28 May 1985

22nd plenary meeting

Public administration and finance for development

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 35/56 of 5 December 1980, containing the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade, 36/194 of 17 December 1981 on the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, particularly paragraph 3 thereof, 34/137 of 14 December 1979 on the role of the public sector in promoting the economic development of developing countries and 35/80 of 5 December 1980 and 39/219 of 18 December 1984 on the role of qualified national personnel in the social and economic development of developing countries,

Recalling also Council resolutions 1978/6 of 4 May 1978, 1978/75 of 8 November 1978, 1980/12 of 28 April 1980 and 1982/44 of 27 July 1982, concerning public administration and finance for development in the 1980s, and 1981/45 of 20 July 1981 and 1983/61 of 28 July 1983 on the role of the public sector in promoting the economic development of developing countries,

Reiterating the importance of effective and responsive public administration systems for the economic and social development of developing countries,

Reiterating also the critical importance of developing and strengthening the public administration and finance capabilities of developing countries, in particular improving the performance of existing institutions, personnel and policies,

Concerned about the critical economic situation in Africa and the need for increased urgent assistance to African countries, inter alia, in the fields of institutional, managerial and financial resource development,

1. Takes note of the report of the Seventh Meeting of Experts on the United Nations Programme in Public Administration and Finance, held at Geneva from 17 to 26 October 1984, and the report of the Secretary-General thereon;

2. Takes note also of the recommendations made by the Seventh Meeting of Experts and requests the Secretary-General to transmit them to the States Members of the United Nations for their review and appropriate action at the national level;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to further strengthen, taking into account the recommendations of the Seventh Meeting of Experts, the catalytic role of the United Nations Programme in Public Administration and Finance to assist developing countries in the improvement of their systems of public administration and finance for development;

4. Invites all organs, agencies and organizations of the United Nations system and the international community to take into account the Action Programme in Public Administration for Sub-Saharan Africa proposed by the Seventh Meeting of Experts, in formulating their programmes of assistance for countries in Africa;

5. Invites the United Nations Development Programme, in formulating its regional and interregional programmes, to bear in mind the need for improving the administrative and managerial capabilities of developing countries, especially the least developed among them, in the field of public administration and finance;

6. Notes the recommendation of the Seventh Meeting of Experts that its next meeting should be convened in 1987, and requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary preparations for that meeting, which, in reviewing the United Nations Programme in Public Administration and Finance in accordance with its mandate, should also deal in particular with:

(a) Challenges and constraints in public administration and finance in the developing countries;

(b) Development of computer-based management information systems in public administration and finance;

(c) The specific needs of the least developed countries, especially in the field of training;

(d) Strategies and measures for improving the performance of public enterprises and their contribution to national development;

(e) Support and assistance by the United Nations system for the developing countries in this field, including technical co-operation among developing countries;

(f) Progress in the implementation of the proposals and recommendations made by the Seventh Meeting of Experts.