilateral development institutions and other development partners.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
.
