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OAS PERMANENT COUNCIL HEARS INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT IN THE AMERICAS

At its special session today, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) heard the proposal “Elements to consider for an Inter-American Program of Management Quality for Governance in the Public Sector,” produced by the Secretariat for Political Affairs of the hemispheric organization.

The objective of the Program, which is yet to be formulated and approved, would be to support the implementation of standards of quality for public management in public administration agencies of OAS Member States, within the framework of citizen participation principles established in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

At the start of the session, Ambassador Luis Alfonso Hoyos, the President of the Permanent Council and Representative of Colombia to the OAS, said that “there are efforts in most States to improve public administration services to our citizens,” but that despite successes there are still great challenges with respect to the quality of management in the public sector.

Among the proposals put forth by the head of the Council there is a plan for training 500 thousand public officials in better management techniques between 2010 and 2015, “thereby looking for better solutions for citizens,” as well as the establishment of a five-year deadline for at least 10 per cent of public institutions to reach levels of excellence, gradually increasing that up to 50 per cent in 2020.

In a previously recorded message, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza said there is a direct link between the quality and scope of public sector management and governance. “The ultimate focus of democracy is the citizen. The whole chain of recognition and trust that grants legitimacy to democracy begins in him,” he said.

“For this reason, it is necessary that we look for initiatives that guarantee democracy’s ability to deliver the goods of social and economic development to a majority of the people. Initiatives that ensure the provision of public services and promote development and that, in addition to being efficient and effective, also incorporate all pertinent segments of civil society in the design, implementation and monitoring of public policies,” he added.

Afterwards, representatives of local governments and private and public quality control organizations presented some successful models for management and measurement in the public sector. Among them was Gary Cort, President of Technical Committee 176 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on Management and Quality Assurance.

Others were Armando Espinosa, Head of Corporate of the Instituto Latinoamericano de la Calidad (INLAC), whose headquarters are in Mexico; Luis Emilio Velásquez, General Coordinator of Red Iberoamericana de Excelencia en la Gestión (REDIBEX); Fabio Tobón and Rodrigo Vera, representatives of Colombian control entities; and Cristian Labbé, the Mayor of the Municipality of Providencia of Santiago, Chile.

Finally, Victor Rico, the Secretary for Political Affairs of the OAS General Secretariat, offered Member State’s representatives specific details on the content of the proposal, “Management Quality in the Public Sector and the OAS: elements to consider for an Inter-American Program of Management Quality for Governance in the Public Sector,” that beginning today will be subjected to an open process of design and preparation.

Reference: E-410/09