UNDP Sudan | Governors’ Forum provides platform for discussion

Juba, September 22 2008: This year’s UNDP supported Governors’ Forum took place on 10 – 14 August at the Legislative Assembly in Juba.

As is now customary, it was opened by H.E. General Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), and attended by all 10 state governors, GoSS ministers, heads of independent commissions, members of the legislature and various development partners.

The seventh of its kind, this event acts as a platform for discussion, consultation and action on policies related to political, fiscal and administrative decentralization. It also provides an opportunity for broader discussion on other important issues – particularly, CPA implementation, corruption, and foreign aid management.

H.E. President Salva Kiir’s keynote speech set the tone for the week. He spoke about the difficulties Southern Sudan is facing in terms of insecurity and public sector reform but also highlighted the real progress being made, such as the recent enactment of the Local Government Act 2009 and the launch of the Payroll Cleansing Initiative.

H.E. President Kiir also placed significant emphasis on Southern Sudan’s fiscal and economic crisis saying that it could be tackled through better and more realistic budget management; improved implementation capability; reduced corruption; and accelerated growth. Effective decentralization would also help to “improve transparency, accountability, and the quality of public services.

These strategies for economic recovery were echoed by H.E. David Deng Athorbei, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, who also spoke about the Juba Compact—a mutual accountability agreement which sets out the actions GoSS will take to mitigate the adverse effects of the fiscal crisis, and the support GoSS will receive from donors in doing this.

UNDP is directly engaged in supporting the government in these areas through its Support to States Project which provides technical assistance to key ministries. In his address to the Forum, UNDP Southern Sudan’s Head of Office, Joe Feeney, pledged to scale up this support through the allocation of up to 10 technical assistance personnel to each of the states. Staff would be deployed to work within the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Legal Affairs in each state capital.

Mr. Feeney also urged the government to take a lead role in monitoring and evaluating development work across Southern Sudan. “As managers, we know that we cannot manage if we do not measure. In this case the measurement process is about monitoring,” he said. All state governors provided a state performance report where accomplishments, challenges and future policy priorities were highlighted. This was followed by presentations from GoSS ministers.

There was a major focus on public sector reform because Southern Sudan’s civil service continues to be too top-heavy. As H.E. Awut Deng Acuil, Minister of Labor, Public Service and Human Resource Development, explained “This not only hinders day-to-day management and decision-making, it also makes the public sector far too expensive and unsustainable in the long-term.”

The Forum produced a set of resolutions and recommendations. These will be available in October.