1. WORLD BANK DEVELOPMENT DIALOGUE SERIES The World Bank has began a series of consultations dubbed “Development Dialogue Series”. The Series is envisaged to be a programme of critical public discussions on issues of development. The objectives of the programme are to create a forum where development thinkers, practitioners, beneficiaries and other stakeholders could engage in regular dialogue over the critical issues and challenges of development in Ghana. Also, it is meant to provide rich inputs into public policy making, implementation and impact assessment. The idea of the World Bank is to partner with leading Ghanaian think tanks and institutions in the delivery of this service as a way of ensuring ample local participation in development thinking and discourse Under the theme, “Empowerment for Development”, the maiden edition was organized in partnership with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, the Ministry of Information and Presidential Affairs and the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists. The forum attracted participants from the Ministries, the financial sector, civil society groups and the general public. As GAPVOD’s membership is more “on the ground”, it is hoped that by partnering with the Bank in the organization of this series, we can better be able to reach the masses for whose benefit the Development Dialogue Series is actually being organised. Our idea is that after each session, members will go ahead and organize workshops at the local level to discuss and explain issues raised during the meetings. We are counting on your full participation to make this a success. Please find in another attachment a full report on the Maiden edition. GAPVOD Summary of Development Dialogue Series The theme for the Maiden Edition was “Empowerment for Development”. Speakers included Mr. Mats Karlsson, World Bank Country Director, Ken Ofori-Atta, Databank Ghana Ltd, and Prof. Takyiwa Manu, Director, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. The Chairperson for the occasion was Ms Esi Sutherland -Addy, a Senior Research Fellow of the University of Ghana.
Opening the Conference, Dr. Baffour Agyeman Duah of the Centre for Democratic Development said the theme for the event was timely and was chosen deliberately to highlight a new thrust in development thinking at the World Bank. He added that one of two priority areas identified for support to client governments by the Bank’s Strategic Framework Paper is “empowering poor people and investing in their assets”. Dr. Agyeman Duah said that the threshold of political empowerment is currently low in communities where the poor and vulnerable reside and that an accelerated decentralization process could go a long way to rectify this shortfall. He added that the recent Afrobarometer report on Ghana’s economy, which revealed a very depressing picture, confirmed the urgent need to rethink and redirect our approaches to development. Dr. Agyeman Duah hoped that by the end of the Series, answers will be found to the following questions: • How to empower Ghanaians and, for that matter, individuals and groups to overcome the challenges of development • In the context of the Bank’s definition of the concept, how to expand the assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives • What constitute poverty, who is poor, and how to help poor people. Is poverty gender biased and if so why? • And finally, what the responsibilities of those who are empowered, intellectually and materially, are to those who are not Speaking on the topic: “Toward Empowered Development”, the keynote speaker Mr. Mats Karlsson, the World Bank Country Director, defined development as simply the attempt to increase the life choices of people. He said that there is a strong, reasonable and promising drive to approach development from an outcome perspective, target the Millennium Development Goals or other outcome goals, and manage inputs, measurement and evaluation to get there. But this, he added, will only work if it is based on true respect for the choices and political priorities made nationally, and built on local participation. Mr. Karlsson said that all over the world poor people speak to their sense of powerlessness and voicelessness to the states, the markets and often other institutions in society as well - when in fact, these institutions should be serving them. He added that there is the need to understand poverty in its multi-dimensional nature and go beyond a narrow measurement approach, such as dollar income or human development indicators, to respect what people say about dignity, security, and reliance on their own strengths. He said there is the need to working which frees this potential because therein lay a tremendous source of barely tapped power.
The World Bank Country Director defined empowerment as the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives. “At the core of such an approach to empowerment is the respect of poor people, women and men, understanding that they are the sources of solutions rather than problems, assets rather than liabilities, partners and initiators rather than recipients and beneficiaries, ultimately subjects rather than objects”, he added. Mr. Karlsson praised the openness that has characterized the Ghanaian society for the past decade and which has led to continuous progress in improved governance. He encouraged Ghanaians to build upon it, through continued decentralization, inclusion of all parts of the country, freeing entrepreneurship and improving the investment climate, enhancing the transparency and centrality of the budget, building capacity at national or local levels, so that the market can flourish and wealth and jobs can be created. Making references from the World Bank’s ‘Sourcebook’: ‘Empowerment and Poverty Reduction’, the Country Director said that four elements are important to ensure empowerment of the poor and marginalised. These he said included access to information and knowledge, inclusion and participation, social accountability, and their capacity to organize themselves locally. Mr. Karlsson said that since informed citizens are able to make better choices, there is the need for an active dissemination of the very best knowledge, also local knowledge, using whatever technology is the most suitable, from word of mouth to modern ICT. He continued that informed women and men can participate in meaningful consultation – setting priorities, understanding trade-offs and making informed decisions. “Accountability applies as much to public leaders, officials, and employees as it does to anyone who has entered a contractual relationship to provide a service, private or public”, he stated. Mr. Karlsson said communities need to be able to organise, to set priorities, and also to co-produce outcomes, adding that building from below, local organisational capacity will impact higher levels of government. He also suggested five approaches towards empowering the poor. These include provision of basic services to the poor, improved local governance, improved national governance, pro-poor market development, and access by poor people to justice. Finally, the Country Director mentioned two critical areas that must be looked at on issues of empowerment and development. This include growth, investment and jobs, and the production of better services for the people.
In his contribution, the Executive Chairman of Databank Financial Service, Mr. Ken Ofri-Atta said there is the need for Africa to rely on itself as donor support continually dwindles. He said there is too much over reliance on donors and a neglect of the private sector adding that the intellectual space provided for donors far outweighs what they actually provide. He saw as ironical, the fact that even though donor agencies are supported by the private sector in their countries of origin, they refuse to engage the private sector in the countries where they operate. “We have to release our governments from donor capture so that they can pay attention to the private sector,” he added. The Executive Chairman said there is the need for the country to develop and motivate young leaders with a clear vision for the development of the country. Professor Takyiwa Manu of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana in her contribution, suggested that we go beyond the rhetoric and look at the fundamentals. According to her, there are many other factors that work in development and empowerment that are overlooked. She suggested that countries should adopt proper growth strategies before opening up into liberalization. She said while it is important to work with multinational institutions, the country should be able to choose its own development agenda that will facilitate rapid development of the country’s economy. Professor Manu called on the World Bank to respect the choice of developing countries and welcomed the new approach of the World Bank to dialogue with them. Participants welcomed the new development agenda to empower the poor through dialogue and expressed the hope that views gathered during the dialogue series will be sent to the poor in the countryside for whom such sessions are being held.