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The African civil servant is little known and is seen from the prism of non-validated presumptions. Despite this lack of validation, a number of factors allow us to establish some broad notions about these public officiais who suffer from a poor image, from the failure of developmentalist states and from the farreaching scope of restructuring undertaken within the framework of state reform. Each national public service has its specificities but the limits of the colonial model are clearly identifiable. Nonetheless, a new image of the public programme professional is emerging, with the requirement for a complete review of the relationship between the State, donors and the society.