Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General launches Governance Yearbook 2011/12
A Commonwealth publication studying the link between democracy and development was launched by Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith at the Commonwealth Secretariat’s headquarters in London on 15 November.
The ‘Commonwealth Governance Yearbook 2011/12’ was launched in the presence of senior public sector leaders from around the Commonwealth, as part of the ‘Senior Leaders Forum’, from 14 to 17 November 2011, held at the Secretariat.
The publication is a comprehensive guide to public sector reform in the Commonwealth.
“It captures the collective thinking of experts and practitioners around the Commonwealth on public administration ... a notable and significant contribution to the literature on this subject,” said Mr Smith.
The Director of the Secretariat’s Governance and Institutional Development Division, Max Everest-Phillips, said the Yearbook looks at the two Commonwealth pillars of democracy and development and the importance of having a just and equitable public administration in both these pillars.
“We believe democracy and development are interrelated. To examine that relationship the articles in the Yearbook indirectly tease out how to achieve democratic developmental states.”
He explained that fair and effective public administration is at the heart of the legitimacy of the state as seen through the eyes of its citizens.
“So that just and honest public administration is vital for achieving both genuine democracy and sustainable development,” he said.
