Improving Government Performance in Development: An International Dialogue

The decision to convene future conferences was premised, to a large extent, on these realizations, and was certainly the major impetus for the Second International Conference convened July 24 through 28, 1999, in Accra, Ghana. The theme, “Improving Government Performance in Development: An International Dialogue”, saw African and American participants being joined by Caribbean and Canadian public service professionals.
The conference featured meetings, panel discussions, and presentations addressing innovative management and development activities in the arenas of budgeting, port management, civil service reform and privatization. Post- conference activities included a meeting with Ghana’s First Lady and members of her December Ninth Movement as well as visits to significant historical sites, such as the Slave Castle and the W.E.B. Dubois Centre.

Since the decision was made to hold biennial conferences, locations have been chosen for their significance in the context of freedom for Africa. South Africa, site of the first conference, was the last African country to be freed. Ghana was the first country to be liberated from colonial bondage.