Strengthening public administration to enhance good governance This programme has 3 inter-related elements namely, Public Administration, Public Financial Management and Anti-Corruption. 

Public Administration
Strengthening public administration is a priority for member states in their efforts towards achieving efficient, transparent and accountable public services and sustainable development. The project seeks to strengthen key institutions at the Centre of Government (CoG) with a view to contributing to intermediate outcome on 'improved public administration for good governance, and the prevention of corruption' and the strategic outcome on 'more effective, efficient and equitable public governance’. 
Work in this area will assist in strengthening public service performance and productivity. 

As the pressure on public resources continues to rise, increased demand for better, high-quality and more responsive public services has prompted most governments to embrace results-oriented frameworks for programme planning and delivery. The aim is to facilitate better service delivery and ‘value for money’.   The focus on results helps determine national strategic priorities and objectives (outcomes/results) and translation of these into outputs. This focus also ensures a linkage between costs and outputs and outcomes, and measures how efficiently and effectively these outputs and outcomes are being achieved. 

However, many countries are still grappling with challenges around, public service performance and productivity, political-administrative interface, HR systems, policy formulation and coordination, corruption, accountability, among others. Trust is a critical prerequisite for any organisation to work with governments to address these challenges. COMSEC is a trusted partner with a proven track record and experience spanning decades in supporting governments to address these critical but sensitive challenges and PSGU intends to continue this work during the next Plan period. 

To leverage our limited resources, effort will be made to foster south-south cooperation especially with regard to implementation of successful public service transformational agendas. This is already taking placing with Malaysia, for instance, supporting Tanzania and Swaziland to replicate its highly successful public service transformational agenda dubbed ‘Big Results First’.      


Public Financial Management (PFM)

The strengthening of public financial management systems and processes of member states has been key to the support provided to member states by the Commonwealth Secretariat in improving public administration and addressing corruption. The enhanced transparency and accountability helps strengthen good governance and serves as an effective, efficient and sustainable approach in addressing violence. 

Thus, the proposed Public Financial Management programme targets the strengthening of Internal Audit and Public Procurement in Small States and developing countries. These are outlined below:

1. Strengthening Internal Audit in Ministries of Finance of member states in a bid to increase accountability through improved internal controls and risk management. This ensures that policies and procedures introduced are properly implemented resulting in effective and efficient service delivery. 

By providing such assistance to member states in improving their public administration and governance, member states are supported in establishing more effective institutions of government, reduce corruption through increased transparency and accountability and improved service delivery through public expenditure efficiency.
  
However, internal audit could still be said to be at its infancy in majority of the small states and developing countries across the Commonwealth and is in need of support from the Secretariat in enabling them deliver on the value-added mandate. Such member states have very little focus on risk management and also do not have functioning audit committees which are both critical in strengthening the internal audit function as a whole. Additionally, recommendations issued by the Supreme Audit Institution (Auditor General) are mostly not followed up and/or implemented.

Commonwealth Secretariat’s intervention in addressing the above Internal Audit challenges:

•	Small States and developing countries shall therefore be provided technical advisory support in developing appropriate internal audit/risk management policies and frameworks
•	Capacity building of key functionaries in improving transparency and accountability in the utilization of public resources and delivery of services.
•	Supporting the timely and effective follow up of audit recommendations

2.	Strengthening of Public Procurement in ensuring Value for Money in the delivery of services. This improves openness, fairness and transparency of procurement bidding and award processes through efficient procurement and contract management processes. 

Weak oversight of public procurement has adversely impacted on performance of contracts and service delivery through wastages and corruption throughout the various stages of the procurement process. Openness, Transparency and Fairness of the process of public procurement, including making public the award of contracts, are vital in instilling trust and confidence in the whole system of procurement which usually constitute a significant percentage of government budgets and public expenditures. 

Commonwealth Secretariat’s intervention in addressing the above Procurement challenges:

•	Small States and developing countries shall be provided technical advisory support in developing policies in modernizing and strengthening of public procurement in delivering Value-for-Money.
•	The possibility of leveraging information technology in creating efficiency in the procurement process through embarking on e-procurement will also be explored. 
•	Support would also be accordingly provided to ensure Openness, Transparency and Fairness of the procurement process through the wide publication of all bids and contract awards.

Commonwealth Secretariat’s impact through PFM interventions 

PFM contributes significantly in improving transparency and accountability, domestic resource mobilization through improved public expenditure efficiency, reducing corruption and preventing violence. This support will be of immense benefit to the targeted beneficiaries in Small States and developing countries.