Are African Elections Always Worth the Risk?

The BBC recently published an article that includes a debate on whether elections in Africa are always a beneficial part of the African development process.

We would like to share this interesting article with you. We invite you to join the debate by posting comments on this blog.

--FDA

Hillary Rodham Clinton's Remarks AT The 8th Forum of the African Growth and Opportunity Act

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Kenyatta International Conference Centre
Nairobi, , Kenya
August 5, 2009

Good morning. Let me thank the trade minister for those welcoming words, and tell you what a privilege it is for me to join you here today. I am very grateful to the people and Government of Kenya for hosting this AGOA Forum, and particularly to the president, the prime minister, and the entire Kenyan Government.

The presence of so many distinguished leaders from across Africa reflects our shared aspirations for greater economic growth and prosperity on this continent. This was a very important trip for me to make in order to underscore the significance that President Obama and I place on enhancing the trade and commerce both between Africa and the United States, but also within Africa.

And I am delighted to have two other representatives of the Obama Administration with me: Secretary Tom Vilsack, who, for eight years, was one of the most successful governors in our country, and responsible for the state of Iowa, a very important agricultural state, but also recognizing the connection between agriculture and energy production; and Ambassador Ron Kirk, our U.S. Trade Representative, a mayor of one of our large cities in Texas – Dallas, Texas – someone who understands the significance of economic development for the well-being of people.

Communiqué from the West Africa Regional Conference on Smart and Appropriate Technology for Rural Communities, 9-11 July 2009, Abuja Nigeria

The West Africa Regional Conference: Business Expo and Workshops on Smart, Appropriate and Resource Efficient Technologies and Products for Rural Communities held at the Transcorp Hilton, in Abuja, Nigeria on July 9 – 11, 2009 came to a successful conclusion. The conference delegates in attendance include both the public and private sector stakeholders as well as some of the NGOs and CSOs in the region that contributed significantly to the discussions and recommendations.

The opening ceremony was attended by leaders from the public, private and civil society including; Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, Chair the Banking Committee on Banking and other financial services, Honorable Abike Dabiri Erewa, Chair the House Committee on the Diaspora, Lisa Pisack the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy to Nigeria, Major General Esam Mbowah, Sierra Leone, High Commission to Nigeria, Ms. Irene Maamerh, Ghana High Commission to Nigeria, Mrs. Martina Nwordu Chief Administrative Officer, office, the Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Professor A.S. Sambo, Director General, Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr. Solomon Nyagba, 1st Deputy President Abuja Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Hajia Amina Mohammed Az Zubair, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), who chaired one of the sessions, and Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria.

Please join us for the 8th AGOA Forum in Kenya. Register soon as the last day of registration is July 17th.

THE FDA WELCOMES THE U.S. SIGNING THE STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY

By Prince White

The Foundation for Democracy in Africa (FDA), welcomes the U.S. signing the Statute of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt by Ambassador Reno Harnish, Acting Secretary of the Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science on June 29th. The FDA calls on IRENA to ensure the promotion of renewable energy and smart and appropriate technologies for rural communities its highest priority.

According to Mr. Anthony Okonmah, executive director of the FDA, “IRENA must work with NGOs, the private sector and other stakeholders in Africa to use smart and appropriate technologies to provide basic human needs, increase economic activities and expand economic and political freedom.” In support of the promotion of renewable energy, sustainable development and economic growth the FDA organized the West Africa Regional Conference Business Expo and Workshops on Smart, Appropriate and Resource Efficient Technologies and Products for Rural Communities in Abuja, Nigeria July 9TH -11TH. The goal of the conference is to provide a forum in the West Africa region for discussing and showcasing appropriate technologies in renewable energy, agriculture, transportation, communication, water and irrigation, and the thrift and banking sectors that can improve living and working conditions in rural communities.

The conference also aims to encourage policy discussions on these important issues, and thereby assisting in enhancing legislative frameworks in order to attract the human capital and finical investment required to advance research and development in smart technologies that benefit Africa by increasing development. Technology companies, research institutions, governments, Universities and institutions of higher learning, development organizations, nongovernmental organizations, community based organizations, multilateral organizations, funding organizations, think tanks, and officials from the ECOWAS member states will be in attendance.

For more information on the Foundation for Democracy in Africa please visit:
www.democracy-africa.org

Democracy in Hard to Reach Places

By Cece M. Fadope

June 2009 -- In recent years, African countries have embraced the notion of participatory democracy. Inherent in a government by the people is the right to participate in political processes regardless of locale, rural or urban. But while rural communities yearn to participate in public affairs, they also tend to be hard to reach because of poor road conditions. They have limited electricity supply, poor access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities. Therefore, rural communities enjoy even less of the fragmented political freedoms that may be available in African countries.

The 2009 West African Regional Conference on Smart, Appropriate and Resource Efficient Technologies and Products for Rural Communities, to be held in Abuja, Nigeria includes efforts to ramp up dialogue with, and among rural communities towards political participation. We invite your comments regarding democracy and political activities in your rural community:

* What leadership attributes do people in your rural community value?
* How do people in your rural community access news and information about political developments locally and nationally?
* During elections, does voter education in your rural setting foster the understanding of issues that affect your life?

Please send us your comments and questions to: info@democracy-africa.org.

Microlinks Breakfast: the Market Facilitation Approach

By Prince White

This morning, June 25, 2009, USAID’s Microenterprise Development office hosted a breakfast seminar, which is part of a monthly series that focuses on enterprise development. This month’s seminar was entitled, “Organizational Capacity: Why the Value Chain Approach May Fail,” and the presenter was Ka-Hay Law from Engineers Without Borders Canada. Law’s main argument was that organizations take a failing approach to market intervention.

Law’s experiences from Zambia exposed her to the reality that the standard and most common approaches to market intervention may not and usually do not produce long term systemic change. Moreover, she has observed markets returning to their basic failing conditions soon after organizations complete their projects and leave. Law argues that the value chain approach may assist some individuals in the short term; however, for long term gains the nature of the relationship between actors in the market must change. Law and Engineers Without Borders Canada’s solution to the problem is the adoption of a market facilitation approach.

The market facilitation approach evolves increasing the relationships and the networks in a market and taking a less direct role in business success. Furthermore, Law’s approach is to increase local organizations’ capacity to encourage and develop effective, working relationships in the market place. She expressed five roles that facilitators may find themselves in are a coach, relationship builder, business person, innovator and communicator. An interesting point which came from an audience member during the question and answer session dealt with the evaluation of the effectiveness of market facilitation. His point was that, from the work that he was involved with at the OTF Group, he had observed trust to be an important measurement of success. He described encountering individuals at the beginning of a market facilitation project that held so much distrust toward each they did not want to sit next to each other, or even be in the same room together. By the end of the project they were able to effectively work together to achieve their respective goals.

Law’s presentation was interesting and insightful. It dealt with issues germane to the development of African business and improving efficiency in non-government organizations. The presentation was recorded and it along with the PowerPoint and a paper will be available online later this month HERE. Next month’s seminar takes place July 23, 2009. The title is “Integrating Gender into Agricultural Value Chains: Experiences from Kenya and Tanzania,” with Cristina Manfre and Deborah Rubin.