Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 12 of 29 BACK | NEXT Executive Summary I. Introduction II. Development Challenges III. Key Variables Influencing Development A. Vulnerability B. Political Stability and Good Governance C. Capacity and Skills D. Sociocultural Context E. Population Growth Rates F. Physical, Technological, and Financial Infrastructure IV. External Assistance V. Review of ADB Assistance and Strategy VI. The New Pacific Strategy

A Pacific Strategy for the New Millennium : III. Key Variables Influencing Development

---

C. Capacity and Skills

30. The shortage of managerial and technical skills is a major development constraint. The human resources and institutional capacity in the PDMCs remain extremely weak, which is in large measure caused by the small labor market and limited local education opportunities. Weak human and institutional capacities are perhaps the most significant stumbling block to achieving efficient social and economic systems. Weaknesses range from the weak capacities of parliaments to debate policy issues and to effectively oversee government administration, to the limited professionalism of the civil service, the weak capacity of sectoral agencies to regulate and manage critical public services, and the ability of the private sector to engage the necessary business and technical skills. The shortage of skills in the smallest and remotest PDMCs is to be expected, and there is no easy solution. However, while much effort has been expended in building skills in the larger PDMCs such as the Fiji Islands and the Melanesian countries (footnote 5), durable capacity is still lacking. The important lesson from capacity building efforts in the Pacific so far is that it is a long-term task requiring sustained attention and investments. There are serious risks in being overly ambitious, given the weak base in most countries.

31. To some extent, providers of external assistance have contributed to the problem of low capacity. Multilateral and bilateral donors design complex projects and programs, and then field a battery of consultants to implement these because local capacity cannot cope. Capacity building programs are often resourced by long-term consultants who often are technical rather than capacity building specialists, and who end up doing the work themselves rather than transferring skills. Governments compound the problem by not adhering to a policy that allows trained incumbents to stay in place over an adequate period of time to have an impact on institutional operations. Finally, while bilateral programs have devoted much investment to overseas education and training, these programs are plagued by the consequent emigration of trainees, seeking more attractive overseas employment.

Back B. Political Stability and Good Governance	Next D. Sociocultural Context