african development dialogue, a quaterly magazine from the un millennium campaign africa

1 African Development Dialogue January - April 2009

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENTVol.1 Jan - April 2009

ENDPOVERTY

Millennium Campaign

Mothers Should Not Die Giving LifeGlobal Financial Crisis•In Search of Alternatives•Migration and Development•Toolkit on Elections•

UNMC Africa Office based in Nairobi,

Kenya, supports civil society and citizen engagement in the campaign for

the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. The organisation works with various partners including civil society organisations among them faith based

organisations, youth and women organisations, parliamentarians and local governments in 14 priority countries in the South, East and West Africa. It is a small team headed by a Deputy

Director with a Communications Coordinator and a Policy advisor and also Advocacy / Programme, Communications and administrative and Finance Associates.

UNMC’s primary partner is the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), which has since its inception in 2005, offered civil society organisations a platform to undertake collective and collaborative action. UNMC also

works with a range of other stakeholders who may not necessarily be part of the GCAP. Increasingly, UNMC is also building strategic partnerships with private sector players including communications companies, media houses, financial

and other commercial institutions.

Both at the global and regional levels and also nationally we also cooperate, collaborate or coordinate our support with other development partners including All Africa Conference of Chuches (AACC), United

Cities and Local Governments Association , UCLGA-Africa, Micah Challenge, OXFAM-NOVIB, Africa Office of Action Aid internatiobnal (AAI) , Pan Africa Programme of OXFAM-GB and others.

The UNMC Africa Office is one of the regional hubs of the global UNMC headquartered in New York . The global Director is based

in New York but is assisted by regional teams headed by Deputy Directors in other regions of the world (Africa, Asia and Europe) and Communications (New York). In Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal UNMC has National campaign offices. All regional and National offices work closely through the Global secretariat to deliver as One campaign in support of furthering the MDGs based

on the different priorities set for different regions and countries. For instance in the North, the campaign

focuses on Goal 8 issues while in the South, emphasis is on accountability and delivery on goals 1-7. Both North and South collaborate and cooperate to identify strategic partnership that can

strengthen the achievements of these goals in all countries.

About United Nations Millennium Campaign

United Nations Millennium Campaign, All African Conference of Churches P.O. Box 14205-00800, Waiyaki Way Nairobi Kenya

Tel: 254-20-4453440/4454025 Fax: 254-20-4443241/4453444 Email: [email protected] Website: www.endpoverty2015.org


Contents

Editorial Committee Editorial Cover Story3 Mothers Should Not Die Giving Life 5 Facing Disease And Death6 Kenya Joins The Piga Debe Campaign News7 Men Challenged To Fight Gender Inequality8 Stand Up, Speak Out And Take Action9 Voices Against Poverty And InequalityFeatures10 Migration As A Tool For Development12 Africa’s Response To The Global Financial Crisis15 Africa Resists Epas17 In Search Of AlternativesDebates And Viewpoints20 Agenda For Creating Another WorldReviews24 Fighting Disability In Kenya26 Tool Kit On Elections And MDGs28 Book Reviews

You and I can make it happen!

Advisory CommitteeDr. Tajudeen Abdul-RaheemBetty Atieno NdomoProf. Okello OculiProf. Adebayo OlukoshiProf. James KwesigaIssue EditorThomas DeveEditorial AssistantMwaura KaaraProductionSylvia MwichuliGenderLinda OdhiamboCorrespondentsWest AfricaOlolade BamideleMichael BoampongOumar SowSouthern AfricaMzati NkolokosaSifelani TsikoEastern AfricaHamimu MasudiCeasar MkasaAntoine NiyitengekaRobert MmaitsiRichard KabazziDiasporaNardos HagosTominke OlaniyanBob Owuor

United Nations Millennium Campaign, All African Conference of Churches P.O. Box 14205-00800, Waiyaki Way Nairobi Kenya

Tel: 254-20-4453440/4454025 Fax: 254-20-4443241/4453444 Email: [email protected] Website: www.endpoverty2015.org

Editorial

We are introducing a magazine whose broad objective will be to support citizen’s efforts towards holding their governments to account for the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Its editorial policy will deliberately seek to promote the vision of the United Nations Millennium Campaign in Africa especially on initiatives seeking to:

• Consolidate efforts by anti-poverty campaignerstowards enhancing governance and accountability processes at national, sub-national and global levels for accelerating the pace of achieving MDGs

• Reach out to the expanded constituency for theMDGs within various groups including faith based groups, youth/student groups parliamentarians, local authorities, social movements and selected sections of the private sector

• Expandcampaignfurtherintosociallyexcludedgroupsincluding disability organizations

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships withvarious groups organizations and institutions

• Promoteevidencebasedadvocacybyuseofgovernmentreports, shadow reports, citizen scorecards, fact sheets and other relevant tool kits developed within the contextofthecampaignandfinallymainstreamgenderand showcase struggles the women’s movement is engaged in at all levels.

One of the main objectives of introducing the magazine is to provide an accessible and effective communication channel that provides a platform for informed and inclusive debate on development issues in general and how they relate with Millennium Development Goals in particular in order to advance the cause of the poor.

Themagazine isexpected toprovideantipovertycampaignerswith opportunities to influence domestic, regional andinternational policies through amplifying the voices of the underprivilegedandsociallyexcludedinadditiontothoseofourpartners in the campaign.

Eradicating extreme poverty continues to be one of the mainchallenges of our time, and is a major concern of the international community. Ending this scourge will require the combined efforts of all, governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, in the context of a stronger andmore effective globalpartnership for development.

The MDGs set time-bound targets, by which progress in reducing income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter and exclusion—whilepromotinggenderequality,health,education

andenvironmentalsustainability—canbemeasured.Theyalsoembodybasichumanrights—therightsofeachpersonontheplanet to health, education, shelter and security. The Goals are ambitious but feasible and, together with the comprehensive United Nations development agenda, set the course for the world’seffortstoalleviateextremepovertyby2015.

There has been real progress made towards achieving some of the Goals, even in regions where the challenges are greatest. Anumberofrecentsuccessesacrossthedevelopingworld—including improved macroeconomic indicators, expansion ofAIDS treatment and increased agricultural productivity, school enrolmentandaccesstowaterandsanitation—demonstratethat rapid progress is possible when sound national policies are matched with increased overseas development assistance (ODA) and technical support from the international system. The accomplishments made testify to the unprecedented degree of commitment by developing countries and their partners to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and the growing success in building and strengthening the global partnership for development.

There has been real progress made towards achieving some of the Goals, even in regions where the challenges are greatest. Anumberofrecentsuccessesacrossthedevelopingworld—including improved macroeconomic indicators, expansion ofAIDS treatment and increased agricultural productivity, school enrolmentandaccesstowaterandsanitation—demonstratethat rapid progress is possible when sound national policies are matched with increased ODA and technical support from the international system. The accomplishments made testify to the unprecedented degree of commitment by developing countries and their partners to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and the growing success in building and strengthening the global partnership for development.

Poverty and inequality are growing at an alarming rate globally and many governments in Africa are claiming that they are not going to MDGs by 2015. Ironically, globalisation has thrown up many opportunities for social and economic progress, but these have been unevenly distributed to the extent that developingcountriesareexperiencingunprecedentedmarginalisationandreapinglessandlessfromtheprogresshumanityisexperiencingin the last decade.

Empirical evidence available on performance indicators for MDGs shows that it is too early for governments in developing countries to give up meeting targets as we have just gone past the midpoint. The positive areas especially in education, health andmaternalhealth forexample,underlinestheurgencyforacollectiveneedtoexplorealternativediverseandparticipatoryeconomic systems that are adapted to local and national realities, while also prioritizing and protecting equity, democracy and diversity, human rights, labour rights, ecology, food security and sustainable production and consumption.

Holding governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals


The United Nations Millennium Campaign is launching a report this week on maternal mortality to

coincide with the International Women’s Day, March 8 and we are also joining with various National partners and UN agencies and governments in various countries across Africa in a month long series of activities to draw attention to the alarming number of women who continue to die while giving birth or as a result of complications of pregnancies. Many of these deaths are preventable and their preventionisdefinitelylesscostlybothinhuman and material terms to the families involved and the society in general.

The paradox of the situation is thatmillions of children in Asia and Africa now have a better chance of living beyond the age of 5 years. If more children are living, why are the mothers dying in such scandalous numbers? Who is going to nurture and care for these children with improved chances of living beyond 5 , universal access to education and more opportunities beyond 2015?

Officialstatisticsrevealashockingtrendof mothers dying in circumstances that are preventable. Despite the fact that some countries have invested on provision of basic health care, in developing countries, only 35% of births are attended by skilled health workers. In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman has 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth, compared to a 1 in 4,000 risk in a developing country. More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth every year: of these deaths, 99 % are in developing countries. Neonatal mortality accounts for almost 40 % of estimated 9.7 million children under-fivedeathsand fornearly60%of infant(under-one) deaths.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in Africa and the most dangerous place to give birth with women facing an astonishing 1 in 7 chance of dying. Nigeria makes up 2% of the world’s population, it accounts for 10% of its maternal deaths.

While statistics can educate and raise awareness, they remain statistics. We do not see human beings in them. Until they are humanised, we may not feel their impact directly. I have been banging on about MMR for quite some time now. But it hit me directly recently. A young sister of mine, Asmau (better known as TALATUA) aged 33, died two hours after delivering her second child, a boy, whom she never held.

Asmau was not an illiterate woman. She was a senior science teacher, while the husband is a college principal. Both fall far beyond the so called ‘ordinary man and woman’ as their income could ‘buy’ them better access to health facilities. My

Mothers Should Not Die Giving LifeCover Story

sister died in a ‘private’ clinic, one of many that have mushroomed in response to the crisis in the public health sector. Most of these “private” clinics are owned by Doctors and other Medical staff ‘working’ in the public sector. So really the only dividing line between public and private is the ‘extra’money that thosewho canafford pay in order to buy themselves extra care and time of the overworkedpublic professionals.

But it is all a game of chances because many of these ‘private’ clinics do not have requisite facilities and often fallback on the privatised sections of public facilities. So the closer one is to better public hospitals and other medical establishments like dedicated gynaecological, paediatric and other specialist hospitals like Teaching hospitals, the better are one’s chances of buying off a slice of the public service for one’s health. Consequently, regardless of your economic status, your access to better public or private health facilities is

It is not morally or politically right and it cannot be acceptable that mothers die giving life. Argues Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem*

Rallying behind Piga Debe Campaign on International Women’s Day in Liberia

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African Development Dialogue January - April 2009

predetermined by the location. If you are closer to the big cities, your chances are better.

In a continent where most of our peoples still live in rural areas, it is highly precarious that the health and life span of mothers and other citizens are based on such a random selection. It means that the majority of our peoples are condemned to inferior access to good medical facilities. Even in the capital cities, your residential area and economic well being conditions your access.

Our people try to cope with every calamity, many of them avoidable, preventable and human-made, by insisting that “It is God’s will”. Since God does not protest and has no instant rebuttal department, everything can be blamed on him.

It is not God’s will that children should be brought up without their mothers. It is the way in which we plan our society that leads to women being penalised for doing what is natural to womanhood. It is unacceptable that governments that can find money for unjust wars, the privatesecurity of the president and his wife

or wives and concubines, not to talk of ministersandotherstateofficialsinsteadof providing for citizens who badly need these services. It is not about lack of resources, but lack of people-friendly public priorities. If the Minister of health ofacountrygoesabroadontheflimsiestof health reasons and the minister of education does not have any of his or her children in the educational services his or her ministry is providing, why should the public trust the services?

It is not possible for majority of the citizens to privatise their way out of public services whether in health or education. Therefore citizens’ pressure must be placed on governments so that public policy responds positive towards better provision of these services to the citizens.

Enough is enough!!!While citizens must stand up and speak out to draw attention to the alarming number of women who continue to die while giving birth, Governments in turn must develop national action plans for the reduction of maternal mortality that adopt a human rights approach supported

Cover Storyby strong institutions, funding and accountability mechanisms. Special attention should be given to marginalized groups in health system strategies and all efforts should be made to guarantee meaningful participation of women and communities in the design, development, implementation and monitoring of programs and policies to combat maternal deaths.

Most importantly, developing innovative strategies to rapidly increase access to skilled health workers for emergency obstetric care and comprehensive reproductive health services, including expansionofresponsibilities(and

corresponding enhanced compensation) and greatly increased numbers of nurses, midwives and non-physician clinicians is one of the few ways in which governments can demonstrate political will aimed at reducing the alarming maternity mortality rates.

It is not morally or politically right and it cannot be acceptable that mothers die giving life. In memory of my mother who sacrificed everything for her ‘first child’and other children; my grandmother who nurtured and loved me unconditionally; my great grandmother whom I was privileged to know; my eight sisters who are now reduced to seven because of Asmau’s untimely death; and in honour of my two wonderful daughters, Aida and Ayesha and their mum, Mounira and my numerous nieces, women cousins, sisters-in-law and all women, I have pledged myself to support the PIGA DEBE Campaign on women’s rights of the United Nations Millennium Campaign with particular focus on maternal health. Mothers should not be dying giving life.

*Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, was the Deputy Director, United Nations Millennium Campaign who passed away in a tragic road accident on 25th May, 2009

It is not God’s will that children should be brought up without mothers


I am a nurse midwife and have been one for many years. What I think and what I say to you is based on my

experiencesasanursemidwifemeetingcountlesspatientsandfamiliesinextremedistress, facing disease and death at a level that is hard to imagine for people living comfortable lives or those in the developed countries.

Every day in Malawi, 16 pregnant women die in villages or hospital during child birth. By the end of the year, 984 women/100000 births will have died, but not even one of them will be registered by the media as a great scandal or something to be corrected. What would have happened if so many mothers-to-be died in a hospital like “Mwaiwathu” or Adventist Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi let alone in New York or London. Do the lives of these poor women in poor communities have less value than those “who have”?

Many of you out there are the leaders and movers in this world that we all live in. People especially women from poor communities who are the majority in developing countries need support and hope that their lives are valuable enough for us to put resources on the table to save them. Many do not really believe that a difference will be made. To them, we just give it lip service. But you can make a difference. WE can make a difference, indeed we are obliged to make a difference.I believe that the world has enough resources to solve the problems it faces. How many hundreds of billions of dollars have been pumped into failing banks and investment institutions over these past few months, in order to save them from collapse? Why can’t the leaders of the world do something similar to save large portions of humanity especially women and children from starvation, disease and death? Is this not an important cause to support?

As we commemorate this International Women’s Day, under the theme “End violence, support women in politics”, let us look for the solutions that are possible to find. Wecan stop this continuing tragedy. Education,

Facing Disease And DeathCover Story

• Accesstoemergencyobstetric care when life threatening complications occur.• Familyplanningservicesthat will increase survival rate for both women and children. • Eradication,orattheveryleast containment, of diseases like malaria, TB, HIV and AIDS.

The global human resource crisis of too few health care workers can be solved. We in Africa can rise to the challenge. Give us the means and we can train hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of new health care workers, to cope with the challenges facing our country Malawi and the world as a whole.

On this note let me congratulate the Malawian Head of State, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika for nominating Joyce Banda, a female Member of Parliament to be his running mate during the May 2009 General Elections. Involving women in highdecisionmakingofficeswillmakeadifference to society at large and women and children in particular.

How many hundreds of billions of dollars have been pumped into failing banks and investment institutions over these past few months, in order to save them from collapse? Why can’t the leaders of the world do something similar to save large portions of humanity especially women and children from starvation, disease and death? Writes Dorothy Ngoma*

Protect and save lives especially those of girls and women

Health, water, food and good health nutrition as well as gender balance are crucial for achieving economic development and eradicating poverty

while at the same time empowering women politically. These are basic human and women’s rights and are a must for each and every woman living on this planet.

Free primary education is beyond the reach of women in most poor countries, yet absolutely vital to provide countries with qualified human resources to meetthe challenges of the future. If the girl children and others are not educated then how much poverty violence and criminality will they cause as they grow into unhealthy, lawless, uneducated adults? We need predictable donor-funding for the public education system in order to:

• increaseenrolment• retaingirlsinschool• preventearlymarriagesand early pregnanciesAchievement of universal access to health care remains a distant dream in most poor countries. The world needs over 4 million skilled health care workers including Nurses and Midwives to protect and save lives especially those of girls and women. Shortages are a challenge not only to developing countries, but globally. We need to provide:

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In terms of water and sanitation, 1 billion people especially women have no access to safe drinking water whilst 2.5 billion lack access to basic sanitation services. We must increase assistance and support to scale up implementation of water and sanitation interventions for the poorest and most vulnerable groups especially women. It is essential that efforts must be made to target those who entirely lack access to such basic services.

We implore government leaders to provide strong leadership while involving stakeholders and providing political momentum to successfully attain the MDGs especially those that target women by 2015.

Key strategies should include:

• Increasingandretainingthe numberofwellqualified health personnel including Nurses and Midwives.• Increasingavailabilityand supply of drugs.• Improvinghealthand educational facilities.• equipmentandimproving financialmanagementand• Accountabilityinallgovernment systems so that services within public sector arefinancedadequately.

As you read this article, at least three women have died giving birth. One per minute, every hour, day, every week and month of the year, over 500,000 women die every year. An additional 500,000 women will die by 2015 due to unsafe abortions. Can we let this continue?

Failure to act with vigorous strength and conviction represents a fundamental social injustice and a violation of basic human rights, especially those of the poor women and children of our society. History will be our judge. I urge all of us to act.

*DOROTHY NGOMA is a nurse midwife and acts as one of the Global Call to Action against Poverty campaign ambassador. She is based in Malawi.

Kenyan anti-poverty campaigners have launched the “Piga Debe for Women Rights Campaign” at a well

attended concert held at the Carnivore grounds in Nairobi as part of mobilization for the International women’s day.

“Piga Debe” in Kiswahili means “make a big noise” and draws its inspiration from women’s voices in Africa who have repeatedly shouted over the years that “Enough is enough, no more deaths in child birth”.

The concert which was hosted by renowned gospel musician Kanjii Mbugua, featured Kenya’s top female artistes Wahu, Neema and Atemi who were chosen on this day to showcase success in breaking down male domination through their achievements, quest for independence, entrepreneurship and persistence in the harsh world of the arts.

The Piga Debe” concert organized by the United Nations Millennium Campaign AfricaOffice,KijijiRecordsandtheGlobalCall to Action Against Poverty (Kenya), symbolically kicked off a month long awareness campaign seeking to draw attention of African governments to the outrageous fact that thousands of women continue to die needlessly during child birth.

Cover Story

Campaign On Maternal Mortality Launched

Part of the crowd that thronged carnivore grounds for campaign launch

Concert host, Kanjii Mbugua repeatedly called on the Kenyan government to take urgent action by investing more resources in health facilities and training of skilled health workers, particularly mid-wives and nurses.“It is not acceptable that every minute of every hour of every day, women continue to die from preventable deaths. Our governments must do something to stop this unnecessary loss of precious lives,” mourned Mbugua.

Kanjii Mbugua drew applauses from the crowd when he called on governments to enhance participation of women in key political positions noting that the commitments made in relation to the gender empowerment goal are far from being met.

“I am certain that we would have less violence or wars and more development in Africa if more women were given an opportunity to hold powerful government positions,” he said.

Maternal mortality continues to be one of the unconscionable human rights violations of our time, more than 500,000 women still die annually in pregnancy and childbirth. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable.


News

Zambians have been challenged to promote equality between men and women by supporting the recently

unveiled Yellow Ribbon campaign.

Launched by the Zambia National Women ‘s Lobby Men ‘s Network Project, the campaign seeks to remind all that the country’s leadership appended its signature to the SADC and African Union Principles on promoting gender equality.

The campaign will be targeting men to sensitize other men and boys, through efforts that will capture their curiosity toward change. The Men’s Network recognises the importance to mobilise a mass of men to begin to challenge their attitudes and regard women as equal partners. The campaign will add value to changing the mindset of thousands of men that gender equality is achievable. The Yellow Ribbon Campaign will be the largest men’s advocacy effort of mobilizing men on equality, equal participation and denouncing men‘s attitudes that disadvantage women. Wearing a yellow ribbon will be a symbol of men’s opposition to gender inequality and a personal pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about gender inequality against women and girls. It will be a symbol of saying, “men of our time believe in gender equality.”

The yellow ribbon will be men‘s personal commitment towards eliminating gender inequality, challenging men to speak out against gender barriers, beliefs, language and negative attitudes that society has on women. The campaign is targeted at men but will work in partnership with women to create a society free of inequalities.The Yellow Ribbon is a symbol of educating young men and boys about the importance of observing gender equality and denouncing negative attitudes against women and girls. Men should not perceive gender equality as a threat

Men Challenged To Eliminate Gender Inequality

to their lives and privileges or as attack on their way of life but as an incentive for working towards achieving gender equality.

The Yellow Ribbon campaign was launched during the 16 Days of Activism and will be distributed to government departments, ministers, members of Parliament and the President and his staff.

In a related event, the Men’s Network Project in Zambia has handed over a petition to Members of Parliament asking them to enact appropriate legalisation on defilementasanonbailableoffence.Thepetition with over 5000 signatures was handed over to members of Parliament at Parliament Building during the 16 Days Campaign.

The Men’s Network was prompted to petition the MPs because of the increasing numberofdefilementbeingreportedintheZambian media According to the Young Women Christian Association, a total of 184 defilement cases were recorded atits Drop in Centre from January to March 2008 alone and another 70 cases were recorded in Kasama town, 850 kilometres north of the capital, Lusaka. In additional, the University Teaching Hospital, the country‘s largest hospital records an average of 33 cases of defilement permonth.

The Network charged that as victims of physical and sexual abuse, girls sufferlong term physical, emotional and mental damage that hinder their ability to learn and become effective leaders in their communities.

Outspoken members of Parliament of the opposition Patriotic Front, Jean Kapata and Chilufya Mumbi received the petition on behalf of other parliamentarians. The two MPs havewaged awar against defilers

saying “defilement should be unbailableoffence and the minimum sentence for a defilershouldbe25years“. Despite Zambia being a Signatory to the SADC Declaration and African Union Protocol and other international instruments on the protection of women and girls, women and girls are constantly living in fear of being violated. Girls’ rights arenotrespected,fulfilled,protectedandpromoted.

As a response to the increasing number of defilement cases, theMen’sNetworkProject launched the petition in July to collect 5000 signatures to petition Government to enact legislation so that defilementcrimebecomesanonbailableoffence.

The Men’s networked argued that motor vehicle theft is a non bailable offence in Zambia and so should be defilementcrime adding that ‘Parliament will be better placed to enact a law that will deter perpetrators from committing sexualatrocities against girls.’

The petition was placed in strategic places for people to sign such the church, media houses, markets, banks schools. Members of the Network also went out on the streets as foot soldiers to collect signatures. Car Stickers with messages such as Make DEFILEMENT A NON BAILABLE OFFENCE were printed and given to Members of Parliament. Nelson Bandaisajournalist,sexualreproductivehealth counsellor and Coordinator of the Zambia National Women’s Lobby Men’s Network Project

*Nelson Banda is a journalist, sexual reproductive health counsellor and Coordinator of the Zambia National Women’s Lobby Men’s Network Project

Motor vehicle theft is a non bailable offence in Zambia and so should be defilement crime, Parliament should be better placed to enact a law that will deter perpetrators from committing sexual atrocities against girls.’ Writes Nelson Banda*

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Senegal’s regional capitals, Saint-Louis, Dakar, Thies and Tambacounda hosted antipoverty

activities that were organised to celebrate the 2008 World Day against, hunger, poverty and inequality.

Organising around the slogan: “STAND UP and act together against poverty and inequality”, Senegalese campaigners highlighted social and political demands generated by civil society organizations monitoring the Millennium Development Goals

Arguing that the government has not met many of its commitments in relation to MDGs, CSOs in Senegal are calling for global governments to act and show political commitment in relation to eradication of poverty and the ushering in of sustainable development.

Senegalhasmorethanfivemillionpeopleaffectedbyextremehungerandpoverty.ThefinalevaluationofthePRSP2basedonthe results provided by the recent survey on poverty in Senegal (ESPS) indicates that the proportion of individuals living below the poverty line decreased slightly from 57.1% in 2001 to 50.6% in 2005.

The most affected are women, children and persons with special status such as the disabled.

For example, the mortality rate amongchildren under 5 years remains high and is located at 121 per thousand, while the maternal mortality rate has stagnated at 401 deaths per hundred thousand live births in 2005.

Results in education are very disappointing. Only 55.7% complete primary school for example. This means that many ofthe children do not acquire the basic knowledge needed for advancement in society.

Given some of these trends, some observers argue that Senegal will not achieve the goal of reducing poverty to 50% by 2015. Reports emanating from the World Bank and UNDP noted that only 38% of the MDGs targets would be achieved.

It is in this vein that anti-poverty campaigners are calling for the accelerated achievement of MDGs by mobilising citizens to stand up against injustice and calling on political leaders toacttoactinorderextremepovertyandinequality.

After three days of mobilisation which began on October 17, no less than eleven 11 events had been organized, ranging from panels, concerts, sporting events to televised debates throughout the country, in four attracting almost 230 650 people who expressed their solidarity with thecampaign.

One of the major highlight was the involvement of women in special mobilisation called “POTS”. Each participating woman carried an empty pot, spoons, and an empty bag of rice symbolizing hunger and the necessity of women’s access to land.

* Oumar Sow works for GCAP Senegal

Stand Up Speak Out and Take ActionNews

The government has not met many of its commitments in relation to MDGs, CSOs in Senegal are calling for global governments to act and show political commitment in relation to eradication of poverty, writes Oumar Sow*

Leveraging on the numbers mobilized in Senegal

Leading Kenyan artists Wahu and Jah Key Marley participate in cleaning a children home


Voices Against Poverty And Inequality THE Stand Up and Take Action Against

Poverty concert which was held in the sprawling Chitungwiza town,

about 35km south of Harare, Zimbabwe’ capital city was a huge success with top local musicians driving the message home ontheneedtoeradicateextremepovertywith some lively performances.

The concert which was held to mark the World poverty Day, held every year on October 17, got off to a great start with the St Agnes Catholic Church Quoir churning out some powerful gospel tunes that spoke about God’s unending love for humanity –poor and rich.

Their enthusiasm for drumming and dance was contagious as much of the audience got on their feet to join in one number. The little ones in the audience danced and enjoyed this concert which drew an enthusiastic audience of more than 5 000 people at Chitungwiza Town Centre.

Top Zimbabwean gospel songbird, Fungisayi Zvakavapano-Mashavave who has won numerous accolades, won a standing ovation when she raised the profile of poverty issues at the concertby her dance-along-tunes and vibrant performance.

The renowned gospel singer told thousands at the Town Centre that: “Even if life is tough and the going is rough, God is with us. The God of the poor is with us. Let’sputtrustinHimtofightpoverty.”

Her music was irresistible. The crowd went wild when she belted her popular songs.

Another popular gospel artist, Pastor G, thrilled the audience with his powerful voice and energetic dances. He urged people to take a firm stand in the fightagainst poverty in Africa.

“From the informal settlements of Kibera in Kenya, to the informal settlements of Soweto in South Africa and Mbare in Zimbabwe, the hungry child in strife-torn Darfur to Mabvuku in Zimbabwe without water and Chitungwiza hit by cholera, let us join our hands in thefight againstpoverty,” he said as he took to the stage.“We as entertainers urge you to speak

up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Let us spread awareness of poverty particularly here in Chitungwiza where access to basic health, water, food and education is a problem to many.”

His song ‘Zvichanaka’ (things are going to be alright) and a lively act sent the audience wild and yearning for more.

Jazz inspiration Victor Kunonga wooed the hearts of the mature with his fusion of jazz, powerful drumming and traditional mbira rhythms.

“Wemustfighttoendhungerandpoverty.Let us join hands with others across the world to Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty,” he said.Popular urban grooves group, MaFrik tugged at the hearts of the young with their sing-along love songs spiced up with a passionate appeal to world leaders to adopt policies that will help the youth to realise their hopes and dreams.

“Poverty is not good at all for us the younggeneration.Letsfight it tohelpusrealise our dreams and talents,” said 2nga (Tunga), one of the Mafrik group member.

It was an unforgettable family concert that gave children, mothers and fathers alike chance tomix and dance at a dayconcert.

“This was a good show. It was inspiring and reminds us to think about the poor, the weak and sick and also the elderly. Most of us women cannot go to night gigs because we have so many responsibilities,” said Agnes Moyo, of Chitungwiza.

“Day concert like this one give us an opportunity to see local artistes and also hear about issues on HIV and Aids, education, water problems and other issues affecting the town.”

Sam Makuwaza, a resident of Zengeza in Chitungwiza described the concert as

“one of the best shows he’s ever had”, and was moved to tears by Fungisayi’s powerful gospel tunes. The concert was held as part of the United Nations Millennium Campaign initiative to raise awareness on the importance of ending extreme poverty and remindingworld leaders to honour their pledge to end poverty and suffering around the world by 2015.

Similar events were held worldwide with calls for action against poverty and piling pressure on multilateral institutions and leaders in both rich and poor nations to honour and exceed the MillenniumDevelopment Goals.

In 2000, leaders of 189 countries signed the Millennium Declaration agreeing to do everything in their power to end poverty. They pledged to do this by achieving the Millennium Development Goals, a roadmaptoendextremepovertyby2015.

Despite this, about 50 000 people still die everydayasaresultofextremepoverty.

“Poverty is worsening daily in Zimbabwe and we as young people need to send a clear message to our leaders to remind them about our plight,” said Nyarai Mahachi, a high school student in Chitungwiza. “We are young but we can do it.Wecanspread thewordandfightpovertyinourmindsfirstbeforemovingtoother issues.”

Sifelani Tsiko Southern African Correspondent based in Zimbabwe

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Addressing international migration has undoubtedly become a pressing issue not only for governments but

also for a broad range of actors all over the world. Many studies have suggested that whilst migration can cause brain drain to countries of origin for reasons related to disparities in income levels and other economic conditions, properly managed migration can result in “brain gain” and other culminating benefits inthe form of remittances and brain re-gain upon the successful return of migrants. The productivity and earnings of the migrants are potentially a significantforce for poverty reduction and as such, well planned migration policy initiatives can help developing countries reach their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets. International migrants

Migration as a tool for development

numbered 191 million in 2005. Of these, 115 million lived in developed countries and 76 million in developing countries. The EuropeanUnionGhanaMigrationProfilehas established that in 2006, there were about 189,461 Ghanaian migrants spread across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. This represents 0.86 percent of Ghana’s total population of 22,113,000.

International migration has enormous economic, social, and cultural implications in both origin and destination countries.AsnotedinKofiAnnan’sreport,(former Secretary-General of the United Nations) on International Migration and Development (2006), “migration in the context of globalization has not onlycreated challenges and opportunities for

societies throughout the world; it has also underscored the clear linkage between migration and development, as well as the opportunities for co-development.”

Remittances represent an important way outofextremepovertyforalargenumberofpeople.Worldwide,flowsofremittanceswere expected to reach $318 billion in2007. Recorded remittances to developing countries are estimated to have reached $240billionin2007.Remittancesarenowclose to triple the value of the OfficialDevelopment Assistance (ODA) provided to low-income countries and comprise the second-largestsourceofexternalfundingfor developing countries after Foreign Direct Investment.

The estimated 3.6 million Africans in

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The productivity and earnings of the migrants are potentially a significant force for poverty reduction and as such, well planned migration policy initiatives can help developing countries reach their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets, argues Michael Boampong*


the Diaspora are directly or indirectly contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The remittances migrants send to their relatives or households in particular, sustain livelihoods through increased purchasing power for education, food, health, and other current needs of consumption; all of which are key to reaching the MDGs through poverty reduction and the enhancement of economic development. Whereas some people have migrated through legal forms, others have done so in a clandestine manner. Daily images are portrayed – pictorially as well as verbally – of the different accounts of the harsh realities confronting thousands of youths of African descent staking attempts at finding the so-called greener pasturesin the Western countries, particularly Europe and America.

This begs us to ask more questions on why this situation has arisen. What are the driving forces and what can be done to develop a partnership that can save the thousands of lives that are lost through migration?

During a study that was conducted recently by Young People We Care (YPWC) and also a recent youth consultation on Migration and Development towards the Global Forum on Migration and Development in the Philippines, there were some interesting comments that some young people made.

Young people recommended that governments should implement policies that encourage youths to stay and engage themselves in positive activities that can contribute to development of their country. National Youth Policies that entail strategies and programmes for developing the capacity of young people and also the creation of well paying jobs and good working conditions for young people are important in reducing the level of migration caused by unemployment or underemployment.

Migration has grown into a global issue that requires a new set of progressive immigration policies that recognize peoples’ right to mobility. This includes streamlining and regularizing visa procedures. Governments should create more legal channels for migration. The

human rights of irregular migrants are also a key issue here even when arrested by the destination country. The Aeneas Project, which is a project that is yet to be implemented by the IOM International Organization for Migration with the support of the Ministry of Manpower Youth and Employment and also the European Union (EU), is worth mentioning here. This project isexpectedtohelpGhanaianstofillupjobvacanciesinItaly.

Governments must work to ensure that decent working and living conditions prevail in Africa so that potential migrants have the option to migrate or not to migrate. In this case the decision to migrate becomes a genuine choice.

Migration is key component of Goal eight - Global Partnership for Development.

It has also been affected by failures to promote environmental sustainability and the negative consequences of climate change. Distress migration is now on the increase now due to environmental degradation and catastrophic events such as sudden loss of land caused by climate extremes such as storm surges, thuschanging existing patterns of movementfor goods and humans. It is important for both developed and developing nations to take steps to address the issue of climate change to reduce the rate of climate change induced migration.

There are growing populations of Diaspora communities in most developed countries and it will be expedient on the part ofAfrica to see how its governments can tap on the skills of Diaspora communities by trying to promote their civic rights and responsibilities in their countries of origin. Promoting dual citizenship is very important at this stage as it can increase the amount of commitment through donations to some critical areas of development by Diaspora communities.

Since most migrants and as a matter of fact irregular emigrants prefer the informal channel of sending remittances, there is the need for the banks in Africa to design a regulatory framework that will integrate the informal channels of sending migrant remittances into the formal channels. Additionally, educating people on financial matters is a critical step inthe development process and is also becoming important among remittance recipients.

In conclusion, governments must design policies and programs that can manage international migration and tap its positivebenefitstowardstheacceleratedachievements of MDGs.

*Michael Boampong is the Director of Young People We Care in Ghana

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Young people share their experiences during the 64th voyahe of the peace boat

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They observed that the current global financial and economiccrisis is a result of failure in the

model of development, characterized by excessivederegulationand liberalizationin all sectors of the economy. Africa has been nominally affected by the firstgeneration impactof thefinancial crisis,inpart,becauseitsfinancialmarketsareinsulated and not fully integrated into the globalfinancialsystem.

However, Africa will be particularly hard hit and is now facing an unprecedented crisis in the productive sectors of the economy as evidenced by pervasive reductions in growth targets, contraction ofeconomicactivities;reductioninexportearnings and trade credits, remittances from the African Diaspora; divestments, company closures; retrenchments and increasing unemployment. This current financial crisis has compounded theexisting challenges and shocks causedby high food and energy prices, which have impacted on the African poor, particularly women, children and small-scale producers. African countries will inevitably be unable to meet their development goals, including the MDGs, if far-reaching political and socio-economic restructuring is not undertaken, urgently.

They acknowledged and commended the Tunis Outcomes arising from the Meeting of African Ministers of Finance/Economic Planning and Central Bank Governors, held in Tunisia on 12 November 2008, through the joint initiative of the African Union Commission, UN Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) and African Development Bank (ADB).

The group argued that the voice and views of the African people should be heard and should complement the Tunis Process in responding to this crisis in an all-inclusive manner. They emphasized the need for urgent and decisive actions by African peoples, governments and institutions as well as development partners.

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Africa’s Response to the Global Financial Crisis

At the end of their deliberations, they put forward the following recommendations: MACRO-ECONOMIC POLICY: Shared Growth & People-centred development 1. Realizing that the current global

economic model and system has notbenefitedthevastmajorityofAfricans, particularly in the form of appreciable reduction in the level of poverty in Africa, there is the urgent need for a new people-centred macroeconomic policy framework, which puts people at the centre of economic planning, processes and development. This approach, as a principle, should be mainstreamed into all facets of macro-economic policy by African Governments and their supporting institutions, with human development as end-goal;

2. Monetary and Fiscal Policy should move beyond the excessivefocus on “stabilization” and inflation-targeting and re-focuson promoting better conditions for domestic investment to create decent jobs, as well as shared growth that promotes human development, stimulate local economic activity and development and public spending in critical social sectors;

3. African countries must urgently create their own policy space to enable them to use appropriate fiscal and monetary policyto fight recession inducedby the global financial andeconomic crises. This option will help counter the policy restrictions placed on them by the Bretton Woods institutions, which currently dominate and control the global financialand economic architecture.

Furthermore, existing Africaninstitutions should be capacitated to better generate African-owned knowledge, planning, coordination and response to Africa’s special needs;

4. A moratorium of African debt service payments should be emplaced and such funds put into a facility managed by ADB that could address the short-term needs of highly indebted African countries and to bailout the poor. Domestic savings from debt cancellation should be invested in social services; However, the long-term goal of African governments should be a comprehensive cancellation of Africa’s debts to allow for full economic recovery and the meeting of the necessary socio-economic needs of the African people;

5. African countries should resist the temptation to relapse into heavyexternaldebtastheriskofrenewed indebtedness increases with the global economic downturn. They should consider creating sovereign funds as a means of addressing the liquidity crisis;

6. Diversification of the economicbase, including promoting value adding industries in Africa is needed to address the perennial challenge of dependence on a few primary commodity exportsand tomeet the deficit createdby reduced export capacity/earnings in the medium to long term as Africa responds to this twin crisis of financialand economic nature. Such value added production of base resources must be pushed and enforced in addition to retaining economic value of

Representatives of the civil society in Africa and other stakeholders in the continent’s development met in Midrand, South Africa, from 23-24 February 2009, to critically engage on the nature and implications of the current global financial crisis on Africa as well as an all-inclusive Africa’s response.


African resources in Africa and promoting African SMEs;

7. Top priority should be given to agriculture for its crucial role in food security and in providing industrial hub for agro-processing and agri-business, the strengthening of Africa’s industrial base and boosting capacity to create job opportunities;

8. Domestic resource mobilization should become a critical arena of leadership and strategy for Africa, in line with the AU/NEPAD priority strategies. Given the high probability of reduced aid, FDI inflows and fall-outon over-reliance on externalsources for budget support, Africa should embrace inward-looking strategies, including the utilization of local resources, adding value to African commodities. A paradigm shift that will accompany this process is the resumption of domestic demand-led development strategy;

9. The African State should return to its traditional development role, with a more activist and interventionist character, to protect the poor and vulnerable, offer the much-needed leadership, direction and energy to the African people in these critical times. Therefore, rebuilding the African State is most fundamental, to avoid the syndrome of the failing or failed, degraded or recovering State;

10. African countries must continuously evaluate their partnership with the developed and emerging development partners. The ‘BRIC’ countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) do not necessarily present protection from crisis, not withstanding the “alternative” flavour of the relationship thathas been constructed;

11. Africa should vigorously pursue trade-acceleration using the

multilateral trading system under the WTO in order to strengthen and facilitate Africa’s trade capacity, and finally increase,in real terms, intra-Africa trade and regional integration given the reduction in revenues from international trade in primary commodities;

SOCIAL AND HUMAN DIMENSION: Bailing out the Poor

12. African Governments and their development partners, particularly G8/OECD countries, should promptly and fully fulfilltheir development commitments/pledgesforthebenefitofAfricanpeople;

13. Special targeted interventions should be taken to address the needs of the most vulnerable groups through access to credit, agricultural inputs, health services and social protection. These should be prioritized in the national budgets and development programs/plans to reflectthenewfocusonpeople-centred macro-economic policy;

14. Ongoing economic reforms in various African countries need to be more pro-poor with initiatives such as public works programmes being implemented to ensure greater employment opportunities;

15. African Governments should urgently introduce where applicable, and enforce appropriate regulations to protect the African citizens from harmful environment practices as well as regulate the activities of multinational corporations operating in Africa;

16. C o n c u r r e n t l y , A f r i c a n Governments and institutions should eliminate waste, corruption and leakages as part of the commitment to enthrone better economic governance and management reflecting transparency, probityand accountability in public expenditure;

AFRICAN INTEGRATION – Strengthening the African Union and its NEPAD Programme

17. Africa must move rapidly towards putting in place a pan-African economic governance architecture that regulates all financial institutions/systems,capital flows and traderelations;

18. Aspartoffindinganalternativeto the present control by IFIs, Africa must strengthen existing continental political/economic institutions as well as operationalizing and resourcing the financial governancestructures identified in theConstitutive Act establishing the African Union, namely the African Investment Bank (AIB), the African Monetary Fund (AMF) and the African Central Bank (ACB);

19. African governments, with the support of African institutions, and in conjunction with stakeholders drawn from the private sector, labour, civil society, should undertake broad assessment of the impact of current economic crisis on their national economic programs and plans, with a view to designing appropriate response strategies to address the impact of the financialcrisis;

20. At the regional level, each REC should undertake assessment of the manifestation of the economic crisis in the regions, especially on resource mobilization, investment climate, good governance, favourable trade regulationsanddiversificationofthe economy and share results there-from with all stakeholders;

21. RECs are further urged to incentivise and set up regulations to encourage their member countries to buy from each other as a means of promoting intra-Africa trade and building the regional economy;

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22. To fast-track continental integration, African solidarity and collaboration is required to confront global challenges and place regional and continental interests above individual needs. In this respect, ongoing negotiations between Africa and the European Union on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), should be suspended forthwith, as this process undermines and limits the African policy space;

23. African institutions, particularly the AU Commission, NEPAD Secretariat, African Development Bank (ADB), African Export-Import Bankand their regional development counterpart-institutions should be strengthened, instead of creating new or parallel ones. These institutions should be made more democratic, responsive and accountable to Africans and restructured to promote intra-Africa trade and regional integration. Most importantly, the ADB should provide assistance to African countries through short to medium term measures, as response strategy;

24. To achieve this, regular assessment of African institutions should be undertaken to re-appraise their mandates, roles and responsibilities in delivery and addressing the economic crisis and Africa’s development challenges;

25. AU Commission and NEPAD Secretariat to undertake, as soon as practicable, a comprehensive analysis of the direct impact of thefinancialcrisisonAU/NEPADpriority programmes/projects and the sectoral strategies/action plans, to ensure that alternative and innovative methods are sourced to support the continuation of these programs, in the event that partnership support wanes. Specifically,while encouraging a technical review of the implementation of

the NEPAD Programme at this stage, African Governments and institutions as well as regional business groupings should provide substantial financialsupport to AU/NEPAD-inspired special dedicated mechanisms and facilities, including the IPPF, APRM, AFFM, ICF, CAADP Trust Fund, African Action Plan and others. Such action by Africans will demonstrate their commitment to upholding the principle of an African-led and owned development agenda;

GLOBAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS:

Pro-developmentFinancial Architecture

26. The Bretton Woods Institutions and other IFIs must be restructured to make them more democratic and accountable through increased African representation and elimination of their current policy over-reach;

27. Governance structures and appointment of the IMF/World Bank executives shouldbe premised on merit and democraticprinciplesthatreflectthe nature of the membership and the present global economic reality;

28. African governments, private sector and civil society should seek to use forthcoming forums of the G8/G20 to push the IMF/World Bank and other global playersforanewglobalfinancialarchitecture that is responsive to Africa’s needs, where African voice and views are taken into account in development policy formulation and support by the Bretton Woods institutions;

29. G8/OECD countries should honour their recent pledges not to reduce official developmentassistance (ODA) as a result of the global financial crisis, andinstead increase aid to meet the international development targets, including AU/NEPAD and MDGs;

Role of Civil Society

30. Civil society to be one of the key players in the implementation of these initiatives, at national, regional and continental levels, recognizing the reality of the structural constraints inherent in the regional and continental bodies in Africa;

31. Support and be actively engaged in the efforts by African Governments to disseminate and educate Africans on the impact of this economic crisis, and in doing so, assist in discovering new ways of thinking and to re-conceptualise the African strategic approaches to these issues;

32. Africa to be proactive instead of reacting to the global situation and for CSOs to set up task teams to support the leadership role that the AU/NEPAD could play in confronting this crisis;

33. Bring Africa’s leadership together to provide rescue plans to address the urgent development issues associated with political instability, financial/ and socio-economic crisis;

34. Fashion out an active role for the organized private sector across the continent in creating the awareness on the magnitude of the crisis and its impact and implications at national and regional levels, particularly in relation to private sector development and public-private partnerships (PPP) ventures;

35. CSOs to also assist in informing policy making, through continued dialogue and coordination with public sector to provide inputs of strategy and insights.

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Evidence is mounting, right across the world, of the extremedestructiveness of maintaining and

upholding unbridled so-called ‘free market economics’ as the only method and means of organizing and managing economies. Governments in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific(ACP) who are in the middleof negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) must draw the fullest lessons of this in any decisions they take to manage and address their economic relations and challenges, such as the fuel pricecrisis,thefalloutofglobalfinancialcrisisandtherelentlesspriceinflationinbasic food that have engulfed hundreds of millions of people in their countries, bringing many to the brink of renewed threat of starvation and sparking turmoil and food riots across these regions.

Trade justice activists are now arguing that one of the lessons must be the renunciation of the free trade ‘Economic Partnership Agreements’ between the ACP and the European Union (EU). Indeed, ACP economies face unprecedented and extreme economic challenges in thecoming period. This is the worst time to institutionalize free trade regimes even more deeply and fundamentally than they have already taken root.

The majority of ACP states are among those whose productive Agricultural sectors have been greatly weakened by hasty and excessive trade liberalizationthat has allowed cheap and illegally subsidized imports, often from Europe, to wipe out domestic production even in their home markets. Because of such liberalization, too many ACP economies have transitioned from relative food self-sufficiencytofoodimportdependencyinanextremelyshorttime.Sucheconomieswill have no protection whatsoever from the imported inflation – through foodimports – that is already wrecking, and will continue to wreck lives in the ACP regions, which are amongst the poorest in the world. EPAs will increase this vulnerability. In addition, such imports will continue undermine what remains of local production even further, over the longer term. And: EPAs will make this permanent.

Added to the devastation of inflation isthe threat of looming global recession. The slowdown of economies is starting and spreading from the main Western economies. Major European economies, the most important single destination of ACPexportswillslowdown.AstheBritishgovernment now openly admits, it is faced with its worst economic crises in 60 years. Inevitably, this downturn will also mean a drop indemand forACPexports.Marketfailureandinflationthreatenstowipeoutthe relative growth that many ACP primary commodityexportershaveenjoyedinjustthe last few years, while intensifying the competition they face.

Already, ACP share of trade in the EU, their single most important market, has fallen relative to other competitors. As a September 2008 UN report on Africa’s performance under trade liberalization shows–Africa’sexportmarketsharehasdropped from 6% to 3% of world trade since the 1980s, the self-same period that trade liberalization and structural adjustment were ruthlessly brought to power and installed as one-party dictators in the continents economic policy regime. As with all dictatorships we were told: “there is no alternative”. EPAs are a continuation and not an alternative to the disastrous trade performance of developing regions due to sweeping trade liberalization.

The disaster of such loss of market share cannot be compensated for by making the protection of marginal preferences for ACP primary commodity exports toEU markets the heart of ACP trade and economic policy – as the whole world knows the value of those preferences are being eroded every day, because of global lowering of tariffs in the WTO and through bilateral free trade agreements. By making a virtue of this necessity of ‘preferences’ for ACP primary products, EPAs offer no means of addressing ACP loss of market share, i.e. ACP marginalization, in world trade and the world economy.

Moreover, ACP marginalization is also due to a failure to diversify ACP economies andexports.Only thisweek inBrussels,tradedelegationsfromthePacificregion

Africa resists EPAs

warned that accepting EU’s insistence that Pacific Island (and otherACP) countriesshould remove protection of the infant industries within 20 years will remove “our space to give time for our infant industries to mature before entering what is going to be a very competitive global trading environment [and] will retard industrial development in our countries. Giving up this right forever will be the highest price we will pay and we just simply cannot afford that”. As there is no ‘sunset’, i.e. no time limit, on the duration of the EPAs, the word “forever” is like eternal damnation. EPAs will prevent and paralyze the development, industrialization and diversificationofACPeconomiesforever.

Aid will also dry up as the advanced economiesbailouttheirfinancialsectorsfrom the excesses of liberalization. TheEU has made it clear that there is no new substantive ‘aid’ to address EPA implementation and adjustment costs. Rather they insist that ACP countries make up the cost by introducing and imposing reforms on their suffering populations – including tax reforms that target theinformal sector and the consumption of goods and services by working people and the poor. This must be set against the fact that EPA measures to eliminate trade taxes and to further liberalize andreducetaxationon‘investors’meansthatthe tax burden for EU commodities andmultinational companies is eliminated or reduced,whilemoretaxationof theACPpoor is introduced or increased. EPA will increase poverty and inequality within the ACP and between the ACP and other regions, especially the EU itself.

Theregressivetaxreformsareamongthe‘conditions’ for EU disbursement of their part of their ‘contribution’ to ‘mitigate’ the cost of adjustment and implementation of EPAs for ACP countries. No doubt falling ACP government revenue from trade and customs duties will add to their dependence on aid. But this ‘aid’, as we have seen, will not be forthcoming. EPAs will increase ACP aid dependency and EUs use and abuse of aid conditionality - even as theycutaidflows.Thedangerof thisincrease and abuse of ‘aid conditionality’

Agricultural sectors have been greatly weakened by hasty and excessive trade liberalization that has allowed cheap and illegally subsidized imports, often from Europe, to wipe out domestic production even in their home markets. Writes Mwaura Kaara*

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by the EU has already been manifest in the EPA process, as was borne out by the publicrowthatbrokeoutbetweenPacificandEUofficialsoverthelatter’sthreattowithholdflowsofalready-existing ‘aid’ ifthePacificdidnotacceptEUdemandsinthe EPA. The future looks dire indeed.

But the damage can be repaired. ACP governments have the responsibility and the authority to take measures to do this. They must re-open and review all ‘EPA agreements’, both interim EPAs and comprehensive EPAs that were initialed in November and December 2007. These so-called ‘agreements’ were emergency defensive measure taken at the end of 2007 under the undue pressure of the EU’s threat to disrupt exports from ACPcountries into the European market. They were ‘initialed’ as statements of intent under conditions of extreme pressures,and cannot be accepted as being legally binding and can be challenged and blocked altogether on the basis of a number of legal instruments, such as the Vienna Convention on International Treaties. The EU parliament’s report on ‘Development Impact of EPAs’ (ref: 2008/2170 (INI)), dated 17th September 2008, recounts how ACP countries “were pushed” into these so-called agreements without options or alternative transitional solutions (which the EU was and is under legal obligation toensure)suchas“extendingGSP+toallACP countries”.

It is prudent to consider suspending all negotiations towards free trade agreements on ‘Trade in Services’ with theEU,asthePacificregionhasjustdone.Services must not be part of the EPAs. This must be coupled by the rejection the inclusion of Trade-Related Issues in the EPAs – i.e. the ‘Singapore Issues’ such as Investment and Government Procurement (public tenders and contracts), which in any case they have already rejected in the WTO but are being imposed on them through the backdoor of EPAs. It is doubtful that many of the ACP regions negotiating the EPAs even have a legal mandate to include these Singapore Issues in the negotiation. The special inquiry into the EPAs commissioned by French President Sarkozy (in his capacity as EU President), known as ‘the Taubira report’ recommends removing Singapore and Trade-related Issues from the EPAs as a vital measure to restore ACP countries’ confidenceintheEU’sgoodfaith.Governments must take a leaf from Guyana the Government of Guyana which has put

forward proposals and even resolved to negotiate and agree a non-reciprocal ‘goods only’ EPAs with the EU. Further if negotiations continue, ACP governments should insist on the removal of punitive tariffsimposedbytheEUonexportsfromACP countries, such as Nigeria, who have so far not completely buckled under EU pressure to agree ‘interim EPAs’. As the above referred to EU Parliamentary report of September 17 clearly and forcefully reminds: “neither the conclusion nor the renunciation of an EPA should lead to a situationwhereanACPcountrymayfinditself in a less favourable position than it was under the trade provisions of the CotonouAgreement”. Thepunitive taxesimposed by the EU on the vulnerable Nigerian cocoa sector, already costing millions of dollars in the last few months alone, is against the legally binding provisions of the Cotonou Agreement and the EU’s legal obligations. That the EU is prepared to impose draconian taxes onproducts from the poorest economies and regions of the world, simply to get its way of securing the monopoly of its commodities, companies and capital over those regions, is simply unconscionable and unacceptable. The ACP must reject this categorically and demand its removal. This support to countries such as Nigeria against EU trade aggression is also necessary to re-build the ACP unity that has been badly strained and shattered by the EPA process so far.

All measures must be taken to ensure that ACP unity at sub-regional and pan-ACP levels in the EPAs negotiations is achieved. The coordination and harmonization of ACP positions and of the minimum trade reform measures that prevent disruption of fragile export sectors WHILSTsatisfying WTO compatibility requires the foundational pillar of unity between ACP LDCs and non-LDCs through their universalaccesstoEBAandGSP+exportregimes. The unity of ACP sub-regions and the ACP as a whole also requires an insistence on the minimum that is acceptable to all – i.e. a non-reciprocal ‘goods only’ trade agreement with the EU. This is the only sure basis for Regional Integration and South-South cooperation for ACP countries.

African citizens must mobilize and make preparations to reject all pressures to short-circuit and side-step democratic constitutional rules for the ratificationand adoption of international treaties by Parliaments of ACP member-states.

Parliaments and other stakeholders are being marginalized by the EPA process. All parliamentary statements and reports from across the ACP and in the EU itself warns against the grave anti-development impact of an all encompassing free trade EPA between for ACP countries, because free trade agreements between countries and economies at diametrically opposed levels of development will have only one winner. The EU is the world’s largest trading bloc, while ACP regions are amongst the poorest in the world.

As Guyana’s President said last year when he took the case against the EPA and its profound anti-developmental dangers before the UN General Assembly last in August: ““Even at this late hour, I wish to plead [for the] review [of] these agreements before they irretrievably harm …theACP(African,CaribbeanandPacificstates).” Civic organizations from across the ACP are now demanding that ACP leaders stand up and measure up to their primary responsibilities to their peoples.There is no time when such leadership has been so needed to affirm the continuedrelevance and to assure the future of the ACP group. There has scarcely ever been a greater necessity for bold leadership that not only protects our economies while ensuring that unworkable and disastrous orthodoxies, especially that of unbridledfree market liberalization and free trade, are reversed.

There is now overwhelming evidence which compels civic organizations and trade justice activists to continue in their determination to Stop the EPAs altogether. The growing voices and opposition of women’s organizations, farmers groups, trade unionists, students, NGOs, and diverse range of actors in and beyond the ACP must be raised more than ever. The ACP includes many hundreds of millions; it brings together the largest number of countries in any one grouping, apart from the UN General Assembly. Its voice, our voice, is the voice of democracy.

Today, the Africa Trade Network give expression to that voice and has beensaying over the years: “Stop the EPAs now. Get Up, Stand Up!”

*Mwaura Kaara is the UNMC Editorial Assistant and Youth and Student focal point.

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Globalisation is often presented as something from which one cannot escape. It is compared to gravity,

described as part of the natural order of things, a fact of life or even as an opportunity for the people of the South to benefit. However, these are all pseudo-scientific utterances and ideologicalstatements that mask the true reality of things. Globalisation is a man-made strategy, a policy response of capitalist nations in crisis. Capital expands orglobalises not in order to increase the welfare of people or advance “democracy” buttoincreaseorsustainprivateprofitssothatthesystemcansurviveforthebenefitof those who control it. Indeed, capital-led globalisation lies at the root of the crisis in Africa. An alternative is therefore possible and necessary.

A passive acceptance of destiny forced on Africa from outside goes against the grain of Africa’s history. Africans fought to resist colonial occupation, and in some places resistance went on for some three decades after the carving up of Africa at the Berlin Conference of 1884-5. Then, when Africa was finallysubjugated and occupied, Africans put up resistance against the occupation itself for another five decades andmore, andfinallyliberatedthemselvesfromcolonialrule, and its vicious offspring such as apartheid. In other words, resistance

against oppression has been the principal modeofAfricanexistence,almostawayof life for most Africans for the best part of a hundred years.

Unfortunately,thefirstgenerationpoliticalleaders after political independence from 1957 (when Ghana got its independence) through the 1960s and 70s were caught up in the cold war and the ideological battles of the period. Some of them, like Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, tried to experiment with their own versionsof African socialism; others like Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya followed the capitalist model; and yet others tried various versions of “scientific socialism”. Afterthe end of the cold war, and the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the capitalist system came out triumphant, and all alternative options appeared to have vanished. Hence the increasingly strident assertion of the unavoidability of neo-liberal globalisation.

However, the myth of the inevitability of globalisation is as misleading as the myth about Africa’s passive acceptance. Globalisation is nothing but a policy response of the capitalist nations in crisis, the beginning of which goes back to the mid-1970s. Contemporary globalisation is part of the strategy of transnational corporations backed by the military, political and institutional (including WTO,

In search of AlternativesWB and IMF amongst others) power of the G8 states, collectively constituting the Empire. Its alleged gravitational property has nothing to do with reality; it is a self-serving myth perpetuated by the imperial nations through systematic media disinformation and fatuous academic discourse.

Indeed, capital-led globalisation is even at the root of the crisis in Africa. It is by now agreed by wide sections of Southern African society that the neo-liberal paradigm of development has failed the people. Poverty has not only been entrenched but it has also deepened, and the gap between the rich and the poor has increased.

It follows that there must be an alternative and that such an alternative is of vital importance. The Alternatives to Neo-liberalism in Southern Africa (ANSA) initiative represents an attempt to address this need. Its roots reach back as far as 1993, when the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZiCTU) took the initiative to formulate an alternative to the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme, ESAP, which had been introduced in Zimbabwe in 1991.

Based on the experience gained inZimbabwe, in 2003 the ANSA initiative took off, but now as a regional programme and initiative. Initially, a small group of individuals linked to the ZiCTU worked out the principles of an alternative approach and provided scientific and researchmaterials. The project was gradually broadened until, in January 2005, representativesfromaffiliatesofSATUCCadopted the programme. Since then, the initiative has aimed at and gained wider name and recognition among progressive academics, unions, social movements and beyond, both within and outside Africa.

The ANSA initiative aims at providing individuals, movements, organizations, institutions policy makes and implementers with an alternative development programme that is both visionary and practical. It is not just another academic exercise, it is meant to stimulate thegrowth of a mass movement which can successfully advocate for a radical alternative for our region.

Tendai Makanza* argues that the search for alternatives is not just another academic exercise.

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The root causes of underdevelopmentANSA’s overall economic analysis revolves around dualism and enclavity and external dependency as the rootcauses of pervasive unemployment, and hence underdevelopment, in Southern Africa.

Dualism and enclavityThe terms dualism and enclavity are used to describe Southern African economies that are generally characterised by a relatively small formal sector, which co-exists but is separate from a largeinformal sector, the latter one located both within urban areas and rural regions (the communal sector). The formal economy consists of capitalists interested in profit making and workerswho primarily depend on wages for their sustenance. In Africa it can be assumed that less than 20% of the labour force earns a living in the formal sector. The sector consists of large, medium, small and micro enterprises that are formally registered and recognised; as such they encompass activities in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy.

The urban informal sector is a residual sector, which has come to have a high degree of permanence in many African countries. It is a sector characterised by easy entry and exit, driven by self-employment activities that reflectlinkages with the formal sector and rural sector as well as the ingenuity of the individuals involved in the sector. Levels of productivity are low in terms of returns per hour worked, while wages tend to be below poverty levels. This sector absorbs surplus labour from the rural and the formal sector such as retrenchees. Generally about one third of the labour force in many countries tends to be involved in urban informal sector activities. In some regional countries the informal economy is in fact the ‘mainstream’ economy.

The communal sector is the original traditional or pre-capitalist sector with all the variations this entails in the African context. The present-day communalsector is also highly differentiated and has a number of linkages with the formal and urban informal sectors. However, the majority of the households are involved in low productivity farm and non-farm pursuits in which surplus generation is low and primarily not directed at accumulation but consumption. In most

African countries, the majority of the households live and work in what we are labelling the communal sector.The root problem of under-development now lies in the fact that the majority of the labour force is involved in low productivity pursuits that result in incomes and consumption levels that are close to poverty. The relationship between the three sectors and the external worldis such that it tends to reproduce the continued marginalisation of the majority and continues to constrain the development of the economy as a whole.

Internal distortionsUnderlying this problem of underdevelopment are internal and externaldistortions,distortionswhichthe‘free’ capitalist market system has not been able to solve. Indeed, it has even caused, reproduced and strengthened these distortions. They therefore have to be carefully analysed and understood, after which a successful strategy to solve them can be formulated.

as high income consumer goods given the inability to produce these locally due to lack of critical minimum level of effective demand. The formal sector is not able to play its dynamic role in terms of transforming the economy through trickle down effects, since the linkages with the non-formal sector are minimal and mostly restricted to use of cheap labour.

The urban informal sector is well known for its deficiencies in terms of lack ofcapital, improvised technology, high transaction costs and inadequate access to infrastructure. There is an absence of an adequate facilitating legal, regulatory and institutional regime for assets, intellectual property and market transactions As a consequence, the urban informal sector is prone to lateral expansion, depressedreturns that verge toward subsistence, stunted growth and endemic poverty for many. Although the communal sector may have developed production methods and non-farm activities that are appropriate for the environment in which they live, the sector has not been able to be fully integrated into modern forms of economic organisation. The sector shares a number of the characteristics of the urban informal sector, like the absence of social and economic infrastructure, the absence of an adequate facilitating legal, regulatory and institutional regime, high transaction costs and inadequate access to information useful for participation in the modern economy. There is an outward migration of able-bodied males. In some countries the shortage of land due to land degradation or land appropriation is also resulting in increasing marginalisation of peasants.

Thus, participants in both the urban informal sector and the rural communal sector are unable to lift themselves since their capabilities and their environment is highly compromised. They are also not able tobenefit from trickledowneffectsfrom the formal sector or abroad in the absence of facilitating interventions.

External distortionsThe global environment has had the tendency to perpetuate the underdevelopment based on enclavity. Forexample,withregardtoitsinteractionwith the formal sector, this has been such that it reinforces both primary exportand import dependency in a manner that does not facilitate the transformation

Feature

ANSA is not a grouping, a political party or a movement. It is not an advance party either. You cannot become a member. ANSA is a non-partisan, facilitation project, the function of which is to act as a focal point, guide and catalyst that stimulates people, institutions and movements in the region and beyond to join hands and forge alliances in a common pursuit of an alternative to neo-liberalism. ANSA is an initiative of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZiCTU) in co-operation with the Southern African Trade Union Co-ordination Council (SATUCC) and the African Labour Research Network (ALRN). It is facilitated by the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ). For more information about the ANSA-initiative, contact the ANSA Secretariat at [email protected], 78 East Road, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe; Telephone +263-4-303846or33983.

The formal sector shows a bias toward large-scale enterprises and against the evolution of dynamic micro, small, medium enterprise. It favours relatively capital intensive methods of production that are not warranted by the amount of labour available, given high unemployment rates. It is biased toward externally driven demand given that themajority of the domestic population lacks effective demand. It favours imports of capital and intermediary goods as well


and upgrading of the domestic economy. Terms of trade have generally been to the disadvantage of the formal sector in African economies. Monopolistic tendencies and protectionism among the developed countrieshavemadeitdifficulttoacquirecompetitive advantage that would allow the developing countries to compete on an equal level with the developed countries andevenallowthemtoreconfiguretheirexports and imports. African countriesdue to a lack of domestic demand and due to lower growth rates have not been able to attract foreign investment to the degree needed to promote dynamic growth and development even when they have attempted to live up to the policy recommendations of international institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF.

More generally the international economy has been dominated by private and public interests which have systemically pushed for economic transaction regimes that work primarily to serve their interest rather than the development needs of countries such as those in Africa.

As another consequence of the above problems, African countries findthemselves in a dilemma whereby disarticulations at the national level, coupled with external dependency,militate against effective regional co-operation and national development withinaregionalcontextaswell.

The ANSA DeclarationThis analysis shows why a neo-liberal ‘free’ market system can not solve our problems and, at the same time, provides a concrete framework for alternative policies and strategies, which can indeed bring about sustainable, human development. It is the foundation upon which a comprehensive ANSA Declaration has been developed, which, in turn, serves as the basis for ANSA’s further plans and activities.

The declaration sets out the 10 principles of the ANSA strategy:

1. At political and social level, a people-led strategy (as opposed to IMF-WB-WTO-donor-led).

2. At the economic level, an alternative production system, one that is based on domestic demand and human needs and the use of local resources and domestic savings, that is autocentric development (as opposed to the present system that

is dominated by an export-orientedstrategy, based on foreign investments and ownership).

3. Grassroots-led regional integration (as opposed to the current fragmentation of the region by the Empire).

4. A strategic, selective delinking from neo-liberal globalisation (as opposed to further deepening of integration within the existing iniquitous globalsystem), and preparing for leveraged negotiated relinking in a restructured and transformed global production and distribution system.

5. An alternative policy on science and technology based on harnessing and owning the collective knowledge and wisdom of the people (as opposed to the present blind emulation of techno-science of the empire). 6. A strategy of alliance and networking with national, regional and global progressive forces (as opposed to the present system of co-optation of social forces in the capital-led globalisation process).

7. A strategy with a politically governed redistribution of the wealth and opportunities from the so-called formal sector in society to the informal sectors (as opposed to the present system of misallocation of resources, and the integration of the informal sectors through their providing cheap inputs and a reservoir of semi-employed labour).

8. A strategy where women’s rights are in focus as the basis for a healthy and productive society (as opposed to the presentsystembasedontheexploitationof women labour).

9. A strategy where education addresses the needs for sustainable human development, and which is aimed at improving the technical and managerial as well as research and development skills of workers and those directly in control of matters of production and governance (as opposed to education for a bureaucratic and academic elite).

10. A strategy where peoples’ mobilisation and visible demonstrations, and open hearings, in support of the evolving ethical and developmental state, are seen as embodying the democratic strength of the society, creating a dynamic, participatory and radical democracy (as opposed to

the present system, where mobilisation is seenasathreattotheexistingsystem,andwhere the representative democracy can sign away the future rights of people).

Framework for an alternative policyBased on the above analysis and guided by the 10 principles, the ANSA Declaration then submits a detailed alternative policy and strategy for sustainable human development in Southern Africa. It does that both in general terms as well as for the various sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, trade and mining; for macro-economics and finance; for policies likeeducation & training, science & technology and infrastructure; and for cross-cutting issues like gender and culture.

It should be well understood that the ANSA Declaration only sets out the general alternative policy framework for the region. It is necessary that each country will formulate and push for its own specific alternative policy and strategywithin this regional framework. The ANSA programme is actively working towards this follow up. A training and advocacy programme is also being developed.

As said before, the ANSA programme is not a separate academic exercise; itis aimed at stimulating and facilitating the growth of a mass movement, the ideal being that the numerous localised centres of resistance and initiatives for alternatives will in the end pressurise for change from a common perspective.

ANSA therefore seeks active co-operation and mutual reinforcement with progressive individuals, unions, churches, youth and women groups, social movements etc. within the region, the continent and beyond to join forces to pressurise for often very practical and local alternatives, placed within a broader vision and strategy.

A start has been made already with the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) where Trade Unions in the SADC are getting together to deliberately and systemati cally lobby and campaign for alternatives to the anticipated EPAs which are being imposed on us by the EU. Privatisation and commercialisation issuesaredefiniteotherpossibleareasofaction and levers for a common demand for an alternative policy.

*Tendai Makanza is the Associate Programme officer at ANSA.

Feature

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Democratization is a process which could not be reduced to a static anddefinitive formula, like theone

evoked by “representative democracy” (multiparty-ism, election, human rights). Democratization – synonym of people’s power – concerns all aspects of social life,andnotexclusivelythemanagementof its politics. It concerns all relations between individuals, within the family, in places of work, in their relations with the economic, administrative and political decision-makers. These relations are both individual and collective (class relations which are by nature unequal in the capitalist society, founded on the private appropriation of the means of production by a minority, excluding the people). Those limits arelimitsofdemocracy–whenever itexists– in capitalism.

Democratization implies that one surpasses those limits, and thereby going beyond capitalism along the road of building the socialist alternative. The ruling ideology and the democratic “blueprints” proposed in its spirit separate “political” democracy from social demands, of whichexpressionsarethestrugglesoftheruled and exploited classes against theunilateral logic of capital. Democratization implies that political democracy be associated with and not dissociated from social progress.

Democratization concerns practice in all segments of social life: the family, the enterprise (place of work), political parties, trade unions, peasant and women’s organizations, local and neighboring communities, and all other organizations of civil society. Democratization implies the recognition and definition of humanrights, their formulation in terms of juridical rights, the institutional guarantee of their genuine respect. Individual freedom and the emancipation of the human being from all forms of oppression are inseparable from people’s empowerment. There is no advanced socialism without the integration of human rights in those of working collectives and the people.

Political ideologies and projects should be analyzed and discussed from the angle of their positive or negative contribution todemocratizationasdefinedhere,basedon the universal values depicted in diverse cultures. Democracy building at all levels of social reality constitutes the objective of democratic and progressive people’s movements concerned and associated with the South South Solidarity Network.Alternatives to the capitalist market and the present global economic order

Capitalism is not a “market economy” but a capitalist market economy. Here, the market is regulated by the domination of the capitalist interests, which prevail over thoseof theexploitedandruledclasses,whose members are reduced to the status of labor force providers and conditioned and passive consumers. The capitalist market, efficient though it may be bycertain of its aspects, remains guided by the capitalists’ individual searches for profit. The people’s alternative requiresthat the market be put at the service of the people’s social and democratic aims, other forms of regulation based on the objectives of socialism in the making, and particularly the effective realization of the largest equality possible.

The centralization of capital in contemporary capitalism has come to suchadegreethatafewhundredfinancialgroups are dominating most national economies as a globalized economy and shaping markets in their exclusiveinterest. This capitalism of oligopolies concentrates real power, economic, social and political, in the hands of an oligarchy, enemy of humanity as a whole.In its expansion, the capitalist marketis trying to appropriate new spheres of social life with a view to turning them into places to extract profit for capital.Programs for the privatization of State enterprises and of collectives of producers or citizens, the commodification ofessential public services (education, health, housing, access to water and electricity, transportation) respond to that objective, by nature running counter to people’s power of which it is reducing

Agenda For Creating Another World

the fields of action. In its expansion,the capitalist market is also trying to appropriate the disposal of all renewable and non-renewable natural resources of the planet, thus aggravating the long-term perspectives concerning the survival of humanity. The privatization of land should be recognized as a particularly serious danger for the survival of the peasant half of humankind

An alternative development matching the satisfaction of human needs should not be limited to “poverty reduction”, itself largely generated by the logics commanding the expansion of capitalist markets. Agenuine alternative development should help transform livelihoods in the direction of the real emancipation of the popular masses and of individuals. “Indicators” of the progress achieved in that direction shouldbeidentifiedanddetermined.

On a world scale, the capitalist market economy is founded on the inequality of national partners. The logic of its expansion tends toaggravateandnot toreduce those inequalities, unacceptable to and rejected by the peoples of the South. To the current practices and projects (in the fields of trade, foreign investmentandcapitalflows,debt)proposedby theinstitutions of the prevailing capitalist globalization (IMF, World Bank, WTO, European Community, and others), the people’s movements should put up positive alternatives responding to their own objectives.

Alternatives to the present international political orderPeoples need peace, nations and individuals need security. Neither of these is permitted by the imperialist nature of the capitalist system. On the contrary, because it is fundamentally unjust, the maintenance of the international order necessary to the expansionof theoligopolistic capitalist market requires the deployment of violence, including military threat and its effective implementation, against all movements, peoples and nations repudiating submission. That’s State terrorism.

Democratization implies the recognition and definition of human rights, their formulation in terms of juridical rights, the institutional guarantee of their genuine respect. Individual freedom and the emancipation of the human being from all forms of oppression are inseparable from people’s empowerment. Writes Samir Amin*

Debates and Viewpoints


The program for “military control of the planet” by the armed forces of the United States and its junior allies (NATO in particular), the deployment for that purpose of 600 US military bases over the five continents, the “preventivewars”, already under way (Iraq) or being threatened(Iran),areexpressionsofthismilitarization of globalization.

The execution of such programs of theimperialist powers, particularly of the firstamong them, scorns theaspirationsof all peoples of the South for peace and security. It lies directly or indirectly at the roots of the squandering represented by the arms race. It inspires directly or indirectly numerous so-called “local” conflicts,ofteninstrumentalized.

The people’s alternative requires recognition of the equal rights of peoples and nations in globalization. It requires respect for the sovereign independence of nations. The people’s struggles also aim at orienting the sovereignty of States toward the effective sovereignty of peoples, by means of democratization of the society.

Land and agricultureAccess to land is a question of survival for the three billion peasants of Asia, Africa and Latin America, i.e. nearly half of humanity. No form of development is acceptable if it sacrifices the lot ofthose human beings. Yet, the capitalist path of development, based on private appropriation of land, which is treated as acommoditysimilar toothers,sacrificesprecisely the rural population “surplus” on thealtarof increaseofthe“profitability”of the capital invested in agricultural production (modern equipment and “value” of land). The obvious result of this option is the transformation of the planet into one of slums, from Sao Paulo toMumbai,fromMexicotoBangkok,fromCairo to Casablanca and Johannesburg.

The people’s alternative – that of socialist oriented development – rests on the judicious principle that land is a basic natural resource, and the property of the peoples, particularly the peasantries living off it. The two great Asian revolutions have confirmed the performance ofthat principle and thereby avoided the uncontrolled rural exodus which hasstruck at the rest of the three continents. The pursuit of this alternative implies total respect for that principle at all the stages of the long socialist transition. Certainly, the urbanization accompanying a necessary

industrialization would require a transfer of rural inhabitants to urban centers. But this should be regulated in accordance with the pace of the absorption capacities of productive urban activities; and the formulas of agricultural management should take this into consideration.There is no question of keeping the “overpopulated” rural areas in immobilism. There could have been mistakes by thinking that an accelerated collectivization, ahead of technological possibilities and requirements, could overcome the related contradiction. Experience has shownthat an access to land, guaranteed to the peasantry as a whole in formulas linking small-scale family production with the market, is conducive to a rapid and big increase of agricultural production, in terms of peasant self-consumption rations and commercialized surpluses alike. Continuation of this progress would certainly require the invention of new forms adapted to every stage of the path of socialist oriented development. But, such forms should never be based on any abandonment of the principle of access to land for all to the benefit of eventualillusions about private appropriation of land.

A systematic reflection on popularpeasant development programs is necessarymorethanever.Thisreflectioncould not propose the same formula for all, for the diversity of situations created by the capitalist expansion is extreme.Wherever this expansion has alreadypromoted gigantic inequalities in the form of Latin American, Southern African and Indian latifundias, radical land reforms will be a must.

The capitalist expansion programruns nowadays through partial “modernizations” (qualified as “greenrevolutions”), ofwhich beneficiaries areonly a minority of wealthy farmers and agrarian capitalists and which make agriculture as a whole utterly dependent on agrobusiness. The alternative formulas of a gradually modernized rural development to thebenefitofallcannotbe thesame.Theoretical research and practice should help invent their modalities.Access to land should go along with making means for land exploitationavailable to peasants.

First among these means is water which, for that matter, cannot be any more than land a “commodity similar to others” (commodified). The peoples’ accessto water raises the difficult question of

regulations on international rivers, which is largely ignored by international law and governed – whenever it is – by bi-national or multi-national treaties often subject to desirable negotiations.

Access to means of production necessary to the advancement of agriculture (credits, equipment, seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, commercialization institutions) could not be left to “market rules” alone. The people’s alternative and the socialist orientation require the intervention of adequateStatepoliciesinthesefieldsandtheopeningupofactionfieldsforpeasantinitiatives (cooperatives in diverse forms).

Scientific and technological advancesrelated to agricultural and food production could not be guided by immediate profitability requirements alone. Thecapitalist rationale is a short-term one and is therefore not always sustainable. The introduction of GMOs, for instance, leads to little-known risks for the reproduction of the productive capacity of the soil (as shownbytheexampleofthedestructionof the soil in Argentina), for the vital maintenance of the bio-diversity, as it leads to unknown risks for human health. Their introduction is dictated by the simple wish of agribusiness transnationals to subjugate thereby peasant producers and to regulate markets at their convenience alone. The people’s alternative requires that research criteria would be different.

National policies should follow the objective of food sovereignty (basic self-sufficiencyof nations) and reject that ofsimple “food security” (capacity to pay for imports aimed at balancing food deficit)which the World Bank and the WTO want to impose.

National policies concerning the rural world cannot be reduced to the single component of agricultural production. Making available to rural communities essential services (education and health inthefirstplace)similartothoseenjoyedby city dwellers constitutes an essential objective of social justice.

Structuring agricultural development policies and those concerning industrialization constitutes the backbone of the global development of society. The conception of these policies and their structure in the socialist oriented development obviously runs counter to the one resulting only from the functioning ofoligopolisticmarketsof really existingcapitalism. The former is founded on the


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principles and objectives of the “worker-peasant alliance”, the realization of which cannot be left to the sole responsibility of the central political power. The democratization of society requires that a large space should be opened to collective negotiations (between peasant organizations and workers’ trade unions, between the peasant rural world and consumers’ organizations), with the support of the people’s State .

Agricultural production is, at the present time, subject to a globalized offensive from oligopolistic capital, promoted by WTO authorities. This offensive is part of a so-called “market opening up” strategy, in fact for the unilateral opening up of markets of the South to the expansiondemands of the oligopolistic capital of the North. Thus, the battles waged within WTO (after the accession of almost all countries of the world to this institution conceived and constructed by the imperialist powers alone) now concern among other things the visible or disguised subsidies to agricultural exports fromthe North (the Doha Round). The views of the diplomacies certain countries of the South, which initiated a challenge to “WTO rules”, should be supported and of strengthened by concerted people’s initiatives capable of defining coherentcoordinated alternatives and immediate objectives for the common struggle.

Alternatives to the capitalist exploitation of laborThe liberal ideology in essence and in practice in the capitalist societies are based on the dissociation of the formulas of representative political democracy – wheneverexistent–fromthefieldsrelatedto the social progress of the exploitedandoppressedclasses.Theextensionofpolitical rights themselves to the popular classes (universal balloting for instance) has been the fruit of the struggles and achievements of the peoples, and never “granted” from above. The labour rights (for workers’ organization, strike) and more generally social rights (education, health, social security, etc...) are also the fruits of these cultures. The list of demands isfarfromexhaustedandconstitutesthevery object of current numerous popular struggles, in the South and the North, as the present time is that of an offensive by capital aiming at reducing them, under thepretextof“marketopeningup”.Here,the strategies of capital are targeting the extreme fragmentation of the “labourmarkets”, to put the countries of the South in positions of devastating competition by

the race to lower salaries. To counter this, the building of coherent fronts linking these still largely fragmented fronts represents the unavoidable demand of thedefinitionofpathsofsocialistorienteddevelopment.

In particular, at the present stage of deployment of the imperialist capitalism of globalized oligopolies, the most urgent task for organizations of workers and the working people in general is to reconstruct “united labour fronts” capable of imposing full employment and the specification ofits decent conditions.The formulas of organization and action inherited from the previous period of history (trade unions in particular), effective in their times, have been eroded by the current transformations in the organization of work. These transformations do not result “spontaneously” and unavoidably from the new technologies applied. They are mainly the product of the strategies of capital aiming to aggravate job insecurity, to create a reserve contingent of unemployed, to fragment conditions done to working people. In the capitalist countries of the South, linked to the rural exodus, this evolution has impoverisheden masse the urban popular classes, of which a growing proportion is made up of “informals”.

The current people’s movements have already demonstrated their inventiveness in the organization of these struggles by applying real and advanced democratic practices. They still have to go a long way to turn from largely defensive strategies to coherent and offensive political projects capable of advancing the people’s alternative. The list of these struggles and the constitutive objectives of the people’s alternative are wide open to all aspects of the social life, in the places of work and in the cities (education, health, housing, essential services). The accentuated polarization between affluent “centers”(15% of the population of the planet) and “peripheries” (85% of the world’s population), always dominated and often empty-handed, sometimes to the extreme, which is peculiar to thecapitalist expansion at all stages of itsdeployment, is at the roots of a migratory pressure from the South to the North, extensionoftheruralexodusintheSouth.Here, the liberal logic is caught red-handed for incoherence. It recommends the worldwide opening up of markets to commodities and capital, but refuses it to labour! This incoherence reveals the real aim of its objectives: the fragmentation

of labour fronts, the overexploitation ofthe “rightless” that are mainly emigrants, legal or illegal.

The objective of the fragmentation of the working classes is not new. Capitalism has always, for instance, picked up patriarchal ideologies to discriminate against women, as well as racist ones against migrants and eventual minorities. The success of the popular movements of discriminated minorities concerning the shaping of convergences between their own demands and those of other, apparently “favoured”, segments of labour constitutes the only guarantee for a social progress linked to the genuine democratization of society.

Alternatives to discriminationCapitalism is a social system founded on the principle of discrimination. The discrimination putting the masters (often “owners”) of means of production against the popular majorities, who are deprived of such means, is fundamental, and it determines capitalism. There is no “market economy” (in the liberal sense of the term) which is not a market society. And the market discriminates andfragments.Themostflagrantofthesediscriminations has always struck at women. Certainly, the societies prior to capitalist modernity did not ignore these discriminations. But, far from alleviating their violence, capitalism has integrated themintoitspracticeofexploitationwithaview to instrumentalizing them and putting them to its own objectives. When these objectives seem to allow some progress in the status of women, capitalism tries to limit the effects.

The struggles of the female half of humanity for the full juridical and real recognition of all their rights (in the statutes of family organization, at places ofwork,intheexerciseofcitizenship)arenot just democratic struggles (of which they constitute a fundamental element, without which speaking of democratization of society is but empty talk); they are, and may increasingly be, constituent elements of the socialist alternative to capitalism. The list of segments of the popular classes subject to effects of discrimination is long: migrants, ethnic or religious minorities, patients suffering from AIDS and other pandemics, etc. Their respective demands will acquire still greater strength if they are linked to others in the struggle for a socialist oriented people’s development.



Knowledge and intellectual propertyKnowledge is a common asset of humanity. It should not be treated as a “vulgar commodity”. Its private appropriation runs counter to the fundamental principles of humanist universalism.

The financial oligopolies controllingthe current world system pursue the objective of organizing monopolistic markets to theirownbenefit,contrary tothe claim about “transparency” which is supposed to be the highest virtue of the market! To that end, they promote the fragmentation of the production of things completely alike in use value by abusing “registered trademarks”. The WTO – their instrument – promotes a “global legislation” which not only protects the technologies allegedly particular to each of those “trademarks”, but also overprotects those monopolies under the false pretext of defence of “intellectualand industrial property”, thus ensuring an abusive profit to those monopoliesand raising an unsurmountable obstacle against countries of the South engaged in industrialization.

At the same time, those imperialist monopolies try – with WTO protection – to rob the peoples of their often millenary traditional knowledge in the fields of agricultural production andpharmacopeia. Under the false pretextthat their “laboratories”have indentifiedthe specificities proper to peasantagricultural and pharmaceutical products, the imperialist monopolies intend to “ban” peasants of the South from pursuing their production practices and compel them to “rebuy” the selected seeds and the products of the concerned peasant societies’ own knowledge!

Ecology and climate justiceThe environment and ecology problems are diverse in nature, concerning the squandering and exhaustion of non-renewable and renewable natural resources, destruction of biodiversity, climate change, etc. Their “treatment” by the market rationale not only fails to produce any long-term solution, but also implies unacceptable social and international injustices. From that point of view, capitalism is henceforth an obsolete system and the socialist oriented path – to be shaped in the long process of transition from capitalism – constitutes the only humanistic alternative.Capitalism in particular and the market in general are founded on certainly rational but always short-term calculations,

incapable of integrating the necessary long-term perspective. This objective limit, insurmountable in spite of everything said about the subject, is particularly obvious as regards non-renewable (petroleum in particular) or renewable (water, forests)resources.Theexchangeofnon-renewable natural resources exportedby the South for the import of renewable goods is by nature unequal; it sacrificesthe future of the peoples of the South to thebenefitoftheimmediateconsumptionof the North. The avowed objective of the imperialist powers is to reserve for their exclusive benefit the use of thoseresources while banning access to and use of the latter by countries of the South – even by openly violating alleged market rules. Yet, it is by opening such an access for the peoples of the South that the North would be compelled to “adjust” itself to a better use of the resources of the planet. The people’s alternative requires control of these resources by the peoples, the invention of new criteria matching their economic usefulness on the basis of long-term respect for the social demands of justice, the opening of international negotiations guided by the proclamation of and genuine respect for those principles.

The climate change constitutes henceforth a grave challenge to humanity. Due to squandering by capitalism (greenhouse effect) or maybe by transformations of the universe beyond the reach of human beings, this change constitutes anyway a challenge requiring a long-term consideration when global strategies are chosen. Here again, the dominant imperialist system sacrifices the futureof the South to the sole preservation of the privileged positions of the North. The socialist oriented alternative promoted by the people’s movements should be capable of compelling the governments of the South to integrate this aspect in the formulation of development strategies and compelling the international system (the World Trade Organization in particular) to respect its requirements.

People-centered alternative regionalism and integrationThe existing imperialist global systemgives absolute priority to the globalization of the capitalist market and conceives the regional cooperation and integration systems as simply “sub-systems”, constituent blocks of the globalized system. That’s the way with the European Union, the North American Free Trade Area(UnitedStates,Canada,Mexico)aswell as the “common markets” set up

in various regions of the South (Africa, Southeast Asia). The projects concerning the groupings linking countries of the North with countries of the South, like the so-called “partnerships” between the European Union, Africa and others, are of the same nature and carry unacceptable forms of neo-colonialism. These formulas obviously run counter to the people-centered development perspectives of all peoples. The people’s movements should reflect on and promote regionalperspectives that are different by nature in their objectives and the means deployed.

The initiation of people- and nation-centered alternatives is perhaps already in progress in South America with the ALBA initiative, which has come to complete and correct the Mercosur. It is necessary to give this initiative, and others that may drawinspirationfromit,acontentdefinedby the peoples concerned.

General ConclusionEach of the above-mentioned themes for research and action falls within the general perspective of elaboration of strategies of people’s struggles going “beyond capitalism”, and embarking on the long road of socialist oriented development, based on the interests and demands of the popular classes, subjecting the regulation of markets and the implementation of State policies to the objective of progressive strengthening of the socialist orientation and not of weakening the movement. This option of fundamental principle requires a radical criticism of “really existing capitalism”, which is not the“market” praised by the ideologues of a ruling system founded on the inequality of classes (liquidating all real possibilities for people’s empowerment) and inequalities ofnations(thereallyexistingcapitalismisimperialist by nature). The path of socialist oriented development should not be reduced to a “single formula” valid for all, similar to the one which the “Washington consensus” or “post-Washington consensus” tend to impose. The roads of this development are multiple and should be determined concretely by each people, proceeding from its own concrete conditions (in particular the heritage of the unequal development promoted by capitalism/imperialism) and its specificpolitical culture. “Global non-consensus” should be the guiding principle for the rebuilding of a multi-polar and negotiated globalization.

*Samir Amin is the director of the Third World Forum based in Dakar Senegal


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We, the 200 delegates of the Millennium Development Goals and Disability Conference in Nairobi, Kenya at the Panafric Hotel on 15th to 17th September 2008 from the African regions, met with the aim to enhance the capacity of leaders from the disability and development sectors on effective mainstreaming of disability in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

in African countries. NotingthatMDGshavenospecificreferencetopersonswithdisabilitiesandthereforehavebeenleftoutinthecampaignprocesses,policies, planning, programmes and implementation ;Concerned also that disability has not been mentioned in the midway MDG report;

Further acknowledging that the convention on the rights of Persons with disabilities has just come into effect to among other things strengthen the resolve for inclusion;

We note with dismay the continued categorisation of people with disabilities as vulnerable which further marginalises us and consigns us to invisibility, we wish to be recognised as actors in development processes.

We resolve as Delegates that we shall;• Wecommunicatetheoutcomeofthismeetingtoourgovernmentstoreview,prioritiseandincludeissues of disability in

their country statements during their high level meetings on MDGs in New York• Callonourgovernmentstomoveandsupportamotionduringthisyear’sUNgeneralassembly,callingfortheestablishment

of a new UN special agency on disability; to provide leadership, harmonisation, coordination and enhanced monitoring and reporting.

• EngageourgovernmentstoensurethatPeoplewithDisabilitiesareprotectedfromadverseeffectsfromrisingcostsandrelatedvulnerabilitiesandparticipateandbenefitfromexistingsocialprotectionschemes

• TolobbygovernmentsthroughtheAfricanDevelopmentBankandrelatedpartnerstoestablishanAfricandisabilityequityfund to support economic empowerment, entrepreneurship and business of people with disabilities

• Upholdtheprincipleofgenderequityindisability• Werecognisetheeffortsofparents,friendsandguardiansofpeoplewithdisabilitiesandrecognisethemaspartofthe

wider disability movement• Topromotetheuseofpositivelanguage• Toencouragetheuseofprofessionalcampaignersincludinggoodwillambassadorsinpromotingdisability

inclusion

We resolve that as Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs) we shall • ReviewthroughtheirgovernmentstheAccradevelopmentplanofactionandcauseitsimplementationforthebenefitof

PWDs in Africa • Advocate toensurethatdisability issuesaremainstreamedinallgovernment,UNagenciesanddevelopmentpartners

policies, plans and programmes particularly those related to MDGs • Endeavour to understand the structures of various government, UN agencies and development partnerswith view to

engaging with them more effectively for full inclusion of Persons with disabilities• Advocatedevelopmentpartnerstoincludedisabilityasarequirement/conditionforfundingdevelopmentprogrammes• Engageandinfluencethesocialdevelopmentprocess• ParticipateintheSocialProtectionprocessestoensurepeoplewithdisabilitiesareincluded• Advocate and lobby to be included in national poverty reduction strategies andother national development plans and

initiatives• Exploreavenuesofpartnershipwithprivatesectorintheireconomicempowerment• UtilizeourindividualandcollectivecapacitytocausetheimplementationofprogrammesrelatedtotheMDGsforthebenefit

of Persons with disabilities • Buildourowncapacitytoengagewithourgovernmentonthecommitmentsandagreementatnationalandinternational

levels • Ensurethatwhateverisagreedatregionalornationalworkshopscascadesdownwardtothegrassrootsand

rural areas.• Familiariseourselveswiththedisabilitypoliciesofdifferentdevelopmentagenciesandensurethattheybenefitus• Strengthen our unity, common voice and planning, implementation andmonitoring processeswhilst at the same time

recognising diversity in disability • Restructureandreformourinternalgovernancestructurestoadoptmodernmanagementand good governance systems

and increase transparency and accountability to our members• Nurtureandmentoryouthwithdisabilitiesintoleadershipsuccessionplansandsupportthemtowardssocialeconomic

empowerment

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Fighting Disability in Kenya


• Makeaparadigmshiftfromcharitymodeltohumanrightsandsocialdevelopment• Strategicallyengagewithmediaforbothawarenessandadvocacyandbuiltourcapacitytoengagewithmedia• Sensitiseandcapacitatethemediatovariousdisabilityneedsandtourgethemtobeinclusiveintheirpresentation and reporting • LinkwithAfricanUniversitiestopromoteevidencebaseddisabilityresearchandtopromotedisabilityinclusiveacademic

programmes

We call on the SADPD to• Establishaprogrammetodevelophumanresourcecapacityforpolicyanalysistoactasawatchdoginmonitoringdisability

inclusion • AllocateresponsibilitiesrolesanddutiestotheRegionalFederationsandotherpartnersinordertoensureeffective,well–

monitored follow up and implementation strategies

We urge all Government to• RatifyanddomesticateandimplementtheUNconventionontherightsofpersonswithdisabilities• WorkwithDPOsinnominatingthemembersofthepanelofexpertsintheconvention• RecogniseDPOsasagentsofchangeandthereforeaspartnersindevelopmentplanningandprogrammes• African governments to include Persons with disabilities and disability into their poverty reduction and development

programmes. • Toputintoplaceaffirmativeactiontoenhanceparticipationinpoliticalsocialandeconomicsectors.• Includedisabilitydatacollectionwithinthegeneralnationaldatacollectionsystemsrecognisingdiversityindisability.• Usedatatoinformplanningandservicedeliveryandmonitoringand• HighlightandincludedisabilityintheexistingMDGindicatorsinpartnershipwiththedisabilitymovement.

We call on Development Partners to • Prioritisedisabilityasatoolforplanningandanalysisfordevelopmentassistanceandinternationalcooperationinalltheir

international cooperation and assistance (aid, debt relieve and trade)• IncludeandconsultPeoplewithDisabilitiesandtheirrespectiveorganisationsinplanning,implementation,

monitoring and reporting • Toincludedisabilityasarequirement/conditionforfundingdevelopmentprogrammesWeurgetheUNthroughmember

states• To establish a specialist agency on disability in the league of UNICEF or UNIFEM to provide leadership and global

accountability on matters related to the disabled people• ToprioritiseincludeandpartnerwiththedisabilitymovementinitsentiremillenniumcampaigninitiativeWeurgetheAU

and related bodies to• SetupaDisabilityDeskwithinallAfricanregionalbodiestomonitortheimplementationofboththeconventionandhuman

rights violation of people with disabilities within the respective regions.• Mainstreamdisabilityintotheirprogrammesandperformancemanagementsystems• EstablishpeerreviewmechanismandperformancemanagementsystemfordisabilityinAfrica• EnsurepoliticalandsocialeconomicrepresentationinNEPADandtodeveloptermsofreferencefortheirparticipation.• WorkwithDPOstorevealurgentlythestructureandmandateofAFRICANREHABILITATIONINSTITUTE(ARI)• RenewtheAfricandecadeofpersonswithdisabilitiesforanothertenyearsbymeansofaproclamationbythemeetingof

the heads of state planned for January 2009• Facilitateself-representationofPersonswithdisabilitiesinallcommissions,PanAfricaParliamentandotherstructures

These resolutions are the outcome of the conference, formulated and spoken by the delegates at this esteemed conference.

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26


National and sub-national elections

provide important opportunities

to establish, reaffirm or redirect

development priorities. This short

guidebook describes how and why the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

can be important to this process—

towards the larger end of achieving

human development and a better, more

equitable world.

The book is primary intended for civil

society representatives interested in

MDG advocacy during elections, although

it has also been designed as a resource

for political candidates. It walks readers

through basic strategies and tools to

campaign for the goals, and lay the

groundwork for political commitments to

specificdevelopmentachievements.

But first, two basic questions must be

answered: What are the MDGs? And why

exactlydotheymatterduringelections?

What are the MDGs?

In short, the MDGs offer eight ways

to change the world. Most national

governments and the international

community have adopted the goals as

commitments to:

• Endingextremepovertyand

hunger

• Achievinguniversalprimary

education

• Promotinggenderequalityand

empowering women

• Reducingchildmortality

• Improvingmaternalhealth

• CombatingHIVandAIDS,

malaria and other diseases

• Ensuringenvironmental

sustainability

• Developingaglobalpartnership

for development

The MDGs are linked to a high-level

international political agreement—the

Millennium Declaration, signed by leaders

from 189 countries in 2000. The declaration

endorses important framework principles

such as freedom, equality, shared

responsibility and human rights. Both

national government signatories and the

international community have obligations

to strive to reach the goals, including by

providingsufficientresources.

Each goal has specific targets and

indicators to guide progress under a

2015 timeframe for achievement. This

makes them highly practical tools for

both advocates and policy makers in

articulating a vision for development and

planning the steps to achieve it.

The goals encapsulate several decades of

national and international debate on what

the most important, basic entry points for

development need to be. They are both

universal—we all need health care and

education, for example—and adaptable

to different environments. They specify

broad objectives, meaning that each

country and even locality can decide

thespecificsofhowtogetthere,across

diverse political and economic systems.

Progress in achieving the MDGs involves

everyone. Politicians, civil society

representatives of all stripes, private sector

concerns, members of households—all

have something to offer. Everyone also

Tool kit on Elections and MDGsbenefits from accomplishing the MDGs,

because they are about creating societies

that are more stable, equitable and well

off.

Why do the goals matter during elections?

When the MDGs enjoy high visibility in an

election, through civil society advocacy or

under the umbrellas of political campaigns,

they connect politics to the real issues

in people’s lives. Voters can chose the

peopletheywantinofficeonthebasisof

support for development objectives that

matter to them. In casting a ballot, they

weigh in on public policy directions, the

adequacy of public service delivery and

the allocation of resources.

Campaigning for the goals also provides

opportunities to raise public awareness

about the MDGs, and discuss specific

local and national actions to attain them.

Political commitment to new policies or

resources can form and grow, paving the

way for follow up once the polls close and

newlyelectedpoliticianstakeoffice.

All of these possibilities help solidify the

foundations of democratic governance,

such as political responsiveness and

transparency. When interest and

participation in an election grows—

because people can see how the outcome

relates to them—political legitimacy is

bolstered as well.

The widespread appeal and simplicity

of theMDGsmake themanaturalfit for

election campaigns. Their straightforward

messages can easily be translated into

communications tools and strategies

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tailored to a variety of audiences. Civil

society groups may campaign for the goals

through media outreach, rallies, voter

education and/or face-to-face meetings

with candidates, among other options.

Politicians can turn to them to make

new connections with constituencies,

including through MDG commitments in

political platforms.

For both civil society groups and

politicians, the MDGs are a unifying theme

that can draw people together around

common purposes—even in relatively

divisive political climates. Candidates

may not agree on the same approaches to

achieving the goals, but they can endorse

them as overarching human development

objectives important to most constituents.

Civil society groups might not normally

work on the same issues, but they can

come together to make a concerted joint

push for a broad framework that will

accommodate and strengthen them all.

The book has been formulated by the UN

Millennium Campaign, which supports

and inspires people from around the world

to take action in support of the MDGs. The

followingpagesdrawontheexperiences

of the campaign, as well as other national

and international advocacy efforts, and the

expertiseofpeopleinpolitics,mediaand

public policy. A framework theme is that

advocacy campaigns take many forms, but

they all involve people working together

on different activities orchestrated to

achieve a common outcome. They are

most successful when they convince

people outside the campaign to take

action—tovote,forexample,ortosupport

the passage of new legislation.

The book is mainly intended, for what

may be the first time, to draw together

the different elements required to plan

and carry out an MDG campaign during

an election. More resources are available

and should be consulted on subjects such

as political analysis and media outreach.

The book’s chapters are organized to

cover during and after phases of a typical

election. Parts of the content may be more

appropriate to audiences in developing

countries. This was a deliberate choice.

Seven of the eight MDGs must be

implemented there—and resources like

this book are less accessible in some

places. That said, Goal 8, which requires

action by developed countries, is critical

to achieving all the others, so readers in

those countries may want to take note of

relevant sections of this publication and

adapt it accordingly.

Thefirstfivechaptersaremainlygeared

towards civil society advocates, and the

sixth towards political candidates and

parties. All chapters, however, contain

information that can be valuable to

both audiences. To cultivate potential

relationships and partnerships, each

group may also benefit from learning

about the considerations of the other.

Chapters I and II highlight pre-election

advocacy planning and strategizing.

The first chapter explores some basic

assessments that should be done before

an MDG campaign kicks off, including

of political trends and voting patterns.

It looks at making the choice to embark

on a campaign and the decision to form

a coalition, or not. The second chapter

presents the outline of a basic campaign

strategy, fromdefiningobjectives, target

audiences and key messages, to drafting

a plan for action.

Thenext twochaptersmovedeeper into

campaigning during the election itself,

beginning with an elaboration of advocacy

techniques in Chapter III. Chapter IV

delves into outreach to three major

election players: political candidates

and parties, voters and members of the

media. It highlights possible campaign

objectives, messages and actions related

to each. Chapter V sketches ways to

maintain advocacy momentum after the

election is over.

Chapter VI, primarily for political

candidates and parties, discusses some

of thebenefits of including theMDGs in

election campaigns. It features details on

how to use the goals during the campaign

and once in office, including how to

engage voters.

Rounding out this guidebook, is a set

of tools linked to each chapter. You can

consult them as you read through the

main text, or together after you finish.

Each chapter also contains “Campaign

Tales”—boxes illustrating different

campaigns or advocacy techniques.

These may provide ideas or inspiration

to readers as you develop your own

campaign strategies. Many demonstrate

how much is possible, in all regions of

the world, when people come together to

hope, plan, act and usher in progressive

change.

In producing this publication, the United

Nations and the Millennium Campaign aim

to support general democratic political

processes, as interpreted within individual

countries, and uphold the principles of the

Millennium Declaration and the MDGs.

The book should in no way be read as

an endorsement of particular political

parties, candidates or platforms.

Thomas Deve is the UNMC Africa Policy

Advisor

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28


Book Reviews

Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid, Farrar, Starus & Giroux, 2009Moyo argues that aid is easy money. If governments had to rely upon private financial markets they would becomeaccountable to lenders, and if they had torelyupontaxationtheywouldbecomeaccountable to voters. Aid is like oil, enabling powerful elites to embezzle public revenues. She catalogues evidence, both statistical and anecdotal.

But the core of the books is that there is a better alternative. Governments could find money for development throughfinancialmarkets, both international anddomestic. Historically, the governments of those countries that have successfully developed funded investment by recourse to international markets. In order to borrow, they needed decent credit ratings; to get the ratings, they had to be transparent and prudent. The discipline of transparency and prudence were as important as the money in promoting development. Some of the stronger African governments have at last started down this road. She also sees huge scope forinnovationsinmicro-finance,suchasthe group borrowing pioneered by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.

Patrick Chabal, Africa: The Politics of Suffering and Smiling, Zed Books, 2009In this book, Patrick Chabal discusses the limitationsofexistingpoliticaltheoriesofAfrica and proposes a different starting point arguing that political thinking ought to be driven by the need to address the immediacy of everyday life and death. How dopeopledefinewhotheyare?Wheredothey belong? What do they believe? How do they struggle to survive and improve their lives? What is the impact of illness and poverty? Are some of the critical questions the book seeks to answer.

In doing so, Chabal proposes a radically different way of looking at politics in Africa and illuminates the ways ordinary people “suffer and smile.”

William Gumede, The Democracy Gap: Africa’s Wasted Years, Zed Books, 2009.This book is a timely and powerful analysis of the fate of democracy in Africa and askswhy it has been so difficult tosustain. At the end of colonialism, the liberation movements promised so much in the name of freedom and democracy. However, most of the governments that sprang from these movements have behaved in undemocratic ways. Even the opposition parties which came to power after the end of corrupt and authoritarian regimes have not done much better. For ordinary citizens, the cost of this “democracy gap” has been devastating--uncountable numbers have lost their lives, there has been a staggering loss of human potential, development has been stunted and societies have imploded.

Wangari Maathai, The Challenge for Africa, Pantheon, 2009.Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, offers a refreshingly unique perspective on the challenges facing Africa, even as she calls for a moral revolution among Africans themselves, who, she argues, are culturally deracinated, adrift between worlds.The troubles of Africa today are severe and wide-ranging. Yet what we see of them in the media, more often than not, are tableauxvivantesconnotingpoverty,dependence, and desperation. Wangari Maathai presents a different vision, informed by her three decades as an environmental activist and campaigner for democracy.She illuminates thecomplexand dynamic nature of the continent, and offers “hardheaded hope” and “realistic options” for change and improvement. With clarity of expression, Maathaianalyzes the most egregious “bottlenecks to development in Africa,” occurring at the international, national, and individual levels--cultural upheaval and enduring poverty among them--and deftly describes what Africans can and need to do for themselves, stressing all the while responsibility and accountability.

Mahmood Mamdani, Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror, Pantheon, 2009.Mamdani continues to challenge political and intellectual orthodoxies in his re-examinationoftheconflictinDarfur.

While acknowledging the horrendous violence committed in the region,

Mamdani contends that Darfur is not the site of genocide, but rather a site where the language of genocide has been used as an instrument. The author believes that the war on terror provided an international context in which the perpetrators ofviolence in Darfur could be categorized as “Arabs” seeking to eradicate “black Africans” in the region.

Challenging these racial distinctions, Mamdani traces the history of Sudan and the origins of the current conflict fromatleast the 10th century and demonstrates how the divide between Arab and non-Arab ethnic groups is political rather than racial in nature.

The author persuasively argues that the conflict in Darfur is a political problem,with a historical basis, requiring a political solution - facilitated not by the U.N. or a global community but rather by the African Union and other African states. The book’s introductory and closing chapters are essential reading for those interested in the topic.

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance, Basic Civitas Books, 2009.African scholar Thiong’o examines thecollateral damage of colonization, focusing on the erasure of indigenous people’s cultural memory along with the renaming of people, places, and objects to reflectthe culture of the colonizer. Africans in the diaspora as well as those who remained on the continent were treated to the same erasure of all that preceded European conquest and colonization.

Thiong’o sees similar patterns among other cultures, whether the conquered people were Irish or Native American. But his specific concern is Africa,where European colonialism has left the continent fractured and searching for wholeness.

He points to a long tradition of African disaporic writers longing to reconnect to African culture. “Creative imagination is one of the greatest of re-membering practices,” and Thiong’o argues for a “re-membering” of indigenous African culture and language and ponders whether an African renaissance sure to happen following the dark ages of colonialism would be expressed inEuropean languages. “Memory resides in language,” he asserts.

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african development dialogue, a quaterly magazine from the un millennium campaign africa

News & Politics