Guinea's Minister of Modernization of Administration and Public Service, Faya François Bourouno, presented the country's reforms at the UN Summit on Innovation in Governance in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 5, 2026. The summit provided a platform for Bourouno to share Guinea's experience with other countries, including Gabon and Chad, which have expressed interest in the Guinean model. The Guinean government's ambition is to make modernization of its administration a key driver of economic and institutional transformation.
The Guinean government's program, Simandou 2040, is at the center of its modernization strategy. The program comprises 122 megaprojects and 36 strategic reforms aimed at improving public services and bringing administration closer to citizens. The objective is to ensure that economic growth translates into tangible changes in administrative procedures and services offered to users. To achieve this, the government is relying on new management and monitoring tools, including a one-stop shop for public services and a national employment and skills registry.
The one-stop shop for public services aims to simplify administrative formalities by interconnecting services. The national employment and skills registry seeks to provide reliable data on state agents and ensure better coherence between staffing and payroll management. Additionally, the National Public Services Barometer will measure the quality of services provided to users. These initiatives are part of a broader effort to gradually digitize administrative procedures.
The summit's sidelines provided opportunities for the Guinean delegation to meet with counterparts from various African countries. Bourouno held discussions with his counterparts from Gabon, Chad, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, and Djibouti, as well as representatives from the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The talks focused on administrative reforms, human resource management, and solutions to make public services more accessible and effective.
Gabon's Minister of Public Service and Capacity Building, Laurence Ndong, acknowledged the interest of Gabon's authorities in Guinea's reforms, particularly in simplifying procedures and improving service delivery. Ndong announced that Gabon is also working to transform its administration, with a focus on modernizing public services and making them more accessible. Chad, on the other hand, is interested in digitalization tools and career management mechanisms.
Chad's Minister of Public Service, Abdoulaye Mboudou, highlighted the importance of mastering public service staffing levels for the administrations of both countries. Mboudou expressed interest in Guinea's expertise in modernizing public services, particularly in digitalization. Bourouno emphasized that the meetings demonstrate the interest in Guinea's experience among its African partners, with many countries considering Guinea a leader in public administration modernization.
The Guinean government's efforts to modernize its administration have yielded significant results, including control of staffing levels and payroll, as well as digitization of human resource management. Bourouno noted that while there is still much work to be done, Guinea's experience can serve as a model for other countries. The presence of Guinea at the international summit helped raise awareness about its reform initiatives and opened up prospects for cooperation with other states.
Key points
- Guinea's public administration modernization model has sparked interest among African countries, with several nations seeking to learn from its experience.
- The Guinean government's Simandou 2040 program is driving efforts to improve public services and bring administration closer to citizens.
- Guinea's experience in modernizing its administration has yielded significant results, including control of staffing levels and payroll, as well as digitization of human resource management.
