Comments for Africa UP Close http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org Africa Program Fri, 03 May 2013 21:06:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 Comment on Mentorship, Coaching, Board Service, Sponsorship…How Will You Pay it Forward TODAY? by global.gender.current » Blog Archive » The Courage to Dare: African Women and Youth Innovators http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/mentorship-coaching-board-service-sponsorshiphow-will-you-pay-it-forward-today/#comment-995 global.gender.current » Blog Archive » The Courage to Dare: African Women and Youth Innovators Fri, 03 May 2013 21:06:27 +0000 http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/?p=1559#comment-995 [...] Liz Ngozi highlighted the work of several organizations supporting women’s involvement in ICT throughout Africa. Her slides are available here. She offered concrete suggestions on how the common person can get involved in supporting women innovators worldwide and has written about the subject in the blog here. [...] [...] Liz Ngozi highlighted the work of several organizations supporting women’s involvement in ICT throughout Africa. Her slides are available here. She offered concrete suggestions on how the common person can get involved in supporting women innovators worldwide and has written about the subject in the blog here. [...]

]]> Comment on Doing More: Linking Governance and Positive Maternal Health Outcomes by Jeremiah Asaka http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/doing-more-linking-governance-and-positive-maternal-health-outcomes/#comment-993 Jeremiah Asaka Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:10:00 +0000 http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/?p=1334#comment-993 It's sickening that in this day and age we still lose so many women like that to child birth. The Abiye program is commendable and worth emulating. I remember a similar initiative in Kenya in the late 80s and early 90s when I was growing up as a young man. Unfortunately, poor governance has a way of sweeping such noble initiatives off the map. It's time governments and especially leaders, upscaled their value for human life so that, for example, initiatives like the one in Ondo State can be replicated in the rest of Nigeria. It’s sickening that in this day and age we still lose so many women like that to child birth. The Abiye program is commendable and worth emulating. I remember a similar initiative in Kenya in the late 80s and early 90s when I was growing up as a young man. Unfortunately, poor governance has a way of sweeping such noble initiatives off the map. It’s time governments and especially leaders, upscaled their value for human life so that, for example, initiatives like the one in Ondo State can be replicated in the rest of Nigeria.

]]> Comment on Doing More: Linking Governance and Positive Maternal Health Outcomes by umar moulta ali http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/doing-more-linking-governance-and-positive-maternal-health-outcomes/#comment-992 umar moulta ali Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:40:00 +0000 http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/?p=1334#comment-992 Great article! This really brings to light some of the positive effects that civil engagement can have on a major health issue on the continent. Hopefully the Abiye program proves to be a long-term success that can serve as a model to other countries on how best to address problems with administering maternal health programs. I know it wasn't the author's focus, but I'd be interested to know how the program is being funded. Is there a long-term commitment toward making this program successful? Great article! This really brings to light some of the positive effects that civil engagement can have on a major health issue on the continent. Hopefully the Abiye program proves to be a long-term success that can serve as a model to other countries on how best to address problems with administering maternal health programs. I know it wasn’t the author’s focus, but I’d be interested to know how the program is being funded. Is there a long-term commitment toward making this program successful?

]]> Comment on Governing and Harnessing Natural Resources for Development: Can Africa Take the Lead? by Dr Mark P McHenry http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/governing-and-harnessing-natural-resources-for-development-can-africa-take-the-lead/#comment-940 Dr Mark P McHenry Thu, 08 Nov 2012 09:40:34 +0000 http://www.africaupclose.com/?p=234#comment-940 I’d have to agree with Professor Urama on the benefits to be had by African Governments that ‘stop doing different things and do things differently’. I’ve taken the liberty of discussing questions 1, 2, 3, and 5 in combination, and have included some reference to some of the many people also discussing this topic. In my opinion at least, it seems well known that effective and consistent governance is a precursor to inter-sectoral multiplier effects associated with structural reform generating economy-wide impacts, including sustaining public goods (Jayne, Mather, & Mghenyi, 2010; Woodhouse, 2009). Yet, many reform policies have produced a mixed record, and the introduction of private sector investment and competition must ideally be both guided by both ‘carrot and stick’ and enabled by commensurate regulation to prevent monopolistic behaviour by both bureaucracy and private companies with short-term interests (Speielman, Byerlee, Alemu, & Kelemework, 2010; Werblow & Williams, 1998). The distribution of benefits from public resource exploitation that benefits the few at the expense of the majority is the crux of the ‘resource curse’, and associated disputes are increasingly leading to social and political unease (Solomon, Katz, & Lovel, 2008). However, a colleague of mine, Professor Sam Makinda (2004) penned a few years ago that natural resource endowments alone are not a sufficient base for economic development, and must be accompanied by the establishment of a solid foundation for both formal and informal knowledge generation. Implicit in this assertion is that benefits should be invested in long-term infrastructure, education, and training which often literally requires at least a generation-long lead time to recoup. For example, in my home-state in Western Australia, State Agreements (contracts between the Government of Western Australia and proponents of major resource projects that specify terms, conditions, rights, and obligations for each party and a framework for ongoing cooperation) have fostered long term certainty for major projects and downstream beneficiation activities for over 50 years. Whilst not without their issues (and subsequent iterations) they have served the local population and general tax-base relatively well. As Crawford et al. (2003) noted for the agricultural sector, agreement between African governments and the private sector will also be required about the strategic long-term importance of major resource developments and associated beneficiation, upstream, and side-stream activities. At the interface between predominantly agricultural producers and new resource interests within the growing African ‘resource corridors’, in my own personal experience in Australia, practical skills and good education enables predominantly rural people to understand and adapt their own skills to innovate their own niche within the broader changing local economic environment. Enabled by long-term investment in infrastructure, and fundamental education and training, individuals can more autonomously move from subsistence to small-scale commercial farming and also diversify from such ‘back-breaking’ activities to a mix of mechanisation and non-mechanised on-and-off-farm activities. Therefore, as result of long-term investments in quality public goods and services, any individual is enabled to become an ‘engine’ within a local economy without a dependence on direct public expenditures or from a ‘corporate social responsibility’. Moreover, the prosperity of individuals enabled by quality public goods does not diminish the ability of the rest of the community to benefit - quite the opposite - it enhances it. Kudos to Professor Urama for raising these discussion questions. It may just catalyse some improved agreements between those involved with governance, those in the resources sector, and those of us upstream, side-steam, beneficiating, or otherwise. I’d have to agree with Professor Urama on the benefits to be had by African Governments that ‘stop doing different things and do things differently’. I’ve taken the liberty of discussing questions 1, 2, 3, and 5 in combination, and have included some reference to some of the many people also discussing this topic. In my opinion at least, it seems well known that effective and consistent governance is a precursor to inter-sectoral multiplier effects associated with structural reform generating economy-wide impacts, including sustaining public goods (Jayne, Mather, & Mghenyi, 2010; Woodhouse, 2009). Yet, many reform policies have produced a mixed record, and the introduction of private sector investment and competition must ideally be both guided by both ‘carrot and stick’ and enabled by commensurate regulation to prevent monopolistic behaviour by both bureaucracy and private companies with short-term interests (Speielman, Byerlee, Alemu, & Kelemework, 2010; Werblow & Williams, 1998). The distribution of benefits from public resource exploitation that benefits the few at the expense of the majority is the crux of the ‘resource curse’, and associated disputes are increasingly leading to social and political unease (Solomon, Katz, & Lovel, 2008). However, a colleague of mine, Professor Sam Makinda (2004) penned a few years ago that natural resource endowments alone are not a sufficient base for economic development, and must be accompanied by the establishment of a solid foundation for both formal and informal knowledge generation. Implicit in this assertion is that benefits should be invested in long-term infrastructure, education, and training which often literally requires at least a generation-long lead time to recoup. For example, in my home-state in Western Australia, State Agreements (contracts between the Government of Western Australia and proponents of major resource projects that specify terms, conditions, rights, and obligations for each party and a framework for ongoing cooperation) have fostered long term certainty for major projects and downstream beneficiation activities for over 50 years. Whilst not without their issues (and subsequent iterations) they have served the local population and general tax-base relatively well. As Crawford et al. (2003) noted for the agricultural sector, agreement between African governments and the private sector will also be required about the strategic long-term importance of major resource developments and associated beneficiation, upstream, and side-stream activities. At the interface between predominantly agricultural producers and new resource interests within the growing African ‘resource corridors’, in my own personal experience in Australia, practical skills and good education enables predominantly rural people to understand and adapt their own skills to innovate their own niche within the broader changing local economic environment. Enabled by long-term investment in infrastructure, and fundamental education and training, individuals can more autonomously move from subsistence to small-scale commercial farming and also diversify from such ‘back-breaking’ activities to a mix of mechanisation and non-mechanised on-and-off-farm activities. Therefore, as result of long-term investments in quality public goods and services, any individual is enabled to become an ‘engine’ within a local economy without a dependence on direct public expenditures or from a ‘corporate social responsibility’. Moreover, the prosperity of individuals enabled by quality public goods does not diminish the ability of the rest of the community to benefit – quite the opposite – it enhances it. Kudos to Professor Urama for raising these discussion questions. It may just catalyse some improved agreements between those involved with governance, those in the resources sector, and those of us upstream, side-steam, beneficiating, or otherwise.

]]> Comment on Peace Education in Fragile States: A Hope for the Future by Tina Robiolle-Moul http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/peace-education-in-fragile-states-a-hope-for-the-future/#comment-937 Tina Robiolle-Moul Sat, 27 Oct 2012 01:49:56 +0000 http://www.africaupclose.com/?p=193#comment-937 Thank you very much for your supportive and kind comments on this article: we hope to be able to come back to you soon with more news on this important topic and our related work in Burundi! Tina Thank you very much for your supportive and kind comments on this article: we hope to be able to come back to you soon with more news on this important topic and our related work in Burundi!
Tina

]]> Comment on Peace Education in Fragile States: A Hope for the Future by Hrabor http://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/peace-education-in-fragile-states-a-hope-for-the-future/#comment-936 Hrabor Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:05:19 +0000 http://www.africaupclose.com/?p=193#comment-936 Hi mrs Tina, thanks for thi wonderful information about peace education. My questionis,how can a candidate/student from anoter Africa country benefit? I mean those of us who cant afford to pay forschoo fees, but need education. Thanks, Harbor Hi mrs Tina, thanks for thi wonderful information about peace education. My questionis,how can a candidate/student from anoter Africa country benefit? I mean those of us who cant afford to pay forschoo fees, but need education.

Thanks,
Harbor

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