Recruitment of Decentralised Staff : PM Instructs Minister To Ensure Rationalisation

“The Prime Minister, Head of Government, His Excellency Joseph Dion Ngute, President of the National Decentralisation Board, presided over the first ordinary session of this body for the year 2022, at the auditorium of the Prime Minister's Office, from 10 a.m. today, 16 June 2022. In addition to his close aides, the meeting was attended by Members of Government, Members of Parliament, representatives of the Economic and Social Council, representatives of the Regional and Local Authorities, as well as representatives of the civil society.
After the opening statement by the Prime Minister, four (4) main items were on the agenda, namely:
1.     Report of activities carried out by the Permanent Secretariat of the National Decentralization Board during the inter-session period, presented by the Permanent Secretary of the NDB; 
2.     Statement by the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development on: "Human resources of Regional and Local Authorities: state of affairs, challenges and prospects;
3.     Statement by the Minister of the Public Service and Administrative Reform on: "Human resources of Regional and Local Authorities: challenges related to staffing and career management;
4.     Statement by the Minister of Finance on: "Human resources of Regional and Local Authorities: the financial implications regarding the establishment of the Local Public Service”.
In his introductory statement, the Prime Minister recalled that this session was taking place after the signature by the President of the Republic of the first instruments transferring powers to the Regions in the areas of organisation and management of interurban public transport, environmental protection, tourism and leisure, as well as town planning and housing. Through these instruments signed on 28 December 2021, the Head of State has thus confirmed his often-expressed desire to accelerate the decentralisation process with a view to promoting local development.
The Head of Government also noted that, in accordance with the law in force, the transfer of powers goes with the transfer of material, financial and human resources. In this respect, human resources appear to be a central factor in the performance of the Regional and Local Authorities.
Reporting on the activities of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Decentralization Board during the inter-session, the Permanent Secretary noted that apart from following up on the implementation of the instructions of the Head of Government at the Board's session of 17 June 2021, the Permanent Secretariat contributed to the codification of the decentralization process. In this regard, thirty-five (35) draft regulatory instruments were prepared in collaboration with MINDDEVEL and line ministries.
In his statement, the Minister of Decentralization and Local Development gave an overview of the human resources of Regional and Local Authorities, as well as the challenges and perspectives in their management.
With regard to the state of human resources in the Regional and Local Authorities, there are 10,626 municipal councillors. At the regional level, there are 900 regional councillors.
As regards communal staff, according to the data from the census conducted between 2019 and 2021 under the aegis of MINDDEVEL, there are 18,268 employees. The staff of the Regions are currently made up of 10 General Secretaries and 10 Regional Collectors, in addition to support staff recruited directly by the Presidents of the Regional Councils.
Referring to the current challenges, MINDDEVEL noted (i) the need to provide Regional and Local Authorities with quality human resources, (ii) the budgetary sustainability of their staff costs and (iii) the challenge of instilling a performance culture within them.
The major prospects in terms of local human resources management concern (i) the establishment of the Local Civil Service, (ii) the operationalisation of the administration of the Regions within the deadlines prescribed by Decree No. 2021/742 of 28 December 2021 on the model organisation of the Regional Administration and (iii) the launch of the first NASLA competitive examination.
In his statement on "Human resources of Regional and Local Authorities: the challenges related to the control of staff and career management", the Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform dwelt on the critical elements and the necessary optimisation of the control of staff of the Regional and Local Authorities. He also pointed out the points of attention and the levers to be used to optimise the management of the careers of local staff. The presentation by the Minister of Finance on “Human resources of the Regional and Local Authorities: the financial implications of the establishment of the Local Civil Service" noted that the financial impact of taking charge of the staff of the Regional and Local Authorities identified by MINDDEVEL is estimated at about CFA F 25 billion per year, for a monthly wage bill estimated at about CFAF 2 billion.
MINFI pleaded that the ministries concerned should first carry out the necessary due diligence in order to clearly identify the...