Source: Economic and Social Foundation (ESRF), Tanzania
The paper analyzed foreign aid management in Tanzania. The paper used secondary information and qualitative data from various research studies, Government institutions and NGO’s. Among others the paper has examined trends in the volume of official development assistance to Tanzania; changing forms of Aid; sectoral forms of Aid; and the institutional framework for managing aid. In addition the paper has addressed the management of Aid including aspects of effectiveness of aid, capacity building, aid coordination and aid conditionally.
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Source: Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation, Ethiopia
This paper examines the efficiency of food aid targeting in rural Ethiopia based on empirical evidence from a survey of a nationally representative sample of 4,166 farm households conducted by the Grain Market Research Project (GMRP) of MEDAC in collaboration with the Central Statistical Authority (CSA). The survey was administered in June 1995 and covered the 12-month period from the beginning of the 1995 meher harvest to the beginning of the 1996 meher harvest.
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Source: AFRODAD
Foreign debt is illegitimate if it is against national law; it is unfair, improper or objectionable; or if it infringes upon public policy (Hanlon, 2002). Four categories of illegitimate debt have been identified. These categories are unacceptable loans, unacceptable conditions, inappropriate loans and inappropriate conditions (Hanlon, 2002).
These two studies elaborate on the concept of illegitimate debt and analyse and review information, perceptions and perspectives of the concept of illegitimate debt. They also attempt to identify and quantify the DRC Congo's and Malawi’s illegitimate debt and explain its structure
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Source: AFRODAD
Seven years from the Millennium Declaration we are faced with the inevitable need to reassess the current levels of poverty, the instruments that are in place for tackling poverty and indeed the constraints that must be resolved. The fact that the MDGs represent an unprecedented commitment by all nations and institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, to implement and realize the MDG goals and targets needs to continue to be emphasized at all stages. Part of the global ability to realize the MDGs is dependent on financing of such development. Aside being affirmed as part of Goal 8 in the MDGs such understanding has also been reaffirmed in the 2002 Monterrey Consensus on enhancing financing for development. AFRODAD has released four publications assessing partnership with the developed world in four countries – Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi.
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Source: African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
The paper examines the impact of selected structural adjustment policies on food production in Zambia. Using a four-year panel of post-harvest data, a system of six crops, two variable inputs and three fixed inputs is estimated. The resulting supply responses suggest a negatively sloped supply curve for sorghum and millet, which is attributed to the presence of credit constraints. Simulations are conducted to asses the impact of the removal of subsidies and exchange rate controls. The results indicate that these policies have led to increased food production although the magnitude of the increase is in general not very large. The results also indicate a significant fall in fertilizer use. Information, credit and distance to markets are also very important variables for food production. Deliberate efforts are needed to develop both input and output markets and to provide more formal credit institutions targeted at small-scale farmers.
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Source: Oxfam
Poor countries around the world are crippled by the ‘debts’ they have to pay to rich countries; the impact on women and girls is particularly brutal. These debts worsen poverty by forcing poor countries to give money to the rich, even though many of the debts are of dubious origin, so-called ‘illegitimate debts’.
The debt crisis has its origin in loans given in the 70s and 80s: many loans were given recklessly to oppressive or corrupt regimes by rich governments in return for support in the Cold War; others arose through unfair loan terms; yet others were given by private companies in return for contracts which were often overpriced and of little value to the borrowers. But the rich world ignores its responsibility for poor countries’ debt crises, either continuing to demand payment or only cancelling debts on their own very restricted terms.
Globally, women and girls are more likely to be poor and disadvantaged. They are routinely excluded from decision-making at all levels, and have almost no independent control over resources: only 1% of the world’s land and property belongs to women. Less likely to be educated than men, many women are totally dependent on their husbands, and live with the daily threat of socially-condoned violence. Despite this systematic discrimination, societies worldwide depend on the skills, work and knowledge of women to weather poverty: finding food to put on the table, caring for the sick, and bringing up the next generation.
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Source: Tax Justice Network for Africa
Africa's economies are often viewed as being in desperate need of external resources, dependent on inflows of foreign aid. In fact, recent estimates show that Africa is a net creditor to the rest of the world, with around 30% of sub-Saharan Africa's GDP being moved offshore. Tax havens and capital flight mean that Africa's wealth is flowing to bank accounts in Monaco, Switzerland, Jersey and London, with the collusion of some of the world's wealthiest countries and companies. This briefing identifies some facts and figures regarding: capital flight and African debt; tax evasion and avoidance; corruption; profit laundering and tax dodging.
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Source: The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa
In countries that are heavily dependent on agriculture for employment and income, underperformance is not only untenable but also potentially explosive. This is the case in the countries of eastern and central Africa—Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda—where tens of millions of people face ongoing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. This report, the result of a two-year collaboration between the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa, identifies how eastern and central African countries can stimulate agricultural growth to address these dire circumstances. The findings suggest that improved agricultural performance will require investments that foster productivity growth, strengthen markets, improve rural linkages between the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors, and promote regional cooperation. Of particular interest is the identification of the most performance-enhancing commodity subsectors, in an economywide setting, and the “agricultural development domain†singled out as most promising for targeted investment. These results and their implications are being widely discussed and debated in the countries of eastern and central Africa, in many cases shaping policy and investment strategies.
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Author: South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)
This paper briefly explores the relationship between regional structures such as SADC and the continental union, looking at how established regional organs and substructures can dovetail (or not), with the corresponding continental ones, many of which are newly formed. It seeks to determine the potential for synergy and complementarity between these organs and to examine whether structures are being duplicated. Since the APRM is perhaps the single most innovative initiative of the AU, the paper attempts an analysis of the APRM as a tool that could have significant impacts on regional integration and regional development and explores the potential for regional structures such as SADC to become actively involved in the peer review process.
Ultimately, the paper attempts to answer the question of whether the AU’s (and especially NEPAD’s) laudable but lofty aims can, in part, be operationalised via regional bodies.
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Source: SARPN
The participants in the Bamako workshop were a diverse group, representing middle- and low-income countries, fragile states, donor headquarters and country offices, civil society organizations, Francophones and Anglophones, large and small countries, and countries that had long been involved in the harmonization, alignment, and results agendas as well as those that are relatively new to the work.
Countries shared experiences—for example, on developing a national action plan or collaborative assistance strategy, using budget support, strengthening a results focus, introducing independent assessments, building capacity. Small countries, fragile states, and middle-income countries shared their own perspectives on the challenges of this work. Many countries urged donors to support the country in exercising leadership, align their aid with country priorities, harmonize their approaches at the country level, and delegate more decision-making power to their local offices.
The greatest value of the workshop was in raising the awareness of the Paris Agenda and its implications for those countries in the region that have not yet been engaged with their partners on aid effectiveness issues. Some of these countries declared that they plan to commit formally to the Paris Declaration and also take part in the monitoring exercise. Participants that are further along the line in this area found value in the experiences of other participants, which they can reflect in the plans for their own ministries, countries, and institutions. Some countries declared that they will develop national or sectoral strategies and action plans; and some will engage more with stakeholders, pursue capacity building, strengthen their monitoring and evaluation systems, or conduct independent assessments—again, selecting actions appropriate to their particular circumstances.
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