The Civil Service Agency (CSA) successfully participated in a two-day sub-regional forum on the challenges and reforms of public administration in Africa, held from March 27–28, 2026, in Dakar, Senegal.
The forum, organized by the Amicale des Administrateurs Civils du Sénégal (AACS), brought together civil administrators and public administration officials from West Africa and other parts of the world.
CSA Director-General, Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr., was ably represented at the forum by Mr. Mulbah K. Yorgbor Jr., Director of Civil Service Reform and Policy, and Coordinator of the Panel of Experts of the Health and Public Service Network of Africa (HaPSNA).
On behalf of the Civil Service Agency of Liberia, Mr. Yorgbor signed the landmark Dakar Declaration at the conclusion of the forum, affirming the CSA’s commitment to building a modern, efficient, and high-performing civil service across Africa.
“Our firm commitment to strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation; our determination to modernize our administrations with a view to transforming them into key drivers of development and national cohesion; and our intention to institutionalize the sub-regional forum on public administration by establishing a rotation mechanism and exploring sustainable financing options,” a snippet of the Dakar Declaration states.
The Civil Service Agency, along with its counterparts, also committed to creating a sub-regional framework for cooperation in public governance by strengthening integration—particularly in areas such as cross-border cooperation, security, administrative organization, public finances, and the sharing of best practices in electoral matters.
Participants further emphasized their endorsement of best practices identified during the forum and expressed their intention to establish an Observatory of Administrative Best Practices.
A restricted working group—co-chaired by the Presidents of the Associations of Civil Administrators of Senegal and Sierra Leone, and comprising representatives from other participating countries—was established to draft relevant texts, organize preparatory international meetings, propose the theme of the next forum, and collaborate with stakeholders to determine its venue and date.
The set of best practices endorsed at the forum to accelerate reforms includes:
• Repositioning citizens as the primary beneficiaries of public service through client-oriented and life-events approaches, protection of the right to information, and enhanced citizen participation;
• Institutionalizing and regularly conducting user satisfaction surveys;
• Strengthening digitalization and promoting environmentally sustainable (“green”) public services through improved connectivity, dematerialization, and e-procedures, within a framework of sovereignty, accessibility, economic efficiency, and cybersecurity;
• Enhancing human capital through effective human resource management, ensuring well-trained and motivated staff to support an efficient civil service within a stable social climate;
• Adopting change management mechanisms;
• Improving territorial and local governance by deepening decentralization and deconcentration, thereby promoting proximity-based governance grounded in accountability, subsidiarity, and citizen participation;
• Establishing a strong culture of transparency and accountability through anti-corruption measures, including asset declaration laws, adequately resourced oversight bodies, and whistleblower protection;
• Developing stable, coherent, and sustainable public policies based on a shared national vision and supported by robust statistical systems;
• Updating administrative frameworks to reflect evolving contexts while ensuring legal certainty, coherence, and rationality;
• Strengthening administrative and judicial oversight through clear control mechanisms, accessible administrative justice, and timely resolution of disputes;
• Enhancing regional integration, particularly in cross-border cooperation, security, administrative systems, public finances, and electoral best practices.
The Dakar Declaration was signed by 13 countries, including Senegal, Sierra Leone, Benin, Burkina Faso, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Togo.
Mr. Mulbah F. Yorgbor Jr. also lauded Liberia’s Ambassador to Senegal, H.E. Ali Sylla, whose instrumental support ensured the CSA’s participation in this important forum.
Liberia remains fully committed to regional collaboration, innovation in public sector governance, and building resilient institutions that deliver results.