|
PREFACE The
first Experts Group Meeting on Implementation of Policies and
Programmes Towards Competitive Sustainable Development for NAM Member
Countries were held from the 28th to 30th of
January 2002 at the Civil Service Institute (Institut Perkhidmatan Awam
- IPA), Prime Minister’s Office, Jalan Kampong Rimba Gadong, Brunei
Darussalam. The second Experts Group Meeting on NAM Reform:
Privatisation and Public-Private Partnership took place from 16th
to 18th of December 2002 at the Institut Perkhidmatan Awam,
Prime Minister’s Office, Brunei Darussalam. The
above meetings were proposed principally
based on the priority accorded by the NAM Heads of state or government
in Durban and South Africa to the eradication
of poverty in NAM member countries during the twenty-first
century. Rapid changes in technology and increasing trend in
globalisation have created intense competition between economic blocks
and countries. The ‘gap’ between the rich and poor countries has
widened apart as a result of such phenomena. Developing countries in
particular will have to take the necessary steps to reform their
economic, judicial and political system in order to be able to compete
in the global market and alleviate poverty. During
the second half of the 1990s, several NAM member countries in Southeast
Asia were hit by sudden and deep financial crisis. The crisis had caused
the sudden drop in the value of their national currencies. This
phenomenon revealed the basic weaknesses of the countries’ structure
and system. The collapse of the banking sector and the inefficiency of
state enterprise are examples which illustrated how fragile the
structure and the system were. NAM CSSTC intends to focus on measures
that could overcome these weaknesses, based on experiences of
NAM member countries. It aims to provide interested NAM
Government to undertake the necessary and most appropriate reforms in
their respective countries to strengthen the resilience of their
economic, legal and political systems so as to withstand the impact of
globalisation and become
more competitive in the global market . In
economic reforms, privatisation of public sector and public-private
partnership are issues of importance. In many developed countries, the
private sector is making a significant contribution to the country’s
economic growth. In some
countries, particularly in the past, the public sector has been known to
be the prime agent of development and the country’s only
infrastructure for economic development. But this sector has failed to
reveal optimal performance caused by lack of efficiency and
professionalism. Consequently, privatisation of public sector and
public-private partnership have become imperative options to be
explored. In
order to address this concern, NAM CSSTC and IPA collaboratively
organised the meeting of experts from NAM member countries to share
experiences in the areas of privatisation and public-private partnership
for possible adoption in their respective countries. The discussion was
focused on the corporate experiences and policy as well as technical
element contributing to the development of policies and programme within
the context of privatisation and public-private partnership. It
is hoped that the outcomes of the Experts Group Meeting could provide
NAM member countries with the necessary guidance, particularly in the
implementation of appropriate policies and programmes, and the
application of privatisation and public-private partnership within the
framework of economic development. Publisher
The
Committee Experts
Group Meeting on NAM Reform: Privatisation
and Public-Private Partnership Institut
Perkhidmatan Awam Prime
Minister’s Office Spg.
256, Jalan Kg. Rimba Gadong
BE3119 Brunei
Darussalam |