Pretoria - The National School of Government yesterday closed the three-day BRICS conference that started on Monday, paving the way for the main event that will see world leaders gather in South Africa next month.
The conference, held at the University of Pretoria, was meant to drum up support for the summit that will see leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa converge in Durban.
More than 1000 delegates from the BRICS countries gathered to discuss Governance and Public Administration Reforms.
BRICS was created in 2009 as part of efforts by member states to counter the influence of Western countries on global affairs.
Speaking to Pretoria News yesterday, principal of the National School of Government Professor Busani Ngcaweni said the conference was a significant part of the build-up to the BRICS Summit scheduled for August.
“The National School of Government successfully hosted an international BRICS conference on governance and public administration reforms. In line with the overall BRICS 2023 theme of bridging partnerships between the BRICS bloc and Africa, the conference received insightful and stimulating papers from more than 50 scholars, academics, and practitioners from schools of government and higher education institutions from BRICS bloc as well as from the African continent, Europe and Asia,” he said.
He added that more than 1000 participants from all over the world attended the conference.
“In keeping with the four themes, the conference discussed critical issues of professionalising the public sector, emerging challenges, and the future of public sector reforms.
“The four themes discussed were: broad themes to be discussed: Governance and Public Administration in a Changing Global Context, Public Administration Reforms and Emerging Challenges, Impact of Technology and Climate Change on Reforms, and the Future of Governance and Public Administration.
He said the conference provided a platform for discussion on matters that were key for the BRICS bloc, which relate to urban green development, renewable energy, disaster risk, crisis management, the impact of technology and climate change on reforms, rural revitalisation, and issues of big data.
“In the context of South Africa, we have to be alive to the implementation of the National Development Plan.
“Building state capacity remains a priority for the current administration. In South Africa, we have committed to building a developmental state that efficiently guides national economic development by mobilising the resources of society and directing them toward the realisation of common goals.
He said in their priorities they placed the needs of the poor and social issues such as healthcare, housing, education, and a social safety net at the top of the national agenda.
“Public administration reforms require better governance and relations between all sectors of society. All of us have a collective responsibility towards sustainable growth and development. Therefore, we must have strong institutions in place to build trust with citizens and the private sector.
“It requires institutions at all levels of government to have the capacity to prioritise, design, implement and monitor development activities in an accountable manner,” Ngcaweni said.
Pretoria News