Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Promise in Africa

Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Promise:
Human Security, Human Capital, Employment and Entrepreneurship Development in Africa
Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD
Professor of Public Policy, School of Graduate Studies,
College of Business and Economics, AAU
Background notes & transcript of a lecture at the
AU/UN Finance & Economic Ministers Forum, side events
March 29-31, 2015, AU, Addis Ababa

As a region of young people; whose visions of human development and human security are defined by the tenacity to achieve the Compact defined by the Millennium Development Goals, the youth are right to aspire to forms of transformational development in terms of equity, a healthy population, an educated, fully engaged and employed youth with a solid family structure. Nonetheless, the reality is of one of marginalization, demanding radical developmental and demographic reconfiguration. The later breeds despondency, desperation, intolerance and of course belligerence; so much so that political forces in every corner have mobilized the youth for violent ends, often to the detriment of their very own livelihoods.
The unfolding human tragedy, its impact on human security and development are indeed too ghastly to contemplate. Whereas, the challenge simply stated, underpins the need to connect to the energies of the youth, they have instead, for so many years were encouraged to look to outsiders to provide the means and processes of change. They have been discouraged from mobilizing for local actions and for their own development, finding themselves in positions of unequal power, making it very tempting for many in politics to dictate conditions and terms of relationships on them.The purpose here is to propose means that are designed to develop strategies to mobilize nations and civil societies to direct policies and programs to address the compelling and evolving implications of unemployment and human insecurity; so that it does not further reverse human and social capital development in the sub-Region. The need for collective learning about responses and the responsibility to those whose suffering provided the basis for that learning will never be more urgent than it is now. Unfortunately, such lessons, which may be learned through the shocks administered by an uncompromising reality, are rarely translated quickly into personal or organizational memories and the inherent will to change. The reasons for this are sometimes rooted in human inertia, weakness and self-interest. They are equally often the products of a genuine confusion about how to act most effectively in an environment that seems to be growing more complex.
In 1945, the human community proclaimed a bold and revolutionary vision of the future; where the youth will engage collectively as result of the responsible action of politically mature citizens acting in the framework of a free society. As we stand on the watershed of the old and new Millennia, demands for greater democratic space and youth participation in Horn of Africa have increased the accountability of state actors. This tall order would revolutionize approaches to self-directed human development that only a new paradigm shift and commitment to new organizing principles can achieve. Hence, the need to focus on practical strategies for employment based safety nets and employment generation loans that have transformed hitherto underemployed economies into forces of livelihood sustainability and human security.
Human qualities for development
A major contributing factor to the appalling situation is that there is and has been a shallow understanding of and a feeble grip on, the essential components that constitute the required human qualities for development and the intensive and comprehensive nature of their development and utilization processes. As such, important components and commitment required to build and use a quality labor force for accelerating and sustaining growth are not properly addressed in the education, training and productivity programs. Nations have failed to produce and retain the necessary pool of self-confident, healthy, knowledgeable and skilled public and private sectors labor force, which is full of initiatives and resourcefulness with a sense of purpose, work ethics, vision, integrity and direction. Pronouncements have been made regarding employment and career development programs in m ay forums. Yet, like many other policy efforts, these have not yielded the desired results. Human capital flight from the region has reached high proportions leaving behind an ill-prepared labor force. Skills, knowledge and positive work habits continued to be in short supply. School systems are in shambles in most countries. Strong private sector leadership at all levels of society is essential for an effective auguring of quality labor market. It is essential that their efforts should be complemented by the full and active participation of civil society and the state. Leadership involves personal commitment and concrete actions.
Policy and strategic collapse
While the degree of awareness on the challenges has improved over the past few years, the tendency for governments to treat these challenges as yet another routine issue that needs to be tackled through five-year development plans is tantalizing. The fact remains, however, that these challenges will increasingly claim the livelihoods of many families and the economic backbone of many nations; retarding human development to a level where it becomes impossible to reverse the trend in much less time than the development cycles of states. These are further complicated by fear of the unknown, traditional power dynamics, lack of experience or awareness of collective action, poor local leadership and the lack of energy, time and willingness to devote to activities other than subsistence.
An ambitious African youth policy of 2004 zeroes on enabling the youth to play an active role in building a democratic society and good governance, as well as in social and economic development. It further aims to deliver a democratically oriented, knowledgeable and skilled, organized and disciplined enterprising youth generation. Nevertheless, the low levels of opportunities for productive employment only serve to amplify the nation’s penury. This is not without its politico-ethical consequences. It is echoed in the politicization of violent and fearless youth and the mass diasporization that now crowded Western capitals, as a source of skilled human capital. Failure to utilize such a lynchpin factor of production is not acceptable. Radical policy and strategic measures to boast the private sector’s role and capacity need to be launched with vigor to develop the management and functionings of the labor.
Knowledge management and Communities of Practice:
Evidence of sufficient knowledge and information about the business sector is another indicator. Progress in information systems on micro-economic behavior including labor market networks and the specific requirements of technology transfer and adaptation are all preconditions for sound policy and strategy analysis, formulation and management. Planning and policy-making are characterized by on-going dialogue between government and different groups of economic actors and by regular exchange of electronic data and information on specific needs and requirements including the critical area of technology transfer and development. Further, a coherent and coordinated approach of government agencies in their dealings with the business community, flexibility in response to changing circumstances; attention to detail on objectives agreed upon and emphasis on achieving high levels of performance must be developed.
Entrepreneurship development
Entrepreneurs that are expected to employ the vast army of labor and that operate on a small-to intermediate-scale usually exhibit fairly sophisticated organizational skills. Nevertheless, as their businesses grow along the small-to intermediate-scale continuum, they often face constraints such as limited managerial capabilities; difficulties with technology transfer and adaptation; and, as in the case of informal sector micro-entrepreneurs, inadequate or inappropriate public provision of enterprise-level support. If entrepreneurship is to become the vehicle of growth, ‘graduation’ of informal sector micro-enterprises to better endowed establishments and higher levels of value-added and economic diversification is to be achieved, it is clear that the deficit of skills that are necessary to establish a range of capabilities on the managerial side must surmounted (Costantinos, 2004).
An efficient and a development-oriented private sector provide the nourishment, which markets require to grow and function effectively. Markets themselves provide the credit ingredients, which the private sector requires to grow, expand and contribute to development. Thus, there is a reciprocal and mutually productive relationship between the private sector and credit and capital markets. Responsibility for their implementation has been assigned to stakeholders at the national, sub regional and regional levels. Further analysis suggests that we should incorporate the requirements of establishing capital markets and strengthening the private sector in the list of priorities on their macro-economic reform programs. The banking system must be functioning taking care of the money markets. Consequential growth response of the latter should give a boost to capital markets, which in turn provide capital for SHD (Costantinos, 2008).
Human security
Human security, a post-Cold War concept, is a multi-disciplinary understanding of security involving a number of research fields, including development studies, international relations, strategic studies and human rights. While the “HDR originally argued that human security requires attention to both freedoms from fear and from want; divisions have gradually emerged over the proper scope of that protection and over the appropriate mechanisms for responding to these threats. The Freedom from Fear School seeks to limit the practice of human security to protecting individuals from violent conflicts. The Freedom from Want School focuses on the basic idea that violence, poverty, inequality, diseases and environmental degradation are inseparable concepts in addressing the root of human insecurity. Different from Freedom from Fear, it expands the focus beyond violence with emphasis on development and security goals. In reality both should serve as important impetus to global action” (UNDP, 1994).
Conclusion
Indeed, there is no more compelling raison d'être nor a mission-objective so utterly entrenched in the preservation and, even advancement of human-kind, than good governance and leadership that can lead a social league to relate cogently to an epidemic of ignorance and hence under-employment that has spun out of control. With few exceptions, nations have failed to win popular legitimacy - possessing relatively few authentic social organizations that can articulate and aggregate social interests. Civic leadership remain generally non-existent or at best, weak.
Hence, the central hypothesis in entrepreneurship development is that the relative strength of political organizations determines the rules of the political game that are installed. It requires a plural set of political organizations, which promote and protect rules of peaceful political participation and competition. Together, institutions (plural organizations plus rules of accountability) ensure control of the state executive. These create enabling environment for entrepreneurship development

• ingredients of enabling environment for entrepreneurship development: avoidance of bureaucratic barriers and efficient and reliable infrastructure:
• expansion and establishment of intermediary financial institutions: establishment of education and training institutions, healthy business-government relationship, stable political and regulatory climate, development of grassroots entrepreneurship:
• government institutions have been created to serve the large businesses: expansion of the role of civic associations, sound and stable macroeconomic policy framework, and on improving competitiveness and employment opportunities

Countries must develop clear-cut national youth and employment policies that match trained young people to the labor market and financing policies that would ensure production of viable skilled work force. Institutions of higher learning must expand their education and training programs to include soft skill packages – communication skills, teamwork, problem solving, leadership, innovative thinking, etc.
On value for money and accountability in service delivery:
Institution of higher learning must ensure multi-sectoral training in order to produce a multi-skilled labor force. Countries must continue with their programs to decentralize and devolve services, embrace the opportunities brought by ICT as well as maintain capacity building in education and health, and promote mobile services to hard-to-reach communities. Countries must embrace social accountability for service delivery and empower citizens to demand quality services.
On risk protection, inclusion and social cohesion:
Countries of the region and the international community must urgently address the serious problems of human trafficking and piracy, as well as the peculiar situations in fragile states in the region. Member states must develop national and regional policy frameworks on education focusing on science and technology with revised curriculum to address the demands of the labor market. Countries must revive adult literacy, distance learning, early childhood nutrition and education.
On migration, labor mobility and remittances:
Countries must produce what they can absorb and export, while considering the Push-Pull factors in a globalized, technological 21st Century as well as creating jobs and introducing investment incentives for nationals and the Diaspora of the region. Countries must facilitate brain circulation through support of migration that provide exposure/expertise and improve education systems that add value to migrant labor making them competitive in regional and international markets.
See paper here or copy and paste this link into your browser https://www.academia.edu/11801659/Unlocking_the_Entrepreneurial_Promise_Human_Security_Human_Capital_Employment_and_Entrepreneurship_Development_in_Africa6OTAzZTljNGNmMzVkZTA1

Theories of Governance and New Public Management:

If Max Weber and Woodrow Wilson were to suddenly appear on the landscape of modern public administration, normative theories in hand, it is likely they would be unable to recognize the field. The comprehensive, functionally uniform, hierarchical organizations governed by strong leaders who are democratically responsible and staffed by neutrally competent civil servants who deliver services to citizens (Ostrom, 1973) – to the extent they ever existed – are long gone. They have been replaced by an ‘organizational society’ in which many important services are provided through multi-organizational programs. These programs are essentially “interconnected clusters of firms, governments, and associations which come together within the framework of these programs” (Hjern and Porter, 1981, pp. 212-213).
These implementation structures operate within a notion of governance about which a surprising level of consensus has been reached. There is a pervasive, shared, global perception of governance as a topic far broader than ‘government’; the governance approach is seen as a “new process of governing, or a changed condition of ordered rule; or the new method by which society is governed” (Stoker, 1998, p. 17). Similarly, in the scholarship that has followed the ‘Reinventing Government’ themes of public effectiveness, much has been written of New Public Management practices by which governance theory is put into action (Mathiasen, 1996; Lynn, 1996, 1998; Terry, 1998; Kelly, 1998; Peters and Pierre, 1998).
In this complex, devolved mode of service delivery, the unit of analysis for some students of policy implementation is the network of non-profit organizations, private firms and governments. As Milward and Provan note, in policy arenas such as health, mental health, and welfare, "...joint production and having several degrees of separation between the source and the user of government funds...combine to ensure that hierarchies and markets will not work and that networks are the only alternative for collective action" (2000, p. 243). The purpose here is to attempt to set forth a theoretical framework for the study of welfare policy implementation by synthesizing the related and theoretically consistent concepts of governance, New Public Management, and networks. I then discuss how this framework can be applied to welfare policy implementation. I follow the lead of scholars who have attempted to offer coherence and synthesis to a research field that historically has been dominated by top-down and bottom-up perspectives.
The need to inform implementation scholarship is great. As O’Toole concludes in his review of the literature on multi-organization policy implementation, the field is complex, without much cumulation or convergence. Few well-developed recommendations have been put forward by researchers, and a number of proposals are contradictory…two reasons for the lack of development are analyzed: normative disagreements and the state of the field’s empirical theory. Yet there remain numerous possibilities for increasing the quality of the latter. Efforts in this direction are a necessary condition of further practical advance. (1986, p. 181).
Click here for the paper or https://www.academia.edu/2115083/Theories_of_Governance_and_New_Public_Management

Ethiopia: Strategic arenas for WTO accession

Strategic arenas for WTO accession: Public Policy Trajectories that lure in the rewards of Globalization to Ethiopian Businesses
Costantinos BT Costantinos, PhD
School of Graduate Studies, College of Business and Economics, AAU, costy@costantinos.net

Introduction - While Ethiopia has recorded significant achievements in GDP growth, it faces predictable armor of trials rife in poor nations with too few mechanism and wherewithal, while also wrestling with the perennial problem of sequencing policy reforms, all subject to doctrinal reins. Given the very slim boundaries for maneuver imposed by abject poverty, deficits and a complex interlace in its political fabric, getting the priorities right are the central issues to be addressed. Using comparative analyses with other African nations that have ac¬ceded to WTO accords, the research delves into impact of WTO accession on businesses and the requisite preparatory basis of a reform pedestal on which the nation can be a winner in this game. Findings of the research undergird eloquent testimony of complexity and uncertainty theories and functioning economic models that Ethiopia can emulate, not only to accede to WTO revised accession regimes, but also to compete successfully in the global arena; underpinning the fact that this can be complex, when reforms are subject to ideological therapy. Hence, managed restructuring of the public sector, establishing institutional capacity for policy analysis, formulation and coordination, regulatory capacity, advancing fiscal sustaina¬bility are gleaned as a panacea for change and transformation. Creating a merit based and metric civil service is a basic requirement for competing in the WTO arena to achieve higher allocative and productive efficiency, augmenting private sector share, improving public sector financial health and PPPs.
Economists have identified theoretically the reason why countries join WTO stating the argument that governments may be in the position to pursue what is known as beggar-thy-neighbor policies and that they will agree to sign international trade agreements as a way of mitigating the incentives to do so (Staiger, 1995). Countries can pursue the beggar-thy-neighbor policies by imposing externalities on their trade partners in the absence of an agreement, and the main mechanism through which a country can do so is through changes in terms-of-trade. These changes are, of course, only possible due to the countries large size or its monopolistic position in the market. The economy of poor nations like Ethiopia is characterized by remoteness (large economic distance from major markets, reliance on a small number of export good, mostly raw materials, weak administrative capacities, large economic and ecological vulnerability, lack of market-oriented institutional infrastructure and political instability often compounded by civil disorder. Given such characteristics, the gains from WTO membership seem to be small if they are assessed only in terms of improved market access for the traditional exports (Ibid). Raw materials mostly enjoy low or zero tariffs in OECD countries and bottlenecks on the exporting nation’s side seem to hamper export expansion more than policy-induced barriers on the demand side. Furthermore, the poor nations are typically not price setters in the world markets of individual raw materials and therefore have not been targets of anti-dumping measures, quantitative restrictions, or other non-tariff barriers to trade.
Nevertheless, there are a number of good reasons for LDCs to join the WTO (Rolf et al., 2000). The attractiveness of WTO is that governments are able to obtain an improved access to markets for their exports. The accession itself will not affect the most favored nation rates of trade partners of the acceding countries. However, the latter will be able to benefit from all commitments made by signatories of the WTO agreements in trade negotiations. By staying outside the WTO, the countries’ trade partners would be in the position to apply discriminatory tariffs against non-members. In addition, non-member countries would have to negotiate border measures with their partners bilaterally or regionally. This may result in exposure to undue negotiating strength of their partners. The multilateral trading system is, therefore, particularly important for small countries which have a limited power to exploit their (small) size to improve their terms of trade. Their impact on terms of trade may be enhanced if terms (and, therefore, world prices) are negotiated on a multilateral level. The beneficial effect of the WTO is also based on enhancing the credibility of government policies.
Governments often face a “credibility gap” in trying to convince foreign and domestic investors, and the rest of the business community about their commitments to particular polices. By framing the countries’ concessions into legal commitments, the WTO membership provides powerful guarantees of governments’ policy directions. Unlike unilateral policy reforms, multilateral commitments are more credible, in particular, because of the strategic interaction between government and private sector, which makes the agreement more attractive. In this setting, governments use international trade agreements to enhance the credibility of their policy choices with respect to the private sector. The ‘credibility gap’ is particularly important and present in the case of many if not most transit and less developed countries. There is also beneficial effect of the membership on domestic policies and institutions involved in the conduct of international trade. Acceding countries are required to put in place a set of norms and institutions, which support liberalization in practice. Countries have been often benefited from reductions of MFN rates even if they remained outside the GATT/WTO. In such situations, the main benefit of joining the WTO would be the certainty of markets, increase transparency, and promote the rule of law, contract enforcement and the evaluation of an independent judicial system.
In principle, nothing would prevent governments from putting in place these norms and regulations on a unilateral basis. The role of the WTO in this process is to facilitate the introduction of effective reforms not only by reinforcing the credibility of the government’s trade policies but also help introduce the policies that are based on best-practices and that must be harmonized (Kiichiro, 2000). WTO is considered to play an important and positive role is its contribution to the predictability, security and transparency of market access and the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. The possibility of resolving dispute through the dispute settlement mechanism may appear, in particular to smaller and weaker countries, as one of the most tangible benefits from WTO accession (Mansoob, 1999).
There are very few effective vehicles to resolve international trading dispute outside commercial arbitration, and those that exist can pity small trading nations against big ones. The WTO dispute settlement mechanism provides a uniquely fair, accessible and effective opportunity to each WTO member. WTO membership including the process of accession, leads to sizeable technical assistance in the form of training with respect to the legal framework of the multilateral trading system and its economic underpinnings. Such human capital is indispensable for building up institutional infrastructure, in particular for anchoring private property rights. WTO is institutionally prepared and financially endowed to help poor countries to form human predictability of such benefits, which are by no means guaranteed for outsiders (Langhammer and Lucke, 2000).
WTO membership encourages LDCs to open their domestic markets even if they can take a free rider under “special and differential treatment” for a certain period. Apart from the medium term allocative efficiency gains of import market opening in terms of lowering the implicit tax on exports and stimulating resource reallocation and export diversification, import market opening implies a concrete short term gain. Domestic prices of imports will often fall by more than the experience of sub-Saharan Africa (Yeats, 1999) that countries with high tariff levels also pay higher CIF (Cost Insurance Factor) prices for imports because restrictive tariff regimes are inextricably intertwined with rent seeking activities of traders and domestic procedures(ibid). Finally, the opportunity for acceding countries to shape the further rules and disciplines of the WTO is cited as a benefit. Acceding countries will undoubtedly be interested in participating actively in subsequent multilateral trade negotiations since only through direct negotiations rather than through an oversight from sidelines may they hope of protecting their interests (Kiichiro, 2000).
The fiscal costs of reducing import tariffs may be significant because taxes on international transactions are a major source of government revenue. This may be less of an issue in the early stages of trade liberalization when prohibitive tariffs are lowered and imports increase. In the medium to long run, however, substantial reductions in average tariff rates require a broadening of government’s tax bases. In the meantime, poor nations may need to concentrate on reducing the dispersion of tariff protection across commodity groups in order to eliminate the resulting distortions, while reductions in the average level of protection remain limited by fiscal considerations. A more liberal trade regime encouraged by membership may expose businesses to stronger competition from abroad, often from more advanced developing member states rather than from OECD countries. The result may be a short-term deterioration of the current account since higher imports due to market opening materialize faster than higher exports due to imported market access abroad.
The external vulnerability of countries may thus be aggravated if the time lag between the two effects cannot be shortened. In any case, least developed countries can resort to long adjustment periods as they accede to the WTO (Murshed, 1999). Sovereignty is curtailed and short-term maneuvering in trade related polices is discouraged and restricted, even for developing economies that invoke special and differential treatment. Politician and interest groups who are used to acting selfishly will take the political cost involved in ‘tying their hand’ seriously (Wang and et al., 1998). There are economic costs in terms of the opportunity costs of employing high skilled personnel for the implementation of WTO commitments and active participation in WTO negotiations. Using this particular scarce resource- provided it is available- in Geneva precludes its use at home and in other activities, perhaps including the private sector.
WTO accession - Ethiopia
Ethiopia has been accorded an observer status in the WTO since 1997. Ethiopia’s request for accession was circulated on January 13, 2003. A month later, on February 10, 2003, the WTO General Council established a Working Party under the leadership of N. Mac Milan of the United Kingdom (UK). The Working Party has not, however, met because Ethiopia submitted its Memorandum on its Foreign-Trade Regime (MFTR) to the WTO Secretariat only recently, following approval of the Council of Ministers. The MFTR was prepared by a technical committee whose members were drawn from the various public institutions. Prior to the official request for membership to the WTO, a study was conducted in June 2000 to identify the pros and cons of joining the WTO. The study was under-taken by a committee made up of representatives of government Ministries, civil society, and academics. It analyzed WTO Agreements vis-à-vis the economic policies of the country and came up with a conclusion that the benefits of joining out-weigh the costs and, hence, recommended that Ethiopia join the WTO (Yusuf et al., 2008).
One of the prime objectives of the WTO is to smooth trade flow and improve market access by lowering tariffs as well as non-tariff barriers and by helping with dispute settlements. It is argued that since the establishment of the GATT/WTO international trade has significantly increased (WTO, 1998). However, not everyone share this optimism. Langhamer and Lucke (2000) concluded that the benefits springing from WTO membership in terms of improved market accesses for traditional exports are likely to be limited, given the reliance on a small number of exports goods, weak administrator capacities, large economic vulnerability, lack of market-oriented capacities and political instability. Few empirical studies have been undertaken on the consequences of Ethiopia’s accession to WTO on its economy in general and foreign market access in particular. The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study showed that a 50% reduction of tariff and subsidies by all WTO members might be able to change the welfare of the poor marginally, albeit without an immediate benefit except to signal that its trade regime is bound to the international rules (World Bank, 2003).
Ethiopia has reduced its tariff substantially and “has already undertaken reforms that are consistent with WTO rules and disciplines such as non-discrimination and reduction of qualitative restrictions to less than 2% of imports, which could bring about earlier benefit if it joins the WTO. However, others argue that with many suppliers of an agricultural raw materials to limited international markets, substantial price increases is unlikely to happen, particularly in the short run. Moreover, in light of the frequently recurring drought, it has demonstrated that it could not regularly supply given volume of agricultural goods to the export markets (Keyzer et al., 2000). Pohl Consulting and Associates (2005) in its studies using dynamic CGE model under different scenarios indicated the impact of reducing and /or dismantling technical and non-technical barriers. The main impact of trade liberalization process they found mainly fiscal, stressing that the Ethiopian government will have to rapidly find ways to keep to amounts of tax revenues stable in order to maintain the level of investments that would sustain economic growth. The present research, therefore, focuses on investigating the effect of accession to WTO on its exports using gravity equation.
WTO membership will have wide-ranging social, cultural, and economic impacts, as accession would mean a commitment to open one’s economy to external competition and to benefit from a multilateral trading system. Only firms that can compete effectively can, however, draw tangible benefits from access to new markets. While the benefits to be gained may be diffused and drawn out, the immediate costs of accession will have to, nevertheless, be borne upfront (AACCSA, 2008). Accession to the WTO is necessary but not sufficient in itself to ensure economic well-being and membership in the WTO alone is not a panacea for all development problems facing Ethiopia. Complementary policies such as investment in physical, human and organizational capital, and structural transformation including industrialization are required.
WTO accession negotiations should not be cumbersome to Ethiopia nor should the process be “accelerated”; there should be a reasonably sufficient time for accession preparation and learning. The pace of accession negotiations should be determined by institutional, financial and technical capacities, and any obligations there from should take into account the specific socioeconomic conditions and needs of the nation. Membership in the WTO should be viewed from the perspective of “qualitative integration” of the county into the MTS but not based on an implicit quest for the “universality” of the trading system only (Delelegn, 2005 in Lenchisa, 2013).
The real effective exchange rate index (REER), which is the measure of the prices of the country’s goods relative to the prices of its trading-partner countries, both expressed in domestic currency, is a quantitative indicator to assess the competitiveness of the country’s export sector vis-à-vis the rest of the world. A fall in the value of the REER, indicates a real depreciation of the exchange rate and, thus, the enhanced the competitiveness of the country’s vis-à-vis foreign goods (Ibid).
Conclusions
The impact of WTO membership is dependent on the ability to take advantage of the opportunities offered by trade liberalization and to manage the changes induced by WTO membership. Hence, it is important to understand the economic realities on the ground-including resource endowments, the characteristics of the external sector, and the economic policy environment- in order to assess the impact of WTO membership. If Ethiopia is to participate meaningfully in the WTO dispute settlement system, it will need to continue to increase institutional capacity and coordination of trade policy at multiple levels, from the national to the regional to the global. Ethiopia will need, in particular, to develop its own coordinative mechanisms to include private sector and civil society representatives. Capacity building endeavors generally will be most sustainable if it permeates broadly throughout institutions and societies.
In a review of recent African country experience of the fiscal impact of trade liberalization commissioned for the OECD Development Center, Fukasaku (2003) finds that the overall impact of trade liberalization in SSA is ambiguous and depends on a multiplicity of facts, especially the nature and sequencing of reforms. Examining a database of 22 African countries, he finds that trade liberalization in the last decade has contributed to declines in the ratio of trade tax revenue/total government revenue of more than 20 percent (Mauritius), more than 10 percent (Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal), and more than 5 percent (Cameroon, Tunisia, and Mozambique). In several countries, notably Mauritius and Senegal, domestic indirect taxation and the value added taxes compensated for the fiscal losses, while in most other countries, domestic resource mobilization was somewhat weaker. The author concludes by stressing that reductions in tariff rates in Africa should be compensated by increases in domestic commodity taxes, an effective VAT and the institutionalization of trade-policy-cum-tax reform, particularly in countries with a regional trade agreement. (Ali Zafar, 2005:2)
If Ethiopia is to deploy WTO law to her advantage, it will need to maintain routine on-going procedures for gathering, processing and prioritizing information from foreign embassies, the private sector, and international trade consultants regarding foreign trade barriers. By working more consistently with the private sector, Ethiopian officials can foster the development of reflexes in firms and trade associations to view the WTO as an opportunity to ensure market access, thereby more effectively using the WTO system. For Ethiopia, bilateral or regional approaches to trade agreements cannot substitute for joining the multilateral trading system. In order to balance its rights and obligations in the MTS and fully benefit from the system, Ethiopia should
• improve her capacities to evaluate and link key provisions of the WTO agreements of particular interest to her specific circumstances and assess its impact on livelihoods;
• take into account political realities of domestic constituents and interest groups that can play important roles in terms of both assistance during the accession process and the eventual implementation of commitments and have a realistic expectation of the economic benefits from its membership in the WTO;
• It should demand the maximum period, which could be allowed for the transition period. The transition period will also give it a breathing space to promote its industries with relatively less pressure from the WTO. Therefore, Ethiopia should take all the time it could to put its industries in-order, that is, with greater shock resistance, more productive and competitive, before the elapse of the transition period. In other words, it has to request for maximum transition period possible, carefully study and exploit fully all the provisions available. Hence, the country must specifically make sure that it is in a position to exploit the opportunities rather than pay undue price by joining earlier and unprepared (Ibid, Lenchisa:8).
This has a normative rationale in the creation of well-functioning credit and capital markets (as a magic po¬tion for the prevailing treacherous deregulated sales of company shares and an investor-friendly environment in the economy. The relevance of this is meant to achieve much broader and involve, as a fundamental component, the improvement of microeconomic efficiency. These would in turn entail, competent economic management, efficient public services, sound infrastructure and liberalization and commercializing activities in the role of lending institutions, establishment of sound information systems on micro-economic behavior and markets and trade and investment policy priorities. Strengthening fiscal sustainability requires fiscal rules, transparency requirements, responsibility laws and new institutional arrangements, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive. This in turn is hinged on a broad financial sector reform and adjusting the monetary policy mix, expanding industrial capacity and slashing trade cost.
See the lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/4941345/Strategic_arenas_for_WTO_accession_Public_Policy_Trajectories_that_lure_in_the_rewards_of_Globalization_to_Ethiopian_Businesses

Movements of & ripostes to Radicalism in the Greater Horn of Africa

Movements of & ripostes to Radicalism in the Greater Horn of Africa
Public Lecture (based on Gebre Sellasse, Mulu, IPSS, 2011)
Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD
Professor of Public Policy, School of Graduate Studies, College of Business & Economics, AAU

Background
Garissa University College attack in Kenya left close to 150 young students massacred by al Shabaab. Hundreds of people have been holding a candle-lit vigil in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to remember the victims of last week's attack at Garissa University College by al-Shabab gunmen. A temporary shrine of crosses and candles has been set up and photos of the 148 victims of the group's deadliest attack in Kenya are on show. Earlier, about 2,500 people marched in Garissa against the Somali militants. Kenya has frozen the accounts of 86 people thought to be funding al-Shabaab. Thirteen hawalas - informal money transfer services - have also been closed down. Hawalas are widely used by Somalis who depend on relatives abroad as a cheap and quick means to receive money. Interior Minister Joseph Nkaiserry said the names of the individuals and hawalas had not yet been released. Separately Five Kenyans appeared in court in Nairobi on Tuesday for suspected links with the attackers (BBC, 2015:1).
Conflicts have always been part of human society, but today radicalism is one form of a conflict that is haunting nations globally. In addition, it has long been recognized as a serious foreign and domestic security threat to many countries throughout the world (Harmony Project, 2006). Such use of unmitigated violence against civilians has indeed been a source of much concern for centuries now. However, the events of September 11, 2001 have single-handedly changed the way the problem is looked at by literally all inhabitants of the world. Today more than ever, the world talks and writes about radicalism much regularly. International radical networks have caused untold destruction and loss of life around the world, and yet the response by and the reaction to these acts is largely uncoordinated (Harmony Project, 2006). While there is an almost universal agreement as to the dangers posed by radicalism, there is nonetheless lack of clarity as to its causes, nature as well as the most effective mechanisms to prevent, detect and face its challenges. This has to do with myriad of factors ranging from ideological to operational renditions. Nevertheless, it is widely acknowledged that anti-radicalism efforts can better achieve their desired results if the impediments to concerted actions are properly addressed through cooperation among various stakeholders at all levels.
Different sources have given different definitions to the concept of radicalism depending on the angle from which they look at the problem. While some of this definition is based on ideological grounds, still other definitions take into account the operational aspect of it focusing rather on what consequences it has. As the common saying goes, one’s radical could very well be another’s freedom fighter. Otherwise, the word radicalism does not seem to have any precise definition. For example, Webster’s dictionary defines radicalism in terms of the following three elements: The state of fear and submission produced; radical method of governing or of resisting a Government; and the systematic use of horror especially as a means of gaining some political end (Webster, 2003).
Radicalism in the Horn of Africa
There is as much confusion about the root causes of radicalism as there is about how to define the concept. But there is a more or less universal agreement that the major causes are ideological, socio-economic as well as religious (compare ICPAT, 2008, p.10) Ideological causes explain the carnage and destruction political groups perpetrate on civilians in the name of some ill-defined political objective such as secession of a certain group or groups of people. The engagement of certain groups in similarly destructive activities in the name of addressing some kind of social or economic injustice is yet another cause of radicalism. However, more importantly, the great deal of violence that is being visited upon civilians in almost all corners of the world in the name of promoting some religious idea or another is the most potent cause of radicalism today.
Depending on what one perceives to be the root cause of radicalism, the responses by governments has also been varying to a degree or another. The US and its allies have used tools at their disposal, including diplomacy, international cooperation, and constructive engagement to economic sanctions, covert action, physical security enhancement, and military force (Harmony Project, 2006). The efficacy of anti-radicalism campaigns depends on the extent to which the appropriate combination of approaches is followed. More often than not, the approaches employed by many governments leave a lot to be desired because they put undue emphasis on one or another aspect of these approaches.
A modern trend in radicalism is toward well-organized, self-financed, international networks of radicals. Another trend of radicalism is the emergence of religiously or ideologically motivated. Radical groups using religion as a pretext, pose radical threats of varying kinds to interests of various states. A third trend is the apparent growth of cross-national links of radical organizations, which may involve combinations of military training, funding, technology transfer, or political advice. As a global phenomenon, a major challenge facing policy makers is how to maximize international cooperation, without unduly compromising important national security interests (Perl, 2004).
Home-grown conflict management is a multidisciplinary field of action that seeks to address the question of how people can make better decisions together, particularly on difficult, contentious issues. Conflict management refers to a variety of collaborative approaches that seek to reach a mutually acceptable resolution of issues in a conflict through a voluntary process. Such approaches were developed as alternatives to adversarial or non-consensual strategies, such as judicial or legal recourse, unilaterally initiated public information campaigns, or partisan political action. Choosing the correct strategy through which to address a particular conflict is in itself a strategic choice. Parties to a dispute must first decide whether to seek resolution to a conflict through a non-consensual process or through a more collaborative means. The voluntary problem solving and decision-making methods most often employed in conflict management are conciliation, negotiation and mediation which involve the assistance of a neutral third party in a negotiation process. The processes are often combined with each other in practice. Thus, an effort originally focused on conciliation may develop into a negotiation, which may in turn be enhanced by mediation. Similarly, individuals may play more than one role in addressing a dispute, once the decision has been made to use conflict management processes, the parties must decide on which specific approach to employ.
See full lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/11973290/Movements_of_and_ripostes_to_Radicalism_in_the_Greater_Horn_of_Africa_Public_

Quo Vadis Arabia: A New Frontier on Religious Schisms & Feud for the Gulf’s ‘Caliphate’

The Muslim split into two main branches, the Sunnis and Shia, originates in a dispute soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad over who should lead the Muslim community. “The Shiats claimed the right of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and his descendants to lead the Islamic community. While the great majority of Muslims are Sunnis, the two sects have co-existed for centuries and share many fundamental beliefs and practices. In urban Iraq, even intermarriage between Sunnis and Shia was, until recently, quite common. The differences lie in the fields of doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organization. Their leaders often in competition, many recent conflicts have emphasized the sectarian divide, tearing communities apart. The current challenge to global security stems from a 2005 idea of Ayman al-Zawahiri, at that time deputy head of al Qaeda. The al Qaeda franchise should declare an Islamic state. In a letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Zawahiri explained how it would work. The Islamic state, he wrote, would fill security vacuums around Iraq left by departing American forces. Once the Islamic state successfully fended off the attacks from neighboring countries that would undoubtedly follow, it could proclaim the reestablishment of the caliphate, the one-man institution that had ruled a vast empire in early Islamic history. For the scheme to succeed, Zawahiri warned Zarqawi, al Qaeda had to make sure that the Sunni masses supported the project. Whatever the balance in the chemistry of the genesis of the protest - ideology (the quest for democracy) vs. religion fanaticism, conservatism has become the rule of thumb in leftist response to these protest movements. Ensemble, these protest movements of the 21st century represent the bulwark of the challenges to global security.

The Islamic State expanded its extermination of Christians to another country with the release of a video Sunday purportedly showing a mass execution of Ethiopians in Libya. "We express our condolences to the families of the victims and our support to the Ethiopian government and people as they grieve for their fellow citizens," National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said in a statement. "That these terrorists killed these men solely because of their faith lays bare the terrorists' vicious, senseless brutality. The White House

Research Interests: Terrorism, Religious Pluralism, Religious Studies, and Public Administration and Policy

see full paper here or https://www.academia.edu/12042575/Quo_Vadis_Arabia_A_New_Frontier_on_Religious_Schisms_and_Feud_for_the_Gulf_s_

‘Collective Xenophobia’ Or simply a Crime Prone South Africa

Crime in South Africa is almost a way of life especially for women. Only one in nine rapes is reported to the police. The 2013/14 crime statistics show that South Africa experienced two of the worst years in the last decade from a crime reduction point of view. In 2015, xenophobic killings have arrived again. What has sparked off this orgy of brutal killings in one of Africa’s most promising democracies and economies? Where is the much praised Ubuntu philosophy that helped South Africa to overcome the post-Apartheid revenge and blood-thirsty feelings that gave way to truth and reconciliation? The post-apartheid political transition in South Africa did not fully address the political economic question, and hence the xenophobic violence which is a symbolic expression of a deeper grudge against an unjust and unequal economic growth. This, however, should not justify xenophobic violence, but rather should put it into a broader perspective the South African post-apartheid reconstruction and distribution of resources. South Africans use violence to deal with both personal and societal challenges and poor communities have been frustrated by post-apartheid South Africa. Had it not been for ordinary South Africans and civil society, this crisis would have been far worse. President Zuma argues that the actions of a minority should not be used to stereotype 50 million people. While those responsible should face the law, care must be taken not to generalize that all South African are xenophobic.
See full lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/12139868/_Collective_Xenophobia_Or_simply_a_Crime_Prone_South_Africa

Critical Conjecture: Citizens’ acuity on Foreign Policy Operationalization in Africa

Citizens critical thinking is not an isolated goal unrelated to other important goals in policy research, policy practice and policy evaluation. Rather, it is a seminal goal which, done well, simultaneously facilitates a rainbow of other ends. It is best conceived, therefore, as the hub around which all other educational ends cluster. It is clear that there is no way to bring critical thinking successfully into instruction across the curriculum with a stand-alone one or two-day workshop. Critical thinking is a difficult thing to define with much precision. Academics across diverse fields such as pedagogy, cognitive psychology and curriculum development each have their own understanding of the term. The theme of the lecture augurs on challenges and opportunities in interfacing pathways for translating research evidence through policy to practice for sustainable citizen engagement. The key research question is what research protocols and models of public management can be deployed to reform the research, policy and practice interface? The finding of the research portend the underpinnings of ideology and agency for the research, policy and practice nexus in Africa, uncertainty and complexity in foreign policy formulation and management. Analytical challenges to the research-policy- practice nexus are generally marked by a tendency to narrow the nexus to the terms and categories of immediate, not very well considered, political and social action and inattention to problems of articulation or production of global systems and process within local politics rather than simply as formal or abstract possibilities.
See paper here or https://www.academia.edu/12226384/Critical_Conjecture_Citizens_acuity_on_Foreign_Policy_Operationalization_in_Africa

“The Battle of Ideas” John Maynard Keynes & Friedrich von Hayek - I

The history of economic thought is a juggernaut of blueprints penned by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Lenin, Keynes, Hayek, Ricardo, Mill and many pundits who developed unparalleled thoughts throughout the centuries. The forces of the market-state chemistry and capital-labour relations have been the dominant focus of research that inform the vicissitudes witnessed in the inability of economic principles to explain the global crises witnessed in the 21st Century. Adam Smith's vision is a blueprint for a completely new mode of social organisation, whose laws of the market -- the drive of individual self-interest in an environment of similarly motivated individuals will result in competition: the provision of goods in the quantities that society desires and at the prices it is prepared to pay. This regulator is competition. Karl Marx’s final contribution lies elsewhere: in his dialectical materialist theory of history, analysed in Das Kapital with fury, but with cold logic. Finally, the drama ends. Today, governments everywhere would retreat from the commanding heights of their economies. In the battle of ideas, the pendulum had swung from government to market, from Keynes to Hayek. Only time would tell what people would ask of their governments in the event of a new recession, or a depression, or a war. Is the state indeed the only political ruling organ of that might act as a third force balancing the claims of its conflicting members or is there an escape from the inner logic, dialectics of a capitalist system, which would not only destroy itself but, in so doing, would give birth to its successor; in short, the negation of negation?
See lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/12547349/_The_Battle_of_Ideas_John_Maynard_Keynes_and_Friedrich_von_Hayek

“The Battle of Ideas” John Maynard Keynes & Friedrich von Hayek - II

The history of economic thought is a juggernaut of blueprints penned by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Lenin, Keynes, Hayek, Ricardo, Mill and many pundits who developed unparalleled thoughts throughout the centuries Britain's mixed economy, so widely imitated, was in similar trouble. It, too, was facing the deadly combination of unemployment and inflation. Margaret Thatcher had a gut instinct for market economics. While she was at Oxford, she read Hayek's Road to Serfdom. It made a lasting impression on her. Years later, when she became the first woman to lead the Conservative Party, she once slammed Hayek's book down on a table and announced, “This is what we believe.” By 1974, Hayek sensed the world beginning to go his way. Hayek (interviewed in 1978): As for the movement of intellectual opinion is concerned, it is now for the first time in my life moving in the right direction. Interviewed in 1993, she said that the spirit of enterprise had been sat upon for years by socialism, by too-high taxes, by too-high regulation, by too-public expenditure. The philosophy was nationalization, centralization, control, regulation. Now this had to end. Reagan in his campaign said, Vote for me, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in your right to control your own destiny and plan your own life, yes, and have a say in the spending of your own money. The president is going to have more government on the backs of the people and of business and of industry, the working people, in order to try to solve the problems that were created by too much government on our backs. We can get government off our backs, out of our pockets. This kind of indifference to economic disaster must be ended, and it'll be ended by having a different kind of leadership. Governments everywhere would retreat from the commanding heights of their economies. In the battle of ideas, the pendulum had swung from government to market, from Keynes to Hayek.
See lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/12547386/_The_Battle_of_Ideas_John_Maynard_Keynes_and_Friedrich_von_Hayek_Part_II

“The Battle of Ideas” Economic Brain Waves of the Centuries: III

Predicated on the microscopic analysis of developmentalism promoted by regimes and their Nobel Prize flaunting patriarchs, real politik in currency that has effectively promoted freedom from fear and want has been put to the back burner. Analysis by Ake (1990) and Costantinos (1996) delve into the penury of ideological narratives of post-colonial African regimes: developmentalism, which conformed neither to the delusionary neo-liberal camp nor to the insipid venom of African Socialism. In combination with the vacuum in development theories and the resultant paradigmatic gridlock, the ills of governmentality are undergirded by the perpetuation of unbridled power. The cast to which the African state formation was to be moulded under the Western form of political domination failed miserably because of the resolute defiance of indigenous cultures which neither had a problem of character defect or ethical failure as it is one of misinterpretation arising from the deconstruction of human society and its history. The key to an effective developmental state is state capacity, it not only needs a competent bureaucracy, it also needs an effective relationship with the domestic academia and business class that will inevitably be at the centre of any successful developmental initiatives.
See lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/12595869/_The_Battle_of_Ideas_Economic_Brain_Waves_of_the_Centuries_Influences_on_Public_Policy_thoughts_of_State_Effectiveness_and_Transformation_-_Part_IV

Resilient States, Engaged Societies & Legal Empowerment Issues in SD

Beginning in the early 1990s, Africa has been experiencing a major ground swell of social, economic, cultural and political changes. Notwithstanding the remarkable successes, formidable challenges prevail as state institutions often are burdened by counter-productive incentives and constraints that outweigh and outlast efforts to ameliorate them. A combination of the Western prescription of the basic ingredients of ‘democratic tradition’ – elections, rule of law, economic, social and political governance have spun opportunities and threats to social stability and political sustainability. The knowledge gap the paper addresses is the nexus between good economic, political and social governance and sustainable development, augured on legal empowerment and the construction of democratic rules and institutions. Gaps identified in constructing the architecture for good governance are remuneration of civil servants, absence of checklist and framework for appraisal, lack of skills, attitudes and knowledge management systems. On the arrearage side for meritocracy, the lack of a system of publicly known and acknowledged public appointment at all levels of the civil service could be undermining of the career structure. Strategic entry points for reform are systematic review of objectives, outputs, activities and verifiable indicators for utility of civil service institutions. Furthermore, the need for a rights-based approach, knowledge management systems, code of conduct for the communities of practice, integration and mainstreaming, leadership capacity building, remuneration and career incentive, independent human quality development think tanks and education for democratic citizenship is imperative.
See paper here or https://www.academia.edu/13047665/Resilient_States_Engaged_Societies_and_Legal_Empowerment_of_the_Poor_Strategic_Iss

Shaping Infrastructure Development to unravel 'African Integration'

Africa faces the usual panoply of challenges endemic in developing countries with too few instruments and too few resources, while also grappling with the perennial problem of managing development, namely sequencing of policy reforms, all subject to the political constraints of containing the disruptive impacts of policy reforms to acceptable levels, a particularly important problem for Africa given the very narrow margins for maneuver imposed by fiscal and external deficits, subsistence levels of household income for much of the population and a complex federal weave in its social fabric.
Getting the priorities right and managing change are thus particularly vital issues for African integration. Hence, infrastructure development (roads, railways, hydro dams, power transmission and industry – sugar factories, metallurgy, fertilizer plants…), a consumer goods revolution is just beginning in much of Africa. Emerging export industries—in mining, manufacturing and exportable services—are already making their mark as sources of growth in the economy and will soon overtake traditional foreign exchange earnings from minerals and agricultural goods. However, two overwhelming pressures in Africa’s current economic climate—inflation and challenging new regulations—are putting strains on private business and could potentially dent the country’s positive growth prospects. Hence, Africa should modify regulatory policies that inflate business costs and depress urban consumer incomes, go for bolder and more unconventional agricultural policies and put in place a smarter set of policies for the financial sector.
Key words: grassroots infrastructure, transformation, entrepreneurship
See paper here or on https://www.academia.edu/13047307/Shaping_Infrastructure_Development_to_unravel_the_African_Integration_

Ethiopia: Financial & Telecom Liberalization- Prospects & Hazards

While Ethiopia has recorded significant achievements in GDP growth, it faces predictable armor of trials with too few mechanism and wherewithal, while also wrestling with the perennial problem of sequencing policy reforms, all subject to doctrinal reins. Given the very slim boundaries for maneuver imposed by abject poverty, deficits and a complex interlace in its political fabric, getting the priorities right are the central issues to be addressed. Using comparative analyses with other African nations that have liberalized their economy, the research delves into the impact of liberalization and the requisite preparatory basis of a reform pedestal on which the nation can be a winner in this game. The financial sector is underdeveloped in comparison to some neighbors where part of the population operates in a cashless society. Financial and telecom liberalization is an integral part of the overall economic liberalization, a set of policy measures designed to deregulate and transform the system with the view to achieving a liberalized market-oriented system within an appropriate regulatory framework. Findings of the research undergird eloquent testimony of complexity and uncertainty theories and functioning economic models that Ethiopia can emulate, underpinning the fact that this can be complex, when reforms are subject to ideological therapy. Hence, managed restructuring of the public sector, establishing institutional capacity for policy analysis, formulation and coordination, regulatory capacity, advancing fiscal sustainability are gleaned as a panacea for change and transformation. Creating a merit based and metric civil service is a basic requirement to achieve higher ‘allocative’ and ‘productive’ efficiency, augmenting private sector share and improving public sector financial health. African countries have now deregulated their ICT industry and wooing investors to the economy, with significant impacts to show, driving rapid growth with the exception of state monopolies - Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti.
Key words: liberalization, right sizing, meritocracy, telecom, private sector, regulation
See paper here or https://www.academia.edu/12407588/Ethiopia_-_Financial_and_Telecom_Liberalization_Potential_Prospects_and_Hazards

Dilemmas of ‘Democratic Representation’ and One-Party Rule in Africa

During the transition in the 90s, unlike the pessimism portrayed by the African elite, some countries though small in number, notably Zambia and Mozambique had already made a successful transition from military-affiliated single party dictatorships to pluriform institutions and practices. Armed peace, while contested heavily as to its democratic credentials by opposition forces has resulted in regime change and relative peace for economic development. Ruling parties had used the moment of elections to rally the populace behind votes designed to intimidate the populace and a one party choice. Nigeria, Algeria and Burundi had of course slipped into political oblivion by the restitution of military rule. While there are improvements in the political arena, seen from the outside, Africa is often characterized as a continent of civil conflict, refugees and displaced populations and economic crisis. Yes, some of the bloodiest conflicts since the end of WWII have been among Africans. Millions of refugees and IDPs, proportionately the largest number in developing countries, are in Sub-Saharan Africa. The forces of lawlessness, mercenaries, petty arms traders, narco-traffickers and smugglers have descended on African countries in conflict, fanning the flames of war, and profiteering from the destruction of the lives of our children. One may indeed ask whether the state-sponsored plunder of colonialism has not been replaced by private profiteering: the privatization of politics, plunder and exploitation!
See paper here or at https://www.academia.edu/13269553/Dilemmas_of_Democratic_Representation_and_One-Party_Rule_in_Africa

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/obama-s-upcoming-visit-to-ethiopia-recognizes-country-s-enormous-importance#

The radical dissent of Helen Keller

The radical dissent of Helen Keller

Exclusive interview—Donald Kaberuka: I was furious when they called it a Chinese-built highway | Mail & Guardian Africa

Exclusive interview—Donald Kaberuka: I was furious when they called it a Chinese-built highway | Mail & Guardian Africa

Romeo & Juliet by Alec R. Costandinos - Disco Video Mix by Dadma

Africa's Next Hegemon - Behind Ethiopia's Power Plays

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/143664/harry-verhoeven/africas-next-hegemon

Africa: Strategic Governance & Leadership Challenges & Opportunities

1. Introduction
Leadership within the African context can best be described as quoted in the Chinese book “I Ching, or Chinese Book of Changes”, (1971) “To become a centre of influence holding people together is a grave matter and fraught with great responsibility. It requires greatness of spirit, consistency, and strength. Therefore let him who wishes to gather others about him ask himself whether he is equal to the undertaking...” Leadership has several forms of agency:
1.1. Official power:
The authority to instruct government machinery to carry out instructions is the prime example. Hence, the leadership we expect is above all about responsibility; requiring acceptance of the importance of one's self-coupled with an appreciation of the greater importance of others over oneself. Therefore, leadership entails liability for those who are led - whereby, leadership becomes a discipline in its own right. There is no set of techniques, rules, or series of commandments with which the leader can arm themselves and be assured of success; nonetheless, they must always interrelate, familiarize, change, and transform themselves.
1.2. Supremacy over dialogue:
Our cabinet leaders are expected to develop the capacity, through their statements and actions, including symbolic actions, to shape debate and dialogue. Even when their formal power is limited, they can use their access to the media and stature in society to influence what people talk about. It is vital to recognize that, through either position or personality, they have the power to impact on the world - to change it. This, in fact, is the essence of leadership: the leader is one who does not accept the limitations of a “given” situation or set of circumstances, but uses the opportunity to transform such constraints into new realities, and takes responsibility for the privilege.
1.3. Moral high ground:
An inspiring ‘job description’ of our ministers must be not only the power over discourse but also their ability to shape morality, to determine what is socially acceptable, culturally sound and politically uplifting. Indeed, leadership is more than a job; it is a calling.
1.4. Leaders operate at national and international levels:
The international component may be particularly important here, given our clear continen-tal African identity adopted under Emperor Haile Sellasse. As custodian of African Unity, our leaders are expected to be the role model for social change.
1.5. Leadership for human development and human security:
Political leadership of human development and human security requires intimate knowledge of public policy analysis, formulation, and management and development of strategic plans and implementing them. We can identify four main aspects to this:
• analysis, formulation and management of policy, strategy, process and organisation;
• obtaining policy consensus;
• ensuring that the public service can actually carry out policy, and not see it subverted or undermined;
• ensuring that the policy is implemented with sufficient energy: this implies mechanisms for monitoring and accountability: in addition, we can identify some of the preconditions for effective public policy measures against a major social ill:
o A set of technical and/or policy measures that a state can utilise to tackle effectively the specific social ill, with a package that works in the most basic technical manner.
o Mechanisms to ensure that the technologies and/or policies are adequately utilised, backed by legislation, administrative commitment or other specific forms of sanctioning. There have to be mechanisms for ensuring that institutions function, and political processes for accountability.
o An ethical consensus, which rules that this specific social ill is unacceptable, the policy must be acceptable to the target group and the public;
This is especially important in our continent when the policy imperatives involve trying to change attitudes and behaviour of a national psyche that has rendered the nation eternally dependent on international charity. Thus, our leaders are on the one hand responsible for breaking the boundaries of inward bound wisdom, of “common sense”, of patterns of thinking and behaving, which, over the years, have built themselves into routines, which pacify people to dormancy. On the other hand, they also have to maintain continuity whilst simultaneously promoting change; such is the nature of leadership ambiguity and contradiction that comes as part of the same deal.
2. Leaders oversight is an important part of the policy making process.
Leaders should ensure that the agreed policy is properly implemented and delivered to the tar-get citizens by means of leaders' oversight. As to Pelizzo et al (2006:8), “scholars have generally agreed on the fact that effective oversight is good for the proper functioning of a democratic political system. Effective oversight is beneficial for a political system for, at least, two basic reasons (West and Cooper, 1989): ‘first, because the oversight activity can actually contribute to improving the quality of the policies/programs initiated by the government; second, because as the government policies are ratified by the leadership branch, such policies acquire greater legitimacy’”. Besides their responsibility for the leadership process, leaders have a key function in providing oversight of the government on behalf of the public (Beetham, 2006:127). Through its core oversight function, leaders holds the government to account on behalf of the people, ensuring that government policy and action are both efficient and commensurate with the needs of the public and leaders’ oversight is crucial in checking excesses on the government (Yamamoto, 2007:6).
Studies have underlined that the legislature may adopt several tools to oversee the actions of the executives such as hearings in committees, hearings in the plenary assembly, the creation of inquiry committees, leaders’ questions, question time, the interpellations and the ombudsman (Pelizzo et al., 2006:8; Maffio, 2002 & Pennings, 2000). The key functions of leaders’ oversight can be described as follows. At the core of this function is the protection of liberties of citizens, to detect and prevent abuse, arbitrary behaviour or unconstitutional conduct on the part of the government and public agencies. It detects waste within the machinery of public agencies. Thus, it can improve the efficiency, economy and effectiveness of government operations and hold the government to account in respect of how the taxpayers’ money is used. Ensuring that that policies are actually delivered includes monitoring the achievement of goals set by legislation and to improve the transparency of operations and enhance public trust, which is itself a condition of effective policy delivery.
However, as to Blackburn and Kennon (2003:6) “the government is not the only source of in-put of business for leaders. Much business originates from the opposition. The inspiration for their input is largely found in general public opinion, outside pressures or interest groups, newspapers, radio and television, and in the minds and attitudes of millions of citizens represented in the Com-mons by Members”. Leaders, therefore, finds itself the recipient of a wide range of external pressures and proposals, broadly divided between the governments on the one hand and the outside world - the public on the other. The prerequisite for policy making process is the existence of strong and competent leadership body. No country can have a workable democracy, with adequate avenues for citizens to be heard and without a vibrant and meaningful leadership (Ornstein, 1992:1).
Nonetheless, in almost every nation around the world, there is a gap between leadership powers to hold the executive to account (Power, 2012:16). However, since recent times, optimistic practices have been emerging even in the most criticized Sub-Saharan Africa. Joel Barkan (2009), in a wide-ranging study of leadership development in Africa, suggests that the situation is changing, with leaders evolv¬ing out of their role as rubber stamps for the executive and becoming more effective as watchdogs, policy-makers and representatives. Leaderships has to make effort not only to promote the public participation in the policy making process but also to perform representation functions.
The first and foremost characteristic of a leadership is its intrinsic link to the citizens of the nation or state – representation. In a representative democracy, they act as the eyes, ears and voice of the people (Ornstein, 1992:2). The other dimension to constituency activity consists in ensuring that local experience informs national policy-making. through their interaction with voters, local MPs gain enormous expertise about the impact of policy decisions and legislation at the local level. That direct experience is often far greater that of the civil servants and ministers responsible for drafting and implement¬ing legislation, but is rarely used by leaders in any systematic fashion to shape legislation. Instead, it is most frequently due to the initiative of individual politicians that the experience of citizens is used as a policy resource (Greg Power, 2012:66).
Leaders also need to have means of engaging and influencing the public. Openness and being accessible to the voter and taxpayer is a crucial feature of leaderships. Most leaders have sought to improve their outreach in the basic provision of information, especially through the development of visitors’ centers, open days and events – based on the insight that, in order to interest people in the leaders, there is no substitute for physical access. Because leaders’ outreach will ever physically touch only a small proportion of the population, the key means for informing citizens about public affairs, and a key channel of communication between leaders and public. In their investigative role, the media have always been seen as a ‘watchdog’ against all kinds of abuse. How well they fulfil these functions is vital for the quality of democratic life. Given the tendency for these functions to become distorted, whether by executive partiality in a state-controlled system, or by powerful economic interests in a commercialized one, leaders have key democratic role in setting an appropriate legal framework for the media, to ensure both their independence and their diversity (Beetham, 2006:6).
Another essential function of leaders in the policy making process is entertaining of public petition. Any citizen or group of citizens may prepare and sign a petition to the house on any matter in which the house has jurisdiction to interfere (Blackburn & Kennon, 2003:380). They extend their account by indicating that the petition must be presented to the house by a member. Policy is nothing without budget allocation, hence, it is a component of the policy making process. A law without a budget is simply rhetoric and the budget-making process is as critical as the lawmaking process (Hollister, 2007:7). The budget is the most important economic policy tool of a government and provides a comprehensive statement of the priorities of a nation. As the representative institutions of the people, it falls to national leaderships to ensure that the budget optimally matches a nation’s needs with available resources. Effective leadership participation in the budget process establishes checks and balances that are crucial for transparent and accountable government to ensure efficient delivery of public services (Wehner & Byanyima 2004:9).
Leaders’ 'power of the purse' is a fundamental feature of democracy. The vast majority of democratic constitutions require appropriations and taxation measures to be approved by leaders in order to become effective. For this requirement to be more than constitutional fiction though, leaders must ensure that the revenue and spending measures it authorizes are fiscally sound, match the needs of the population with available resources, and are implemented properly and efficiently”. Its options are to approve or reject the budget, to amend it, or, in a few cases, to substitute the draft tabled by the executive with its own budget. In some countries, the leadership passes separate legislation for appropriations and changes to the tax code; in others, it considers a unified budget bill. The exact form of leadership approval is less important than the fact that it must be comprehensive. Principles of authorization of all public spending & taxation ensures the ‘rule of law’ in public finance (Ibid:1, 30-31).
Thus, leadership capacity here entails conceptualization in global categories that are invested with varying local meanings that are themselves in part actualization of trends in international polilitical (and development) such as witnessed in Singapore and the Tiger Economies.
See more here or paste this link - https://www.academia.edu/11750510/Africa_Strategic_Governance_and_Leadership_Challenges_and_Opportunities

Access to Health Wellness Implementation of the Abuja Commitment in Africa

Abstract
Pastoralists and trans-boundary populations are under the grip of an unprecedented crisis, heightened by the inability of states to engage readily in the search for answers to the continent’s human insecurity challenges. Across the continent, these populations live in nations that remain in the throes of famine, poverty & violence and continue to suffer the devastating impact of AIDS and STIs and now Ebola. On a positive note, there is a remarkable success in rolling back HIV/AIDS, since the 2001 Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS and ORID. Africa is also at the forefront of the global development agenda today but the challenges for mobile populace remains daunting. Using qualitative data collected from primary and secondary sources, the research has unveiled existing and emerging health challenges that emanate from state fragility, the crises of managing health care and the crises of civic and political leadership in Africa. A state is fragile when the basic functions of the State are no longer performed, they breed widespread internal conflict, revolutionary and ethnic wars, adverse regime change, genocide, politicides, and de facto or de jure loss of state legitimacy. The finding point to the criminal negligence of health care systems in trans-boundary human movements in Africa while simultaneously addressing the need for clear trajectories with strategic entry points to address capacity development needs to stem the tide of pandemics.
Key words: diseases of poverty, human mobility, health systems, state fragility & capacity,
See more here or https://www.academia.edu/9685233/Access_to_Health_Wellness_-_Implementation_of_the_Abuja_Commitment_in_Africa_and_IGAD_countries_Lessons_learned

Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Promise: Human Security, Human Capital, Employment and Entrepreneurship Development in Africa

Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Promise:
Human Security, Human Capital, Employment and Entrepreneurship Development in Africa

 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/unlocking-entrepreneurial-promise-africa-costy-bt-costantinos/edit
Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD
Professor of Public Policy, School of Graduate Studies,
College of Business and Economics, AAU
Background notes & transcript of a lecture at the
AU/UN Finance & Economic Ministers Forum, side events
March 29-31, 2015, AU, Addis Ababa

As a region of young people; whose visions of human development and human security are defined by the tenacity to achieve the Compact defined by the Millennium Development Goals, the youth are right to aspire to forms of transformational development in terms of equity, a healthy population, an educated, fully engaged and employed youth with a solid family structure. Nonetheless, the reality is of one of marginalization, demanding radical developmental and demographic reconfiguration. The later breeds despondency, desperation, intolerance and of course belligerence; so much so that political forces in every corner have mobilized the youth for violent ends, often to the detriment of their very own livelihoods.
The unfolding human tragedy, its impact on human security and development are indeed too ghastly to contemplate. Whereas, the challenge simply stated, underpins the need to connect to the energies of the youth, they have instead, for so many years were encouraged to look to outsiders to provide the means and processes of change. They have been discouraged from mobilizing for local actions and for their own development, finding themselves in positions of unequal power, making it very tempting for many in politics to dictate conditions and terms of relationships on them.The purpose here is to propose means that are designed to develop strategies to mobilize nations and civil societies to direct policies and programs to address the compelling and evolving implications of unemployment and human insecurity; so that it does not further reverse human and social capital development in the sub-Region. The need for collective learning about responses and the responsibility to those whose suffering provided the basis for that learning will never be more urgent than it is now. Unfortunately, such lessons, which may be learned through the shocks administered by an uncompromising reality, are rarely translated quickly into personal or organizational memories and the inherent will to change. The reasons for this are sometimes rooted in human inertia, weakness and self-interest. They are equally often the products of a genuine confusion about how to act most effectively in an environment that seems to be growing more complex.
In 1945, the human community proclaimed a bold and revolutionary vision of the future; where the youth will engage collectively as result of the responsible action of politically mature citizens acting in the framework of a free society. As we stand on the watershed of the old and new Millennia, demands for greater democratic space and youth participation in Horn of Africa have increased the accountability of state actors. This tall order would revolutionize approaches to self-directed human development that only a new paradigm shift and commitment to new organizing principles can achieve. Hence, the need to focus on practical strategies for employment based safety nets and employment generation loans that have transformed hitherto underemployed economies into forces of livelihood sustainability and human security.
Human qualities for development
A major contributing factor to the appalling situation is that there is and has been a shallow understanding of and a feeble grip on, the essential components that constitute the required human qualities for development and the intensive and comprehensive nature of their development and utilization processes. As such, important components and commitment required to build and use a quality labor force for accelerating and sustaining growth are not properly addressed in the education, training and productivity programs. Nations have failed to produce and retain the necessary pool of self-confident, healthy, knowledgeable and skilled public and private sectors labor force, which is full of initiatives and resourcefulness with a sense of purpose, work ethics, vision, integrity and direction. Pronouncements have been made regarding employment and career development programs in m ay forums. Yet, like many other policy efforts, these have not yielded the desired results. Human capital flight from the region has reached high proportions leaving behind an ill-prepared labor force. Skills, knowledge and positive work habits continued to be in short supply. School systems are in shambles in most countries. Strong private sector leadership at all levels of society is essential for an effective auguring of quality labor market. It is essential that their efforts should be complemented by the full and active participation of civil society and the state. Leadership involves personal commitment and concrete actions.
Policy and strategic collapse
While the degree of awareness on the challenges has improved over the past few years, the tendency for governments to treat these challenges as yet another routine issue that needs to be tackled through five-year development plans is tantalizing. The fact remains, however, that these challenges will increasingly claim the livelihoods of many families and the economic backbone of many nations; retarding human development to a level where it becomes impossible to reverse the trend in much less time than the development cycles of states. These are further complicated by fear of the unknown, traditional power dynamics, lack of experience or awareness of collective action, poor local leadership and the lack of energy, time and willingness to devote to activities other than subsistence.
An ambitious African youth policy of 2004 zeroes on enabling the youth to play an active role in building a democratic society and good governance, as well as in social and economic development. It further aims to deliver a democratically oriented, knowledgeable and skilled, organized and disciplined enterprising youth generation. Nevertheless, the low levels of opportunities for productive employment only serve to amplify the nation’s penury. This is not without its politico-ethical consequences. It is echoed in the politicization of violent and fearless youth and the mass diasporization that now crowded Western capitals, as a source of skilled human capital. Failure to utilize such a lynchpin factor of production is not acceptable. Radical policy and strategic measures to boast the private sector’s role and capacity need to be launched with vigor to develop the management and functionings of the labor.
Knowledge management and Communities of Practice:
Evidence of sufficient knowledge and information about the business sector is another indicator. Progress in information systems on micro-economic behavior including labor market networks and the specific requirements of technology transfer and adaptation are all preconditions for sound policy and strategy analysis, formulation and management. Planning and policy-making are characterized by on-going dialogue between government and different groups of economic actors and by regular exchange of electronic data and information on specific needs and requirements including the critical area of technology transfer and development. Further, a coherent and coordinated approach of government agencies in their dealings with the business community, flexibility in response to changing circumstances; attention to detail on objectives agreed upon and emphasis on achieving high levels of performance must be developed.
Entrepreneurship development
Entrepreneurs that are expected to employ the vast army of labor and that operate on a small-to intermediate-scale usually exhibit fairly sophisticated organizational skills. Nevertheless, as their businesses grow along the small-to intermediate-scale continuum, they often face constraints such as limited managerial capabilities; difficulties with technology transfer and adaptation; and, as in the case of informal sector micro-entrepreneurs, inadequate or inappropriate public provision of enterprise-level support. If entrepreneurship is to become the vehicle of growth, ‘graduation’ of informal sector micro-enterprises to better endowed establishments and higher levels of value-added and economic diversification is to be achieved, it is clear that the deficit of skills that are necessary to establish a range of capabilities on the managerial side must surmounted (Costantinos, 2004).
An efficient and a development-oriented private sector provide the nourishment, which markets require to grow and function effectively. Markets themselves provide the credit ingredients, which the private sector requires to grow, expand and contribute to development. Thus, there is a reciprocal and mutually productive relationship between the private sector and credit and capital markets. Responsibility for their implementation has been assigned to stakeholders at the national, sub regional and regional levels. Further analysis suggests that we should incorporate the requirements of establishing capital markets and strengthening the private sector in the list of priorities on their macro-economic reform programs. The banking system must be functioning taking care of the money markets. Consequential growth response of the latter should give a boost to capital markets, which in turn provide capital for SHD (Costantinos, 2008).
Human security
Human security, a post-Cold War concept, is a multi-disciplinary understanding of security involving a number of research fields, including development studies, international relations, strategic studies and human rights. While the “HDR originally argued that human security requires attention to both freedoms from fear and from want; divisions have gradually emerged over the proper scope of that protection and over the appropriate mechanisms for responding to these threats. The Freedom from Fear School seeks to limit the practice of human security to protecting individuals from violent conflicts. The Freedom from Want School focuses on the basic idea that violence, poverty, inequality, diseases and environmental degradation are inseparable concepts in addressing the root of human insecurity. Different from Freedom from Fear, it expands the focus beyond violence with emphasis on development and security goals. In reality both should serve as important impetus to global action” (UNDP, 1994).
Conclusion
Indeed, there is no more compelling raison d'être nor a mission-objective so utterly entrenched in the preservation and, even advancement of human-kind, than good governance and leadership that can lead a social league to relate cogently to an epidemic of ignorance and hence under-employment that has spun out of control. With few exceptions, nations have failed to win popular legitimacy - possessing relatively few authentic social organizations that can articulate and aggregate social interests. Civic leadership remain generally non-existent or at best, weak.
Hence, the central hypothesis in entrepreneurship development is that the relative strength of political organizations determines the rules of the political game that are installed. It requires a plural set of political organizations, which promote and protect rules of peaceful political participation and competition. Together, institutions (plural organizations plus rules of accountability) ensure control of the state executive. These create enabling environment for entrepreneurship development

• ingredients of enabling environment for entrepreneurship development: avoidance of bureaucratic barriers and efficient and reliable infrastructure:
• expansion and establishment of intermediary financial institutions: establishment of education and training institutions, healthy business-government relationship, stable political and regulatory climate, development of grassroots entrepreneurship:
• government institutions have been created to serve the large businesses: expansion of the role of civic associations, sound and stable macroeconomic policy framework, and on improving competitiveness and employment opportunities

Countries must develop clear-cut national youth and employment policies that match trained young people to the labor market and financing policies that would ensure production of viable skilled work force. Institutions of higher learning must expand their education and training programs to include soft skill packages – communication skills, teamwork, problem solving, leadership, innovative thinking, etc.
On value for money and accountability in service delivery:
Institution of higher learning must ensure multi-sectoral training in order to produce a multi-skilled labor force. Countries must continue with their programs to decentralize and devolve services, embrace the opportunities brought by ICT as well as maintain capacity building in education and health, and promote mobile services to hard-to-reach communities. Countries must embrace social accountability for service delivery and empower citizens to demand quality services.
On risk protection, inclusion and social cohesion:
Countries of the region and the international community must urgently address the serious problems of human trafficking and piracy, as well as the peculiar situations in fragile states in the region. Member states must develop national and regional policy frameworks on education focusing on science and technology with revised curriculum to address the demands of the labor market. Countries must revive adult literacy, distance learning, early childhood nutrition and education.
On migration, labor mobility and remittances:
Countries must produce what they can absorb and export, while considering the Push-Pull factors in a globalized, technological 21st Century as well as creating jobs and introducing investment incentives for nationals and the Diaspora of the region. Countries must facilitate brain circulation through support of migration that provide exposure/expertise and improve education systems that add value to migrant labor making them competitive in regional and international markets.
See paper here or copy and paste this link into your browser https://www.academia.edu/11801659/Unlocking_the_Entrepreneurial_Promise_Human_Security_Human_Capital_Employment_and_Entrepreneurship_Development_in_Africa6OTAzZTljNGNmMzVkZTA1

Theories of Governance and New Public Management

  Theories of Governance and  New Public Management


https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/theories-governance-new-public-management-costy-bt-costantinos/edit

Ethiopia: The Future We Want - Pre & Post 2015 Results-focused Developmental Schema:Policy and Strategic Trajectories for National Development

Abstract
While the Ethiopian GDP is growing remarkably, a shift in macroeconomic policy can decisively contribute to high growth rates and new margins of maneuver for sectoral and structural policies. The dazzling feature of such GDP growth is that the contribution of real cost reduction recorded, is higher than in any of the well-performing emerging markets. The developmental state model that accords primacy to macroeconomic stability, notwithstanding; Ethiopia’s growth potential is yet to be and can be mobilized and structural transformation will in effect involve unlocking self-reinforcing policy trajectories and a coordinated change in the composition and level of public and private sector investments. Amartia Sen’s celebrated argument in Development as Freedom that no famine has ever taken place in the history of the world in a functioning democracy, and its corollary, that a free press and an active civic engagement constitute the best early-warning system a country threatened by famines can have, is no longer open to dispute. Indeed, these are the main drivers of the community theories of change, deeply embedded in cultural configurations of Ethiopians: security, adaptation, responses to stress and shocks. The lessons learned point to the need to address the issues to put national policies foreign policy transfers and interventions in coherent theoretical or strategic perspective. What is the overall rationality of programs and projects, the proliferating of which must show regard for economy of coordination, how far and in what ways do various agencies’ programs, mechanisms, forms of knowledge and technical assistance feed on one another in helping set the boundaries of reform. Ethiopia undoubtedly depends on vital international assistance. Yet, it must be recognized that external support creates opportunities as well as problems. Hence, in confronting the imperatives for change, nothing is more challenging than the strategic coordination of diverse global and local elements, relations and activities within themselves, nor has anything, greater potential for enabling good economic and social pluralism through sound policies.

Key words: human development, human security, developmental state, MDGs,