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afrol News, 29 April - The Prime Minister of the Central African Republic, Martin Ziguélé, is "launching sweeping reforms to promote good governance, an important step towards reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development," the UN development agency UNDP today reports. - The reforms include improving public services; promoting decentralization and local governance; enhancing economic policies; and setting up an effective, transparent judicial system that respects human rights, UNDP reports from Bangui. "The other areas are: creating an enabling environment for private sector development, promoting civil society participation in public affairs, and strengthening operations of the National Assembly." Prime Minister Ziguélé had introduced the reforms at a national seminar earlier this month in Bangui organised by the government and UNDP. Participants had included government leaders and representatives from the private sector, civil society, political parties, local communities and development partners. The landlocked Central African Republic is in deep poverty, with two out of three people earning less than a dollar a day, the UN agency reports. Revenues are based in the export of some natural resources, namely diamonds, gold, and timber, and has iron ore, limestone and uranium, but have not been sufficient to lift the country out of poverty. Several military dictatorships and the political instability that started in the 1990 - including many army mutinies and attempted coups - have further decimated national economy. As democracy returned, donors and financial institutions have been too slow to respond, contributing to the ongoing political instability. The Central African government therefore has launched a series of confidence-building reforms - privatisation, economic transparency and IMF-demanded structural reforms - in its efforts to attract foreign capital. PM Ziguélé's launching of "sweeping reforms to promote good governance" is part of these efforts. At the recent seminar the government had been supported in its initiative to undertake "a complete reform covering all sectors of public administration," the Prime Minister was quoted by UNDP as saying. It would give a new impetus for all citizens to support the "exercise and protection of their basic freedoms and to a judicial system that respects rights," he added. The seminar also had reflected public calls for "improvements in public services, greater transparency in public administration, a better response to grievances and fairer distribution of development gains," he said. To guide the reform process, participants set up a national steering committee that includes representatives of all social groups and a technical committee to deal with each reform area, UNDP reports. They further had agreed on a strategy and schedule. The next step would be drafting a good governance programme, based on recommendations from the technical committees. "These are vital input to the good governance programme and a foundation for preparation of a strategic framework for the battle against poverty," said PM Ziguélé. Pascal Karorero, acting UNDP Resident Representative, added that good governance should not be the concern of only a few high ranking government officials and politicians. "It is a challenge for all citizens, because through good governance people can become empowered personally and collectively," he pointed out. "UNDP support for governance has aided efforts by the Government to stem corruption, bolster economic and financial management, promote dialogue on social and political issues and strengthen public security," the UN agency adds. Sources: Based on UN sources and afrol archives
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