26 August 2022 Volume :10 Issue :37

Public Administration Academics Attend 2022 IASIA Conference

From left: Professor Ian Nzimakwe; Dr Najat Zarrouk, IASIA President and UCLG Development Director; and Professor Purshottama Reddy at the conference.

Two senior academics in the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance (SMIG), Professors Purshottama Reddy and Ian Nzimakwe attended the 2022 annual International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA) Conference in Rabat, Morocco from 25 to 29 July.

The theme of the conference, which was hosted by the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) and the Mohamed University at Rabat, was the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Implementing and Promoting Effective Governance Principles to leave No One, No Place Behind.

Reddy presented a paper co-authored by a master’s student entitled: An Assessment of Integrated Development Planning in Mtubatuba Local Municipality with Particular Reference to the Somkhele Rural Area. The paper recommends that this municipality implement programmes that promote local economic development to create employment opportunities. Public participation is an important strategy to promote collaboration.

As the Vice-President: Programmes and a member of the board of management of IASIA, Reddy chaired a statutory meeting and a roundtable discussion on Capacity Development for the SDGs: Continental and Country Experiences. Panellists highlighted the importance of localisation of the SDGs; the need to link national development programmes to the SDGs; the importance of a “Whole of Society Approach”; the need to determine which SDG is a priority; improved national statistical systems; and the need for partnerships and development co-operation, transformational leadership and financial assistance from developed countries. It was emphasised that the SDGs will not be attained unless public governance improves at national and continental levels. 

Nzimakwe presented a paper on the District Development Model (DDM) as an instrument to transform municipal service delivery in South African local government, which was co-authored by Dr Sakhile Zondi, also from the SMIG. Under the DDM, the three governmental spheres co-ordinate and integrate development plans and budgets and mobilise the government’s capacity and resources. This calls for a clear evidence-based model of prioritisation, which must be transparent so that communities understand that they will not necessarily receive what they requested. The model involves a shift from alignment to joint planning.   

Words: NdabaOnline

Photograph: Supplied

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