Synergies of cooperation between politicians and technical services must be improved in order to achieve positive and tangible results. This is what the participants in the inaugural session of a seminar organised from 28 to 30 January in Tangier affirmed. "We are seeking through this seminar to see how the two parties, political and administrative or technical, can work together in harmony and in a more cooperative manner. And this in order to achieve the targeted objectives," indicated the Director General of the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD), Simon Mamosi Lelo.

Organised by CAFRAD in partnership with the Hanns-Seidel Foundation in Germany, this event was distinguished by the participation of nearly 80 politicians and technocrats, who came from more than twenty African countries. Its main objective is to provide participants with "a productive platform to share ideas and improve knowledge on the increasingly important issue of instilling a culture of results-based management (RBM) among decision-makers and technocrats in the civil service," according to the organisers. According to Amidou Adamou, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Administrative Reform of Benin, RBM remains a challenge for public administrations. Inspired by the business world, "RBM breaks with the traditional system by activity and requires a strong commitment to transforming the selected objectives into results through an integration of strategic management tools," he affirmed.

The participants agreed that political decision-makers must define the strategic framework for the successful implementation of RBM. "Political leaders must have a clear vision of the objective in its entirety and show themselves capable of sharing this vision with administrators and all the actors concerned," specified Mr. Adamou.

The latter continued that once the decision to adopt RBM as a management mode is taken by the political side, it is up to the administrators to develop the implementation strategy. "If administrators as technicians must master the principles of RBM and be able to apply them, decision-makers, for their part, must institute this new management mode and be the guardians of strategic orientations and the achievement of expected results," emphasised Mr. Adamou.

It should be noted that CAFRAD plans to publish an issue that will synthesise the main results of the seminar.