| 6. ACBF
SECRETARIAT ACTIVITIES |
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National Stakeholders'
Workshop for the National Multi-Sectoral Baseline
Survey of Corruption held in Harare, Zimbabwe
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On February
21, 2007, the Ministry of State Responsible
for State Enterprises, Anti-Corruption and
Anti-Monopolies, in collaboration with the
African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
organized a National Stakeholders' Workshop
for the National Multi-Sectoral Baseline Survey
of Corruption in Harare, Zimbabwe. Senior officials
from the Government of Zimbabwe, who included
the Minister of State Responsible for State
Enterprises, Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies,
Honourable Dr. Samuel Undenge; the Permanent
Secretary of the Office of the President; other
Permanent Secretaries from the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Rural Development;
as well as representatives of the private sector,
civil society, and religious groups, took part
in the meeting. Mrs. Temilade Oke, Manager,
ACBF Administration and Human Resources Department,
represented the Foundation.
Honourable Dr. Samuel Undenge,
Minister of State Responsible for State Enterprises,
Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies, officially
opened the workshop. In his opening remarks,
Honourable Dr. Undenge highlighted the Government
of Zimbabwe's political will and commitment
to undertake the survey independently and professionally,
and implement its outcomes. In this regard,
he underscored the need for all stakeholders
to be seriously involved in the exercise, as
the outcome would benefit the entire country.
He stated that the National Multi-Sectoral
Baseline Survey of Corruption is a key step
to effectively fight corruption in Zimbabwe.
ACBF representative Mrs. Temilade Oke on her
part emphasized the importance of fighting
corruption as it hinders development. She expressed
her satisfaction in the Government's willingness
to conduct the survey and to involve all stakeholders
at all stages of the survey - from design to
implementation - thereby ensuring stakeholders'
ownership of the survey process and results.
The aim of the workshop was
to consult stakeholders on the draft conceptual
and technical framework. The roles of the Survey
Steering Committee, which would act as the
coordinating body, and those of the Government
and partners (ACBF and UNDP) were clearly delineated.
In addition, stakeholders approved the current
members of the Survey Steering Committee and
commented upon the draft terms of reference
(TORs) and survey questionnaire developed by
ACBF. It is expected that ACBF would finalize
the TORs and survey instruments, while the
Survey Steering Committee would be organizing
a Methodology Workshop to agree upon the methodology
for data collection.
The National Stakeholders'
Workshop, the first consultation for this survey,
marks the beginning of the implementation process
of the National Multi-sectoral Baseline Survey
of Corruption in Zimbabwe. As part of its knowledge
management program, ACBF is playing a pivotal
role in the conduct of the Survey.
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LIBERIA
PARTNERS FORUM, 13-15 FEBRUARY 2007, WASHINGTON,
D.C
On 13-15 February
2007, the Government of the Republic
of Liberia held a Liberia Partners Forum
in collaboration with the United States Government,
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
European Commission (EU), the World Bank,
the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the
United Nations (UN) at the World Bank Offices
in Washington D.C.
The objectives of the Forum
were to review progress made by the Government
of Liberia on its reform and reconstruction
agenda and to examine remaining challenges;
to discuss and solicit partners' feedback on
the strategic priorities outlined in Liberia's
Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP);
and, to discuss financing requirements and
mechanisms associated with meeting pressing
reconstruction and development needs.
Issues discussed in the plenary
sessions included macroeconomic policies and
out turns, economic and social development
challenges, governance challenges, progress
with democratic transition, priorities for
reconstruction and development and dialogue
on finding mechanisms and donor coordination.The
Foundation and the Government of Liberia recently
signed a Grant Agreement totaling US$1.8 million
on February 8, 2007 for the Liberia Macroeconomic
Capacity Building Project (LIMPAC). The Foundation
is also supporting the following institutions
in Liberia: the Liberian Institute of Public
Administration in collaboration with UNDP and
the National Assembly of Liberia in the development
of a strategic development plan that will provide
a basis for coordinated institutional and human
capacity building of the Assembly. Dr. Adeboye
Adeyemo, Program Officer, represented the Foundation.
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ACBF AND MICROSOFT SET TO SIGN A MEMORANDUM
OF UNDERSTANDING
The African Capacity Building
Foundation and Microsoft are setting the stage
for the signing of a cooperative agreement
between the two institutions. This cooperation
emanated from discussions between the two organizations
on how they could work together to build sustainable
African capacity in the area of Information
and Communication technologies (ICTs). Several
areas of cooperation have been identified and
they include collaborative forums on best practice
sharing which will begin with the first Regional
ICT Best Practices Forum in Burkina Faso in
June 2007; ICT literacy training; implementation
of the new Citizenship Program for Africa which
include professional skills building for youth,
advanced training for government leaders on
ICT policy and implementation and programs
for NGOs which support organizational capabilities.
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CAPACITY BUILDING
IN AFRICA AND JAPAN'S ROLE
"The Role of ACBF in Capacity Building in Africa" - 16 March 2007,
Tokyo, Japan
On 16 March 2007, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government
of Japan, United Nations University and
Waseda Institute of International Strategy
held a co-organized conference on Capacity
Building in Africa and Japan's Role. The
aim of the conference was to draw attention
to the important issue of capacity building
in Africa to the Japanese public. The conference
was held ahead of the forthcoming TICAD
IV and G8 Summit to be held in Japan in
2008. This conference will play an important
role in the framework of the TICAD process
and become a unique opportunity to make
policy recommendations to the government
of Japan and this was also setting the
stage to launch Japan's call towards addressing
development issues in Africa.
The Foundation was represented
by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Soumana
Sako, who presented a paper on the Role
of ACBF in Capacity Building in Africa.
Dr. Sako highlighted in his paper that
there is consensus among development practitioners
that lack of capacity is the major cause
of Africa's underdevelopment. The conference,
he stated, is a further testimony of the
increasing realization of the need to support
Africa's development initiatives. Dr. Sako
highlighted that as ACBF takes on the implementation
of its second Strategic Medium Term Plan
(SMTP II, 2007 _ 2100) it has been guided
by decades of capacity building experiences
on the continent. As a further vote of
confidence in the relevance of the Foundation
and its performance over the years since
establishment, the World Bank has pledged
US$150 million to support the SMTP II.
On the issue of how Japan and ACBF approcach
capacity building, Dr. Sako highlighted
some similarities that include the approaches
of Joint Project Formulation based on recipient
countries' ownership; cost sharing; participatory
decision making process through consensus
building; and use of existing public institutions
and respect for local cultures as entry
points. These approaches mirror those of
ACBF which emphasize African ownership
and leadership of the capacity building
process. Therefore the establishment between
Japan and ACBF would be founded on a common
quest to build institutional and human
capacity in Africa. In his conclusion,
his paper emphasized that today Africa
stands at the crossroad for development.
Capacity or lack of it remains a determining
factor in shaping the direction the Continent
would proceed. Some of the issues discussed
at the conference include the roles of
civil society, donor communities, Japanese
International Cooperation to capacity building
in Africa; brain drain and migration in
Africa; and general analysis on capacity
building in Africa.
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