London — Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has said that the African public service is key to the success of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and that civil servants should take the lead in implementing NEPAD's principles for growth. Speaking at the launch of a three-day Commonwealth Consultative Meeting on NEPAD and the Role of the African Public Service on 22 June 2004, organised by the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Secretary-General stated: "African civil servants are at the heart of the effort to improve transparency and good governance. With such a major role to play, African public services must improve efficiency, deliver on better programming, and more effective implementation is required."
Mr McKinnon said that NEPAD represents the boldest vision yet by Africans to tackle the challenges facing the continent and drive their own development.
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