It is with honor and immense pleasure that I accept to lead ASPA’s Section on African Public Administration (SAPA) for a second term extended till April 2025. I take the renewed vote of confidence as both an honor and a responsibility to carry out the section’s mission of advancing the art and science of public administration systems on the African continent.  Since its inception in December 2018, the founding members made a pledge to create a distinct forum led by a dedicated circle of Diaspora, American and global scholars, and practitioners with a shared goal of exploring the 55 African countries’ most pressing public and nonprofit sector governance, management and leadership challenges. 

pondering pressing matters facing African public administration Diaspora and US public administration scholars in   status to one that   and to introduce SAPA new Executive Team and Advisory Board. As I reflect on the past six years accomplishments, I cannot help but rejoice over our collective milestones making 2023 a memorable year for us all. SAPA members and affiliates continue to shine both under the auspices of ASPA annual conferences framework, as well as on the continental stage, where we held SAPA’s inaugural Africa-based conference in Cairo, Egypt, hosted by our local partner, the American University of Cairo’s Department of Public Policy and Administration, debating hot-button sustainable development priorities confronting African PA and publics, and forging new collaborative partnerships with counterparts in Africa. The Cairo conference, The Localization of African Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Administration Systems, brought together prominent keynote speakers from Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the Secretary General of the African Association of Public Administration (AAPAM) the former Head of the United Nation’s DESA, the Director of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences, alongside seasoned and emergent scholars and practitioners. They deliberated Africa’s sustainable development agenda amidst post-pandemic turbulence. 

SAPA’s annual symposia since 2018 and the 2023 inaugural continental conference provided a diverse and inclusive platform for SAPA scholars and their counterparts around the globe to compare experiences and deepen relationships. 

A big shout-out to the respective editorial boards of SAPA and the African Journal of Public Administration and Management (AJPAM) for maintaining a fruitful collaboration over joint publications. A third guest edition spurred by the 2023 continental conference followed by the 2024 symposium on resilience-building in the African context is in the pipeline. A special thank you goes to our main continental partner, APPAM, for their unwavering support to SAPA, to the University of North Texas at Dallas for their continued sponsorship of SAPA symposia, and to ASPA leadership for their endorsement. The section stands a steady growth rate doubling up in membership over the span of 5 years.

As we together celebrate these accomplishments and look ahead, I’m conveying deep gratitude to SAPA members at large, the Advisory Board, the Executive Team, and the partners both at home and on the continent, all of whom embody the SAPA spirit of ubuntu. Here’s to SAPA’s future productive national symposia and transcontinental conferences as they advance the art and science of public administration on the African continent and the World over. 

Stay tuned for more information on SAPA 2025 Symposium in Washington D.C. on the topic of: Keeping African Public Servants in Public Service — Unleashing the Power of People and Technology on The African Continent

Sincerely,

Rym KAKI, Ph.D.