Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - The Secretary to Cabinet, Mr Ben C. Eghan, has been elected member of the Board of Directors of Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) for a two-year period- 2010-2012.

He could serve the same position for a maximum of two consecutive te= rms on the Board made up of officials at the most senior levels of Government= .. A statement issued in Accra by the Ministry of Information said Mr P= aul Zahra, Permanent Secretary (Policy), Malta, served as President of the Board; Mr Ramesh C. Misra, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, India as the Vice President; Ms Lim Soo Hoon, Permanent Secretary, Public Service Division, Singapore, Honorary Treasurer.

Other members include, Mr Stephen Sedgwick, Australian Public Servic= e Commissioner; Mrs Avril Gollop, Head of Civil Service and Cabinet Secreta= ry, Barbados; Mr Eric Molale, Permanent Secretary to the President and Head o= f the Civil Service, Botswana; Ms Daphne Meredith, Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada, and Mr Dalmas A. Otieno, Minister for the Ministry of State for Public Service, Kenya. The rest are Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, Chief Secretary to the Government, Malaysia; Mr Iain Rennie, State Services Commissioner, New Zealand; Ms Amal Pepple, Former Head of Service of the Federation, Nigeri= a; Mr Rod Clark, Principal and Chief Executive of National School of Government, UK and Ms Lynelle Briggs, Chief Executive Officer, Medicare Australia and Past President, CAPAM.

CAPAM's objectives are to ensure the development and growth of ethic= al and efficient public services across the Commonwealth that would better serve citizen's needs; grow and foster a common network between public administrators and other professionals to promote and encourage good governance in public administration. Others are to promote integrity, ethics and standards of governance and professional conduct in the public services; endorse the importance of developing public service capacity through professional development and training drawing on best management practices in the public, private and non-governmental sectors. CAPAM with its headquarters in Ottawa, Canada, was established in 19= 94 to facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge on public administration and management among Commonwealth countries and beyond. CAPAM's high-level biennial conferences, the most recent which took place in Malta, brought together senior public servants, other top-level practitioners and professionals, academics and researchers as well as sen= ior officers from the private sector around the Commonwealth and other region= s. The theme for this year's Biennial Conference was: "Building A Commo= n Future: Global Challenges Local; Responses."

Mr Eghan chaired the session on "The Power of Networks: Building Relations Across Borders". The speakers were Ms Simone de Comarmond, Chairperson, Commonwealth Foundation and Former Education Minister of the Republic of Seychelles, a= t different times over a period of 14 years, and Mrs Arlene McComie, Perman= ent Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration, Trinidad and Tobago. 23 Nov. 10