APS-HRMnet

   
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Enhancing Professionalization of Human Resource Management in the Public Sector in Africa: Establishment of the Africa Public Sector Human Resource Managers Network(APS-HRMnet)

1:         Background and Rationale

The quality of human resources is critical to the development of any country. Whether it is in the achievement  of the Millennium Development Goals as agreed during the United Nations Millennium Summit, or other intergovernmental commitments such as the Plan of Action for Sustainable Development as set at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, or regional commitments such as the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD) and the various development strategies formulated at every country level, it is imperative that the translation of such aspirations into tangible results be place in the hands
of capable human resources. Global, regional and national commitments to sustainable development and poverty reduction need human capacities in the Public Sector to transform these commitments into results. The knowledge, know-how and skills, networks and attitudes of personnel in the Public Sector are at the heart of the performance of countries because it is through them and by them that services are planned and delivered, critical innovations conceived and realized and needed reforms carried out.

Therefore, Public Sector human resource managers occupy a strategic position in the development of a country. However, in many African countries, it has been found out that this strategic position is not recognized in the formulation of strategies and human resource managers in the public sector may not be professionally tuned to the critical role they should play. While many governments have professional, and sometimes very prestigious, cadres or corps in some areas, with members who include graduates of elite academies.the human resource management function is commonly discharged by generalist administrators, often coming under an administrative cadre, corps or similar structures, playing  a restricted,
bureaucratic and reactive role, confined by and large to routine decisions about staff entitlement to pay increments and the like, very many of which could be read off the administrative regulations governing staff behavior .. with  little or no real input into strategic decisions about staff management, let alone decisions on how to achieve the overall core objectives of government

African is coming to grapple with the challenge of Human Resource development especially in its public sector. The Seventh Africa Governance Forum (AGF 7) which took place in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) at the end of October 2007 discussed the issues related to Public service reforms and enhancing institutional and human capacities in the public sector. The conclusions and recommendations of the AGF7 which are directly related to the inadequate capacities of Human Resource Managers in the Public Service in Africa are
pertinent to the establishment of the Africa Public Sector Human Resource Managers Network(APS-HRMnet). The AGF 7 made the following conclusions:

(See United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Unlocking the Human Potential for Public Sector Performance: World Public Sector Report 2005: (United nations, New York, www.unpan.org)
 

 There exists in the average African country uncoordinated and fragmented approaches to     Human Resources
    Development; uncoordinated training programmes; inadequate linkages between training     output and the
    labour market requirements; wastage and misplacement of personnel; and lack of     monitoring    mechanisms to
    determine the capacity and productivity of the trained personnel to contribute meaningfully     to national development.

 With respect to institutional capacity, the African bureaucracy has grown so large that its     capacity to perform effectively and efficiently has often been checked. The Continent has     not been able to recruit and retain the needed well-trained and skilled personnel due to a     host of challenges that include low salaries; poor conditions of service; over-centralization;     dilatory and outdated procedures; loopholes in administrative procedures leading to     difficulty in maintaining objectivity, accountability and transparency in decision-making;     and,     consequently, a largely uncompetitive working environment. This state of affairs has     been     translated into low institutional productivity and human resource flight through brain     drain.     Institutional and human resource capacity limitations in the field of economic     management are among the most evident frailties of most African countries and for which     capacity enhancement requires immediate attention.

Institutional capacity development, complemented by human resource development, has     been recognised to be at the centre of the process of making States capable of meeting     their citizens developmental aspirations.

Challenges such as the above are associated with inadequate capacity for managing the human resources. Clearly, for this situation to change in the Public Sector of African countries there is need to adopt a model of the Human Resource Management (HRM) function which will best enable governments to manage their staff so as to achieve their key objectives.  Such a model will enable HRM managers to play the roles of:

Strategy expert
 Work organization expert,
 Employee champion, and
 Agent of continuous transformation as adviser on change management.

To achieve these ideals, the sharing of knowledge and insights amongst African Public Sector human resource management professionals is regarded
as imperative.  However, there appears to be a lack of a continental network dedicated to human resource management. This gives the rationale for establishing the Africa Public Sector Human Resource Managers Network (APS-HRMnet)
 

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