Pretoria - The country needs a public administration capable of serving beyond the predictable, Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi said today.
Addressing the 2010 Association of Southern African Departments of Public Administration and Management (ASSADPAM) conference in Pretoria, Baloyi said effective public administration was not a privilege in a democratic society, it was a legitimate right.
He said government leaders and public servants, as trustees of the common good, must ensure continuity while managing change and crisis.
"They also have to be committed to understanding the citizens they serve and the context within which they live in order to make public administration relevant, meaningful and accessible," he said.
He said government was committed to poverty alleviation and development, adding that a developmental public administration uses available resources to provide services which meet citizens' needs.
"A public administration with a memory of the future will be responsive, caring and proactive in dealing with citizens and their challenges.
"A developmental public administration supports, builds and enables citizens to engage and receive good quality and relevant services," the minister said, adding that it builds a relationship of trust and creates public value.
ASSADPAM is a professional network of higher education schools and departments in the disciplines of public administration, public management, public governance and development management in southern Africa.
It was established in 2002 to promote the interests of these disciplines and of the scholars active in these fields.
