What the APRM does about nonresponsive civil service African state must be accountable and responsive to the needs of its population. Virtually all CRRs deal with the issue of public service and reforms geared towards enhancing its efficiency and effectiveness. The reforms encompass a wide range of interventions, including decentralisation (to bring services closer to the people), the introduction of performance management systems, establishing autonomous agencies to handle defined tasks, improving pay and attempting to root out corruption. Cumulatively, these are measures to introduce higher standards of professionalism into the civil service. The APRM addresses civil service issues in the DPG thematic area under Objective 5 on ensuring accountable, efficient and effective public service delivery at the national and decentralised levels. As the Zambia CRR remarks: ‗The civil service is the ultimate institution of governance, and is the most critical mechanism of governance as far as implementation is concerned.‘252 Several of the standards are applicable to Africa‘s various civil services:       While there is a universally stated commitment to civil service reform, the results have been variable. Some of the CRRs, such as those of Nigeria,254 Tanzania255 and Benin,256 note unsatisfactory outcomes. The Lesotho CRR notes that reformed laws are often ineffective in altering actual behaviour.257 The Nigeria CRR notes: ‗All in all, civil service reforms such as staff retrenchment or ―rightsizing‖, due process, pension schemes, auditing, etc. have not improved the capacity for service delivery. The civil/public service is generally perceived as corrupt and inefficient, with top officials accused of practising ethnoreligious favouritism in the promotion and appointment of civil servants.‘258 AU, NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance (2002, Durban, South Africa) OAU, African Charter on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (1981, Nairobi, Kenya) OAU, Memorandum of Understanding, Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (2002, Durban, South Africa) OAU, The New Partnership for Africa‘s Development (NEPAD) (2001) UN, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965, New York, USA) UN, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948, New York, USA) A reading of the various CRRs reveals the specific problems afflicting the continent‘s civil services, chiefly those of non-responsiveness and poor professionalism. The Benin CRR provides the following overview of the problems confronting its civil service, much of which is applicable to others:259 The standards do not go into great detail about expected civil service conduct. They focus, rather, on two key points. The first is a requirement that the civil service be governed by the principles of impartiality, effectiveness and professionalism. Thus, the NEPAD Document calls for an ‗accountable, efficient and effective civil service‘, while the CSSDCA MoU envisions an ‗impartial, efficient, transparent and accountable civil service‘. They include ageing public officers, arrogance; indifference, and even scorn towards illiterate users of public services; the high cost of services; lack of a sense of professionalism among public servants; impunity; not taking advantage of the knowledge and skills of workers (officers put in the garage); poor time management; politicisation of the Civil Service; the recruitment quotas policy, an avenue for discrimination and tribalism. Furthermore, Agenda 2063 also sees a pivotal role for the state in the achievement of its vision. It states:253 Effective, accountable and development oriented institutions, efficient and strong bureaucracy, clear and pragmatic development vision and planning, public policy that supports national entrepreneurial class and builds public trust, and governance structure based on transparent laws and rules are critical for the realization of Agenda 2063. In cases where structural transformation has succeeded, the state has played a crucial role in the process. State capacities and institutions need to be strengthened to build a vibrant private sector, mobilize the population and build national consensus around a common development agenda, and ensure that adequate resources are committed to achieve it. Above all, the 252 253 A lack of suitable skills, resources and ‗capacity‘ is cited frequently.260 The Rwanda report points to a subsidiary problem – that of qualified people preferring to work in the capital, which deprives decentralised governments of skills, which in turn comprises development initiatives, even when funding is available.261 In the more extreme 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 Kenya CRR, p. 92. Agenda 2063, p. 100. 261 52 Nigeria CRR, p. 106. Tanzania CRR, p. 177. Benin CRR, p. 100. Lesotho CRR, p. 78. Nigeria CRR, p. 106. Benin CRR, p. 100. Nigeria CRR, p. 275; Uganda CRR, p. 286; Rwanda CRR, p. 44; Sierra Leone CRR, p. 130. Rwanda CRR, p. 125.