Depoliticization of public administration: a text, questions

• A bill forwarded to the Transitional Legislative Assembly

• How to depoliticize an administration that implements a political program

• And if the fight is elsewhere?

Lhe Council of Ministers of November 30, 2022 adopted a draft bill on the depoliticization of public administration and the strengthening of meritocracy. This bill, according to the government, aims to reduce the negative influences of politics on the functioning of public administration and to strengthen promotion by merit.

This is the implementation of the recommendations of a study carried out in 2015, on “the depoliticization and strengthening of meritocracy within the public administration in Burkina Faso”. This study had indicated that the phenomenon of the politicization of the public administration was mainly perceived as a real, abnormal and dangerous phenomenon, manifested by favouritism, appointments of convenience, the existence of clans in the Administration and the lack of professional conscience and results in incompetence and poor management of public resources.

The ministry in charge of the public service initiated the drafting of a draft law on the depoliticization and promotion of meritocracy in the Administration in April 2022. A national validation workshop was held on Monday May 16, 2022 , in Ouagadougou, with the involvement of officials from the Ministry of Public Service, the Ministry responsible for justice, the Ministry responsible for territorial administration, the social partners, representatives of civil society organizations and people resources from academia….

In one of the versions resulting from these meetings, on the notion of terminology, it should be understood by “depoliticization of public administration: the fact of re-establishing the distinction between public administration and politics, by removing the decisions, functions, organization, activities or administrative institutions recognized as such from the criteria or influence to be political, ideological, religious, ethnic or regional characters”. The principles deal with the obligations of the public official and the neutrality of the administrative space. For example, it reads: “The obligation of neutrality requires the official to refrain, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions, from using his membership of the public administration for the purposes of political, ideological, religious and ethnic propaganda”. Concerning the strengthening of meritocracy, the law regulates recruitment, powers of appointment and promotions in the Administration. An article indicates that “the recruitment, appointment and promotion of public officials follow criteria linked to their skills and professional abilities. They are carried out according to transparent and objective procedures ensuring equal opportunities between agents”.

And another article specifies that “no one can claim a function in the technical position if he does not justify proven competence and professional experience, if he is not in category A, P or equivalent”. By technical functions, it is necessary to see the administrative authorities in charge of control or regulation of a sector, the Secretaries General of the ministerial departments, the advisers of the diplomatic and consular missions, the secretaries of Embassies, the permanent Secretaries and technical secretaries, the Secretaries General of the administrative districts, Regional Councils and Town Halls, the General and central Directors and directors of departments of the ministries, the General and central Directors and directors of departments of the institutions, the coordinators and heads of projects and national programs, the Directors regional and similar, study managers….

If the stated objective of this law is the depoliticization of the public administration, other questions had also been evacuated in the first version and can even arouse waves of indignation: ethnicity, and especially religion. Two of the articles stated that “administrative space is neutral. As such, it is prohibited to install in the public administration, directly or indirectly, formally or informally, cells or any other form of representation of political parties, groups of a religious, ethnic or regional nature” and “it is forbidden to hold meetings of political cells or groups of a political, ideological, religious, ethnic or regional nature within the public administration”.

Although the text speaks of the cells and not of the spaces of prayer, concerns were beginning to be raised From the moment when these are not the same words, one recognizes the existence of a nuance. In practice, can we not blame people who find themselves in a space for a cult to form a community, a cell?

Can’t the very time of a cult be considered as a meeting, a gathering religious? “Prayer spaces are not concerned or targeted here. These provisions target political parties and, by extension, anything that can be used as a means of doing politics. The issue of prayer spaces and even secularism has been referred to the possible law on religious freedoms. Under this law, there is no threat to prayer spaces. This is the vision of us editors, but it is true that interpretations can be tendentious,” acknowledged a member of the editorial board, who requested anonymity.

Martin SAMA

framed

Sn the question of depoliticization, many people remain skeptical, because the last word will always come down to… politics. How to depoliticize an administration that implements a political program? they wonder. A former Minister of the Republic, criticized on the choice of his collaborators, did not hesitate to proclaim: “With equal skills, we take the one that is acquired for you”.