Pretoria: Public Service and Administration Minister Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi has welcomed the signing of an agreement between the National School of Government (NSG) and the E’cole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) – the national school of administration in Burundi. The two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Pretoria on Wednesday to facilitate cooperation on educating, training, and developing public servants and trainers.
According to South African Government News Agency, the MoU was signed by Professor Busani Ngcaweni, NSG Principal, and Professor Jean de Dieu Ndikumana, the Director General of ENA, and was witnessed by the Ambassador of Burundi to South Africa, Alexis Bukuru. Minister Buthelezi emphasized that the agreement is a significant development in strengthening relations between the two institutions and countries.
The minister noted that the collaboration contributes to the African Union’s objectives of building state capacity and establishing a functional, capable, and efficient public sector across the African continent. He highlighted the mutual benefits, stating that the NSG will aid in building capacity in Burundi, while South Africa can learn from Burundi’s experience in rebuilding state capacity post-conflict.
The MoU outlines several areas of collaboration, including capacity building for teacher trainers, a trainer professionalisation program, and the digital or virtual art of facilitation. It also involves the joint development and implementation of continuous training actions for senior executives of ENA, the exchange of trainees between the NSG and ENA, and collaboration in research and sharing of experiences on developing a new journal.
Additionally, the agreement allows NSG and ENA researchers in the same academic fields to co-author, publish, and conduct academic and innovation conferences together. It also includes setting up study visits and exchanges of officials. Ngcaweni and Ndikumana expressed their eagerness to implement the partnership to empower public servants in their respective nations.