Momodou,

I am not familiar with the "OK" mechanism but will do so once I can make time to.  Begin of forward -


Date:         Fri, 25 Jun 2004 09:12:01 -0500
From:         Momodou Camara <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      FWD:CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 189
To:           [log in to unmask]

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service

Issue 189                    23 June 2004

Contents:

1.   AFRICAN CIVIL SERVICE STRIVES FOR EXCELLENCE
2.   KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF NEPAD IS PUBLIC SERVICE
3.   A TRUE DEVELOPMENT ROUND SHOULD PROMOTE FAIR TRADE FOR DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
4.   PUTTING DEVELOPMENT IN THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
5.   SOLUTIONS FOR IMPOVERISHED YOUTH IN ASIA


AFRICAN CIVIL SERVICE STRIVES FOR EXCELLENCE


Mozambique=92s Minister of Public Administration, Jose Chichava, underlined
the importance of reform in public service to provide quality and
efficiency.

Commemorating Africa Civil Service Day on 23 June 2004, which coincided
with the gathering of more than 40 top level civil servants from
Commonwealth Africa at a Commonwealth Consultative Meeting on the New
Partnership for Africa=92s Development (NEPAD) at the Commonwealth
Secretariat in London, UK, Mr Chichava said: =93Governments should provide
enabling environments for the public sector to develop and to thrive. This
will translate into greater efficiency and productivity of the civil
service.=94

John Mitala, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Ugandan Civil
Service, and President of the African Association of Public Administration
and Management, commented: =93In this era of globalisation, Africa faces
unprecedented challenges, politically, economically and socially. Since the
public services are the implementing arm of our various governments, the
role expected of these public services cannot be over-emphasised. Public
servants should ask themselves what they can do and whether they have done
it for the good of the people. The public servants must sharpen their will
to serve the people unreservedly.=94

Africa Civil Service Day was instituted by the first Pan-Africa Conference
of Ministers of Public Service in Tangiers, Morocco, in June 1994. This
year=92s theme is =91The Civil Service: A Vehicle for Ensuring Better
Services=92.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said that the African public
service has been a major player in national development and urged
Commonwealth African countries to strive further to achieve excellence. He
stated: =93This day was set to recognise that democracy and successful
governance are built on the foundation of a competent civil service. Thus,
we must strategically position and define our roles in providing an
enabling support mechanism for delivery of public services at the national
and continental levels, in support of NEPAD in the promotion of sustainable
development.=94

Mr McKinnon believed that the civil service should play a role in promoting
socio-economic development and professionalism in its services to society.
He said: =93The civil service can be an effective channel to promote good
governance, peace and democracy. Africa Civil Service Day provides a golden
opportunity for governments, civil servants and citizens to celebrate
achievements, to reflect on the challenges ahead and to re-energise by
enhancing efficiency, productivity and dedication in serving the nation.=94

KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF NEPAD IS PUBLIC SERVICE

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has said that the African
public service is key to the success of the New Partnership for Africa=92s
Development (NEPAD) and that civil servants should take the lead in
implementing NEPAD=92s principles for growth. Speaking at the launch of a
three-day Commonwealth Consultative Meeting on NEPAD and the Role of the
African Public Service on 22 June 2004, organised by the Governance and
Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the
Secretary-General stated: =93African civil servants are at the heart of the
effort to improve transparency and good governance. With such a major role
to play, African public services must improve efficiency, deliver on better
programming, and more effective implementation is required.=94

Mr McKinnon said that NEPAD represents the boldest vision yet by Africans
to tackle the challenges facing the continent and drive their own
development.

=93It is an initiative owned by the African people and driven by the African=

people. NEPAD is also a basis for partnerships for countries outside
Africa. Thanks to contributions from G8 and the EU, increased capital flows
are being directed towards the African continent.=94

The Secretary-General commented that the four pillars of NEPAD -- peace and
security; democracy and good governance; regional co-operation and
integration; and capacity-building -- parallel the Millennium Development
Goals and the goals of the Commonwealth.

=93There is a growing partnership between NEPAD and the Commonwealth. Indeed=

at their meeting in Abuja, Nigeria in December 2003, Commonwealth Heads of
Government reaffirmed their strong support for NEPAD. They requested the
Commonwealth Secretariat to bring its various programmes in Africa within
the NEPAD framework and strengthen its partnership with NEPAD. I=92ve had
meetings with Professor Wiseman Nkhulu, Chairman of the NEPAD Secretariat,
to discuss issues and programmes of mutual interest and benefit to African
member states. Following on from this, I have personally written to all G8
leaders to encourage them to support the African countries in advancing the
goals of NEPAD.=94

Mr McKinnon expressed hope that this first Commonwealth consultation with
the African public service will pave the way for closer collaboration and
engagement in advancing the NEPAD agenda by focusing on one of the key
areas of the Commonwealth Secretariat=92s mandate, which is reform and
development of the public sector across the Commonwealth.

Deputy Secretary-General Winston Cox said that the Secretariat is ready to
share and transfer whatever knowledge it has gained in improving public
service efficiency, so that the benefits of an efficient public service can
have a positive impact on poverty eradication and sustainable socio-
economic development.

Professor Victor Ayeni, Director of the Governance and Institutional
Development Division, reiterated the important need for African countries
to align ongoing public sector reforms with the NEPAD agenda and that the
Secretariat will continue to give high priority to assisting countries in
this regard.


A TRUE DEVELOPMENT ROUND SHOULD PROMOTE FAIR TRADE FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

A new Commonwealth report recommends that the Doha Development Round should
promote fair trade for developing countries, including proposals to
prioritise free trade in commodities and services that facilitate the
movement of unskilled labour to enable workers in poor countries to provide
services to markets in rich countries.

The report, titled =91An Agenda for the Development Round of Trade
Negotiations in the Aftermath of Canc=FAn, was released by the Commonwealth
Secretariat in London, UK, on 21 June 2004. The report by the Initiative
for Policy Dialogue (a Columbia University-based network of international
development economists) was written by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz of
Columbia University and Andrew Charlton of Oxford University. It details
which reforms would deliver the largest gains to developing countries and,
consequently, should be given the highest priority in the Development Round.=


The report highlights the need to address non-tariff barriers, which have
taken on increasing importance as tariffs have come down. The economic
experts advocate reform of the legal framework to respond to dumping and
other alleged unfair trade practices to ensure that developing countries
are not disadvantaged. Professor Stiglitz, who was awarded the 2001 Nobel
Prize in economics, points out the importance of revising intellectual
property provisions (TRIPS) to narrow the =91knowledge gap=92 between rich a=
nd
poor countries. He says developing countries should not be forced to accept
obligations which overly restrict their scope for active development
policies.

=93It is an Advanced Industrial Country Round of what they think can pass as=

a Development Round. But we should not let them get away with it,=94 said
Professor Stiglitz at the launch of the Commonwealth report. In his report,
the academic says that developing countries should receive special and
differential treatment because they have been disadvantaged by unfair trade
negotiations in the past, and because of the differences in their current
circumstances. Developed countries have been widely criticised for their
agricultural subsidies and other trade restrictions which discriminate
against key agricultural and manufactured exports from developing
countries.

Professor Stiglitz argues that the problems are much broader and that
fundamental reform of the agenda and negotiating process will be required
if the Doha Round is to deliver on its promise to developing countries. He
said the Doha Round agenda was set by the special interests of advanced
industrial countries to serve their own needs. Professor Stiglitz
said: =93The average tariffs by the developed countries against the less
developed countries are higher than the average tariffs of the developed
countries against other developed countries. They discriminate against the
developing countries.

=93The fact that the agricultural subsidies of Europe, the US and Japan
exceed the entire income of Sub-Saharan Africa, you ask them, how can they
effectively compete? Unless we have fair procedures, we=92re not going to ge=
t
fair outcomes. And the current procedures are really not fair, they=92re
really not transparent, they=92re not democratic.=94

At the launch, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said it is important to
provide developing countries with real opportunities to trade their way out
of poverty. He stated: =93It will certainly remain impossible until we do
have a truly fair, transparent multilateral trading system. But the reality
is too often that the existing rules are skewed against poor countries.

=93We see three main problems for developing countries under the present
rules. Trade opportunities must be supported by greater aid flows.
Secondly, market access remains an important problem. This is what
developing countries really want, especially in those products in which
they have a distinct advantage. Thirdly, developing countries do lack the
influence over the decision-making process that creates the rules and
regulations. So none of us here and certainly around the Commonwealth want
the Doha Round to fail. It would damage a lot of confidence, especially at
a time when there are other issues in the world which do sometimes reflect
the disparities of wealth in the world.=94

=91An Agenda for the Development Round of Trade Negotiations in the Aftermat=
h
of Canc=FAn=92 is available on www.thecommonwealth.org.


PUTTING DEVELOPMENT IN THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

The need for journalists to report more actively on development issues was
highlighted at a workshop in New Delhi, India, on =91Reporting Development:
The Media and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)=92, held from 14 to 20=

June 2004.

These United Nations goals focus on eradicating poverty and hunger,
achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing
child mortality and improving maternal health, and combating HIV/AIDS,
malaria and other diseases by 2015. The aim also includes ensuring
environmental sustainability, and building a global partnership for
development. Journalists and communications specialists from Botswana,
India, Namibia, Seychelles and Uganda came together at the Indian Institute
of Mass Communication (IIMC) in New Delhi to discuss how the media can
support efforts to achieve the MDGs.

One focus of the workshop was the media=92s role in holding governments, non=
-
governmental organisations and other stakeholders to account on pledges,
such as the MDGs, that they have signed up to. Another was to address the
practical problems journalists face in reporting on development processes.

Participants debated and discussed the relevance of the MDGs to their own
countries=92 developmental needs, and examined a range of approaches to
reporting effectively on the achievement of development goals. Speakers
presented examples of both mainstream and alternative forms of media and
journalism. They emphasised the importance and effectiveness of
writing =91success stories=92 as well as documenting problems and failures i=
n
development processes.

The workshop was organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration
with the IIMC. Funding was provided by the Commonwealth Media Development
Fund, with support from the Government of India.

Dr B P Sanjay, Director of the IIMC, said, =93This workshop was in response
to the overall concern in many countries, especially the so-called
developing countries, about the mass media being completely swamped by
commercialism and whether there should be more space devoted to development
stories. It was with this objective that we decided to examine the MDG
framework and identify ways of involving mass media in the development
arena.=94

Participants were introduced to reliable sources of information for news-
gathering. There was also debate on the term =91development journalism=92 an=
d
its definition.

Jean Sutherland from =91The Namibian=92 newspaper said, =93I initially did n=
ot
want to come to the workshop -- it sounded too technical and I wondered how
media-related it really was. However, I=92m extremely glad I came. The debat=
e
has been vibrant, I=92ve made friends with many different people, and what I=

have gained from the workshop will enrich the news gathering process at my
newspaper. Among the other positive aspects is that we will collaborate on
exchanging stories which have universal appeal.=94

Another participant, Jemina Robert, a journalist with Nation Publishing,
Seychelles, said, =93It was useful and thought-provoking. I=92ve been inspir=
ed
on how to write a development story with a human face on it. Earlier I
wrote more on government policies and political stories. We never got to
the ground to see how people were living or what their health was like. I
now hope to make a difference in our communities with my writing, and
motivate them to do things for themselves.=94

The outcomes of the workshop included strategies to market development
stories to editors and readers. New approaches to development stories and
conceptual frameworks on how issues could be addressed were determined.

=93It was a very good workshop overall because of the range of people that
participated -=96 young and senior journalists as well as academics. As a
result, we had different perspectives on the role of media in development.
Another good thing is that there is going to be some follow-up. We have to
go back and write a story on development issues and for those who have
never written such a story it might be a crucial start,=94 said Bernard
Tabaire from =91The Monitor=92, Uganda.


SOLUTIONS FOR IMPOVERISHED YOUTH IN ASIA

Poverty and marginalisation issues affecting young citizens in Commonwealth
Asian countries were discussed at a Regional Training Workshop on Youth
Enterprise Development and the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI)
that was held on 14-19 June 2004 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The workshop was organised by the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) Asia
Centre in collaboration with the host country=92s Ministry of Youth and
Sports. Participants included Commonwealth member countries in the Asia
region -- Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives,
Singapore and Sri Lanka -- while resource persons were provided by the
Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, the NGO BRAC, and the International Centre for
Entrepreneurship and Career Development, India.


During the workshop, participants examined successful micro-finance
initiatives in the region. The main focus was on micro-finance models as
effective solutions for youth poverty. Participants shared experiences and
success stories from their respective countries, and were introduced to
various models of youth enterprise development and micro-credit --
including scale-up finance and credit programmes -- as well as organised
socio-economic group formation models. Participants also studied the CYCI,
which aims to provide solutions for youth unemployment and poverty through
opportunities for young people to create sustainable enterprises. CYCI
achieves this by supplying low-cost credit for small enterprises and
training in entrepreneurship development.

Commenting on the aim of the workshop, Raka Rashid, Regional Director, CYP
Asia Centre, said, =93Youth poverty is associated with lack of opportunities=
,
financial and infrastructural capital, skills and motivation. An estimated
440 million people are living below the poverty line in South Asia. In
light of global and regional concern over increasing youth unemployment,
there is a need to examine methods of poverty reduction. Small enterprises
and micro-finance have proven effective in this regard.

=93Outcomes of the workshop included a cadre of youth leaders exposed to the=

operation and management of micro-finance programmes and youth enterprise
development training. During the workshop, participants assessed the most
suitable youth enterprise development or micro-finance model for their
respective countries and they were also able to create action plans aimed
at enhancing youth employment opportunities in their countries.=94

The workshop was part of the commitment made in 1997 by Commonwealth Heads
of Government to =93work towards halving the proportion of people living in
extreme poverty by the year 2015=94 and in particular =93promote the role of=

micro-credit schemes in reducing poverty through increased assistance from
the international community=94.


____________________________________________________________________________=

CNIS Commonwealth News and Information Service


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Copyright: Commonwealth Secretariat 2004

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