Global Voices » Development

Angola: Angola's Sweet Success

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:12:07 +0000

Mark and Jana blogs about Angola's sweet success: “Around 70% of Biocom’s sugar cane is turned into sugar. The remaining 30% is used for ethanol and the production of electricity. Electric power is produced by burning sugar cane waste. The vapour released during the process is channelled into a high-pressure turbine. The energy that is generated as a result can light up a city of up to 400,000 people, Biocom says.”

Vietnam: State of E-Commerce

Mong Palatino — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:06:20 +0000

Chip 2.0 writes about the slow development of e-commerce in Vietnam

Africa: Development or Democracy, Which Comes First?

Endalk — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:44:42 +0000

The 22nd World Economic Forum (WEF) which took place in Addis Ababa from 9 to 11 May is over, but the fact that the forum chose Africa’s fast economic growth the theme of the meeting is still the subject of much discussion online.

At WEF Panel on African Leadership, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi lauded his government’s economic achievement and dismissed claims that there is a relationship between economic growth and democracy. He said:

There is no direct relationship between economic growth and democracy, historically or theoretically. I don’t believe in bedtime stories, contrived arguments linking economic growth with democracy. Democracy is necessary to keep diverse African nations united.

Despite Meles Zenawi's claims, critics claimed that fast economic growth brought about at the expense of democracy are ephemeral and superficial. Ermias Kassaye, a critical commentator based in Cape Town, does not think so. Reacting to Endalk's observation on Facebook, he wrote:

The dull mind always enjoys by the suppression of the free. Of course he struggled to fill his big stomach, never had a single freedom thought in his mind. The reason for growth is democracy and free thinker society, but if growth flourishes on the grave of democracy, one day is enough to demolish the whole material being.

Writing on the World Bank blog, Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank’s chief economist, argued:

I disagree with those who assert Ethiopia and other African nations of similar income level s are too burdened with governance, poverty, and poor investment climates to exit the poverty trap. China and Taiwan, China – where I am from – as well as many other newly industrialized economies were just as poor a few decades ago and equally saddled with corruption and other obstacles. Many of them still rank low in various governance and business environment indicators today. I was involved in China’s transformation away from agriculture and I’m confident a similar evolution can happen in Africa

He further noted that:

What’s required is what I call ‘Development Thinking 3.0,' an approach based on identifying what the country has (that is, its endowments) and what it can do well (that is, comparative advantage). As part of this, the government should play an active role in helping the private sector scale up what the country can do well now.

Development economics in the past often focused on what developing countries did not have and could not do well. One example of this was the attempt to prop up heavy industries using an import-substitution strategy based on what I call the old structuralism, or ‘Development Thinking 1.0’. This was followed by a focus on governance issues as epitomized by the neoliberal Washington Consensus – what I call ‘Development Thinking 2.0’. The fruits of Development 1.0 and 2.0 were generally disappointing.

Development Thinking 3.0 proposes a change in mindset — we need to stop telling Africans and other low-income countries what is wrong and what needs fixing and instead work with them to identify their strengths based on what they have now. These strengths can then be turned into competiveness in the domestic and international markets.

But many netzines have wondered whether his choice for development over democracy is an applicable thought in the context of Ethiopia. One anonymous commentator on World Bank blog asked:

As an Ethiopian I find it hard to swallow what you wrote about the country. Ethiopia's growth mantra is much of hype than facts on the ground would depict. Imagine, Ethiopia is a country that gets 3 billion dollar of aid money every year. The regime has been in power for the last 20 years, the country's GDP per capita stands where it was 20 years ago. 20 years ago, even during the time of the dictatorial military regime, the people were able to eat at least two times per day, now after 20 years of WB's aid, the people are unable to eat once in a day. In Christian Ethiopia theft is an abomination, now corruption has turned to be a national culture. You may see skyscrapers in Addis Ababa, but they are owned by the ruling elites, army officers and their affiliates. 7 million Ethiopia's are yet under safety net program, which is largely funded by the WB, and 4 million people need urgent food aid. Ethiopia in Addis Ababa and Ethiopia outside of Addis Ababa are different. The government beautifies Addis Ababa to dupe the foreigners that the country is growing, but 100 kms outside the capital everything is different. Ethiopia is a country where human rights violation is so rampant, and I don't blame you if you down grade the value of freedom and democracy for development as you were born and raised in China, but for the sake of comparison imagine Libya before Ghadafi. It was a rich and well built country, but the country turned to ruins in just a year. China's fate won't be different from Libya's and Ethiopia's will be worse. We Ethiopians need to have a stable government first before we think of any kind of development. Once we establish our government based on free election, it won't be difficult to change the country for good. The World Bank needs to hear the cry of Ethiopians; freedom first .Freedom bakes bread not the other way.

The World Bank has reported that online consultations have started regarding the Bank’s Partnership Strategy with Ethiopia. Ethiopian netizens can participate online by suggesting priorities for Ethiopia’s development.

African Confidential, a fortnightly newsletter covering politics and economics of Africa has, reported that though Ethiopia ranked as one of the fastest growing economies, its political strategy and regional role is a questionable one:

Food, housing and water are deemed more important than democracy and trade unions. ‘We’re a fairly tough regime, no one denies that,’ says an official in Addis, privately. He makes Ethiopia’s world view clear: Eritrea is a menace; Somalia is not a cosy neighbor; the Oromo Liberation Front makes threatening noises but is in complete disarray. Foreign NGOs such as Human Rights Watch have difficulty entering the affected areas and horror stories emerge from the refugee camps about periodic political crackdowns.

In addition, a report by The Economist titled ‘A new fund attests to the country’s allure—and to the value of connections’ shows that Ethiopia’s door for investment is opened preferentially based on connections.

Ethiopia, the second most populated Sub-Saharan African country, is accused continuously for using Chinese made monitoring and surveillance technologies to supress voices of dissent in the country.

*Thumbail: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Courtesy of WEF Flickr page (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Kenya: #PayInterns Trending

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:50:23 +0000

#PayInterns is trending in Kenya. @mainneli writes: “Interns should be paid. they do the same work and same stuff like anyone else in the office,stop exploitation #Payinterns”

Gambia: The Glove Project Film

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:38:18 +0000

Matt blogs about a short film showing the work done by the Glove project in The Gambia: “The charity works in a relatively unknown area of The Gambia, north of the river, and seeks to work in partnership with rural village communities, improving health, education and sustainable enterprises.”

Singapore: Population, Migration, and Women

Mong Palatino — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:13:02 +0000

Syahidah Ismail provides an overview of various issues faced by Singapore women in the past half century. The author discussed some of the controversial population and migration policies adopted by the government in the past decades.

Ethiopia: The World Economic Forum in Africa 2012

Markos Lemma — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:49:10 +0000

Over 700 leaders from more than 70 countries are attending the World Economic Forum taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian from 9 - 11 May, 2012.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas:

Africa is experiencing strong growth and despite the increasingly volatile global economy, African leaders are pursuing measures that will transform the region into the next global growth pole. In this context, the World Economic Forum on Africa will seek to leverage the positive political, economic and social progress of recent years by providing a true multistakeholder platform to develop new ideas and actions to achieve further sustainable, inclusive growth, - says Elsie S. Kanza, Director, Head of Africa, World Economic Forum.

Caroline Kende-Robb, Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof - World Economic Forum on Africa 2012. Photo source: World Economic Forum (CC BY-SA 2.0) .

It is not a surprise that such a forum would take place in Africa since African countries are among the top fast growing economies in the world. The top ten countries with fastest growing population are also in Africa. But the choice of Addis Ababa leaves many unanswered questions to human rights activists.

Ethiopian blogger and Global Voices author asks, “When Addis Ababa hosts the 22nd World Economic Forum for the first time on Africa soil will anyone care?”:

I strongly believe that one topic that should be tackled in numerous debates in the forum should be the role of free and independent media and economic growth in Africa. Also other topics on the agenda should be issues like journalists’ incarceration, telecom services control by government and may be corruption. In fact the present spotlight of media on Ethiopia’s economic breakthrough is distracting attention from many serious challenges that Ethiopia’s free media is facing on day to day basis.

The forum has started on Wednesday after lots of bad news about Ethiopia’s free press five journalists—Woubshet Taye, Elias Kifle, Re’eyot Alemu and two Swedish journalists — sentenced to at least 10 years and more behind bars and 2012 PEN America press freedom award winner, Eskinder Nega, could face the death penalty if convicted this Friday.

However, Bekele argues that bringing the WEF to Ethiopia “marks a real shift in the perception of Ethiopia”:

Bringing the Forum to Addis Ababa marks a real shift in the perception of Ethiopia by the international community – a gradual understanding that this is a continent of potential and opportunity and not just misfortune and intractable problems.

As a representative of civil society among what will be an impressive gathering of influential political and business figures, I will be reinforcing the logical progression from building strong communities to strong economies, and, ultimately, greater political stability.

On Twitter, tweeps use the hashtag #WEFAfrica to share key insights and lessons from the Forum:

@Kwabena: Who (here) is using new technologies to engage the youth? - Klaus Schwab asks at the World Economic Forum on Africa #wef #WEFAfrica

@waresafrica: “l wouldn't really invest anywhere apart from Africa today because that's where the growth is.”Dangote tells #WEFAfrica in Addis

@msibeko: Best time for Africa in 50 years, but don't confuse economic growth with economic transformation. Kaberuka #WEFAfrica

@StephanMorais: My view is that there is no connection between democracy and economic growth, but democracy is good in itself, PM Ethiopia @ #WEFAfrica #YGL

@Africa_activist: Is the ordinary African touched by this #AfricaOptimism, is it an elitist movement, how can it be real & transformative? #WEFAfrica #YGL

@FightPoverty: Very inspiring day yesterday @GrowAfricaForum - key message: shift mindset from developing agriculture to developing agribusiness

You can follow the Forum live here.

Bolivia: Development at What Cost? New Conflict Over TIPNIS Road

Pablo Andres Rivero — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:01:39 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage International Relations & Security.

A proposed road project in Bolivia that plans to cross right through the middle of Indigenous Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure (TIPNIS for its initials in Spanish) is once again generating conflict and protest. Indigenous organizations, TIPNIS inhabitants and their supporters began a new long march on April 27, 2012, from Trinidad to La Paz demanding an end to the road project.

Plans for the 306 kilometer road are the result of an $415 million agreement [es] signed by the Presidents of Bolivia and Brazil in August 2009. The Brazilian company OAS was initially awarded a turnkey contract [es] to build the road in 40 months with financing from the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).

TIPNIS march arrives in La Paz in October 2011. By Szymon Kochański on flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In October 2011, after a large march of indigenous peoples and protestors arrived in La Paz, President Evo Morales passed a bill declaring the TIPNIS “intangible” or “untouchable”, which was understood by environmental campaigners and indigenous organizations as the final word on the issue.

However, in February 2012, Bolivia's government gathered pro-road supporters and supported a different march that proposed a new law calling for “prior consultation” that would allow indigenous peoples a greater say. Indigenous inhabitants of the TIPNIS - supported by the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (CIDOB) claim that such constitutional mechanisms should have been conducted before any agreement or contract was signed.

Morales eventually announced the cancellation of the contract for the road with the Brazilian company OAS at the beginning of April, but protestors still reject the terms and conditions of the proposed consultation.

A large number of indigenous organizations and citizens acknowledge that Evo Morales - an indigenous and coca grower's leader himself - has improved their situation. Still, indigenous organizations emphasize that their protest is about their right to be consulted [es] before policies concerning their territories are implemented.

This video shows interviews with indigenous TIPNIS residents and their views on the road project.

The environmental impact of the road is another issue sparking protests [es], particularly among Bolivia’s urban and middle classes.

Nevertheless, Bolivia's government insists on the benefits of a road that would link the central zone of the country, beginning from where most illegal coca is produced and where Evo Morales garners grassroots support. Coca-grower organizations are openly supporting the road as it may provide opportunities to expand production into the TIPNIS National Park. Inevitably, this generates further suspicion among environmentalists, international organizations and public opinion.

Debates also continue on social media platforms, particularly on Twitter (under the hashtag #TIPNIS). One of the questions simply asks “are you in favor or against the road #TIPNIS?”

Among the replies was:

“I think the country must be integrated, if [it] is…best to go through the TIPNIS, so be it, the road should go through where is the best for Bolivia.”

Criticisms are also leveled at the relationship between the road project and the Brazilian-supported Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA), a development plan to link South America's economies through new energy, transportation and telecommunication projects.

According to researcher Gustavo Soto's post on the CEADESC [es] blog:

The 2010-2015 MAS (Evo Morales' political party) program aligns the Bolivian economy to the emerging global capitalist interests of the 21st Century… expressed in mega-energy… road and extractive projects mostly encapsulated in the IIRSA II that inevitably lead to the violation of indigenous rights.

This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide.

Visit the ISN blog and see more related stories.

Russia: Charity Crowdfunding

Catherine Lawlor — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:39:59 +0000

Private Charity: the Situation in Russia

The main representatives of the ‘third sector economy' are non-profit organizations and independent voluntary bodies. Despite the obvious importance of the contributions from volunteers, charities, and NGOs to the resolution of social, ecological, and legal problems (among others), their status is extremely unstable. The activities of NGOs are severely restricted by legal regulations, and their financial situation depends mainly on the generosity of individual donors and businesses.

Last year, Russia moved up from 138th to 130th place in the annual ‘World Giving Index' [ru] compiled by the Charity Aid Foundation (CAF). Each country's ranking is based on several indicators: private individuals' donations, voluntary work, and impromptu charitable acts (for example, giving money to beggars). Despite Russia's moving up on the list, the situation cannot be considered favorable for the charity sector.

In terms of charitable donations in Russia, business contributions remain incomparably higher than private donations. This can be explained by the fashionableness of corporate social responsibility (which in one form or another exists today even in small businesses), as well as the fact that large corporations are obliged to fulfill certain budgetary redistributions in the regions where they maintain a presence.

No provision is made in Russia for tax breaks or other incentives for donors, and — despite the best efforts of the non-profit sector to expand through social media and the wider mass media — there are very few successful cases. This is possibly because ideas about mutual aid and voluntary participation in the resolution of problems that are not one's ‘own' have yet to become mainstream.

According to the research carried out, only 5% of those questioned across Russia donate to charity. Certainly, on a national scale, this seems insignificant. But this is not to say that there is a lack of successful ‘people' projects, financed by private philanthropy. While much activity exists only in cyberspace, the effects of charitable organizations' work is quite tangible and real, and confidence in these groups is undiminished. The proof: the Tugeza [ru] (”Together”) community.

“Togetha: Suddenly Inflicting Good!”

The section on the official Tugeza site, titled ‘Who Is Doing This?' states the following:

Нас часто с опаской спрашивают: «Кто вы, ребята?» Мы теряемся, краснеем и не знаем, что ответить в двух словах. Мы не религиозная секта, не политическая партия, не благотворительный фонд, да чего уж там, мы даже плохо знаем друг друга.

We are often cautiously asked, ‘Who are you guys?' We get a bit lost, blush, and don't know how to sum it up in a nutshell. We are not a religious sect, a political party, or a philanthropic fund; really, we don't even know each other all that well.

Tugeza began its life on the blog dirty.ru [ru] and eventually became, on August 7, 2010, a volunteer project. The names of the organizers are not a trade secret, but finding them is practically impossible. This is on purpose, as Tugeza is not a hierarchical structure but a ‘charitable anarcho-syndicate,' as it is called by its creators.

Screenshot of Togeza's website, 9 May 2012.

Tugeza is now a community without leaders. The running and moderation of the portal is handled by coordinators: the founding fathers and newer volunteers, whose participation is strongly encouraged. Sometimes this coordination is carried out on a regional basis and the monitoring of activities being carried out is taken on by volunteers who live not far from (or at least closest to) to the location where the aid is being directed.

Tugeza helps to attract financing for projects all over Russia that are diverse in both theme and scale: at the moment, volunteers are raising funds for a rehabilitation and education complex in Kaluga [ru] and last month helped an equine therapy center in the Pskov region [ru].

The technology on which the work of Tugeza is built is called crowdfunding [ru]: the collective collaboration of people who voluntarily pool their money or other resources (as a rule, via the Internet) in order to support the efforts of other people or organizations.

How Tugeza works

It all begins with a discussion through the community's social networks: who needs help? And what kind of help? Each project is jointly organized, so that anyone wishing to can make a contribution and share what they have to offer — transport, for example, or the possibility of helping not by collecting money but by donating unneeded clothing, a drumkit, for instance, or bringing friends along to volunteer. This way, as practice shows, significant resources can be shared: time, as well as money.

Next comes the most interesting part: information about the new project is posted on the Tugeza site, such as how much money must be raised and the timeframe involved, what it is being spent on, and who is being helped. Sometimes the beneficiaries are located in isolated rural regions where there is no Internet access, without the chance to comment on what is going on or take part in the fundraising themselves. In such cases, this work is undertaken by Tugeza organizers, who more often than not remain behind the scenes.

All funds are raised virtually, via e-wallet. On the one hand this complicates fundraising (not everyone has an e-wallet) but, on the other, it makes it simple to keep track of things. Tugeza fights the mistrust of e-payments and, even moreso, of ‘e-philanthropy' as best they can: they have released data regarding the proceeds of their Yandex e-wallet, so that everyone can see that their donations have been received. After the completion of the project, they can see on the same site how their money has been spent.

Original [ru]

Africa: White-Collar Crime, a Danger also for African Countries

Greg Ahlswede — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:38:10 +0000

Honoré Kouassi wrote [fr] on the webpage of L'intelligent d'Abidjan: “African countries, particularly those of Sub-Saharan African, are not shielded from the financial crime that has developed over the past ten years in various forms. This crime is a danger, not only for the economic and financial system, but for political and social stability in the states as well.”

Kenya: Chronicles of a Kenyan Farmer Online

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:24:42 +0000

E.K. Kamwenji is a Kenyan blogging farmer residing in Nyeri. Kamwenji worked in different sectors unrelated to agriculture before he realised the importance of using latest technologies for networking and marketing of farm produce.

He explains his journey into farming:

Kenyan blogging farmer. Photo source: Kamwenji's Facebook page.

Thus I am a farmer by profession. The undergraduate course took 4 years and after graduating I ventured into job hunting. Initially, I was employed in a small farm. I was in charge of production but after 14 months, I quit due to low pay which was irrespective of performance as per the agreement.

During this period I was searching for another better paying job but I found myself working in areas that are not related to horticulture. These included sales at an auto shop and programming at an IT company. It was an eye opener as I realized that farmers are generally looked down upon especially the small scale ones.

I also got to know that it was important to incorporate other concepts of business into agriculture to transform it, to bring it to per with the current state of things i.e. use of latest form of technology in order to improve on not just the farming techniques but also on the networking and marketing of farm producers and produce.

How did Kamwenji become a blogging farmer?:

I started my blog not so long ago, mostly as a therapeutic way of ‘telling someone’ about my challenges, joys, disappointments, mistakes and progress. Many of my friends ask me why I choose farming yet there are many other appealing professions out there. I love farming. I desire self reliance especially when it comes to food and most of all following my calling. I find more fulfillment tending to my livestock or crops even with its many setbacks than many of my friends do seated behind desks in offices.

My blog is to not only to record my journeys as a farmer but also to serve as an encouragement to the many jobless youth in Kenya of whom many if not most have migrated and many more still migrate to the capital cities in search of white or blue collar jobs leaving their family farms with no one to till.

My Blog does not give a daily account of my activities in the farm as most are redundant. Rather it gives highlights of the ups, the downs, the learning points and setbacks in a summarized form.
It’s quite hard finding time to even update my blog on a weekly basis leave alone daily thus I just jot down a few notes in the evenings and come up with a more holistic post afterwards.

In one of his last year's posts, Kamwenji discussed his plans for operating a successful livestock project:

My main objectives are to fully operate a sustainable farming venture. The major project is to have the livestock up and going. This is important since this department is not affected by the weather and market for the produce such that one can have a proper plan with.

The cows and goats are for dairy production. Hopefully, if all goes as planned, in the next 2- years they should have multiplied and the milk production should not be less than 60 litres. If they happen to delivery young ones that re male, these are to be raised up to an age where they can be sold at a good value enough to acquire heifers and does(she goats)

In the geese section, the aim is to have twenty adult females. There are adequate to ensure that they lay ad hatch enough chicks unlike poultry Chicken) geese tend to stay long before laying and only lay 5-7 eggs before becoming broody. The good thing is that they do have a better market.

In another post written this year, Kamwenji shows how environmental degradation in Kenya affects farmers:

Talking of weather, the region I come from (or undertake most of farming for that matter) has been in the news due to frost affecting the tea farms both small-scale and large scale. It is quite tragic if you ask me because for the longest time Kenyans have been ignoring the calls for environmental conservation. The haphazard weather patterns we have seen in the last 5-10 years have been worrying especially considering our country is smack in the middle of the tropics.
Tree-cutting has been the order of the day and recently the area around Mt. Kenya - which is less than 20 miles from the farm - had a wild fire which was contained after more than 3 days. A similar but less serious situation was also reported along the Aberdare Ranges. These two highlands provide the area around Central Kenya with much of its water and this also trickles down to the other parts of the country in Nairobi, Eastern and Coastal regions. Reduce the acreage of trees on these areas and you drastically affect the water table and patterns downstream. I'll not lecture you on this for now.

In addition to blogging, Kamwenji uses YouTube to share stories about his farm. The two videos below are from his 5-part YouTube series:

This is a 5 part series video of my farm in Karatina Nyeri. You will get to see; The dogs, Goats, Cows, Calves, Geese as well as the foodcrops; Bananas, napier grass, beans, maize and fruit trees.

I also take you through how I use the manure generated from the cows into the farm.

Join me as I take you on a tour of my farm.

Kamwenji is also on Facebook and Twitter. His blog was nominated in the Agriculture Category in this year's BAKE Blogger Awards.

Africa: Will Local Content Policies Help Avert the Oil Curse?

Julie Owono — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:34:48 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage International Relations & Security.

In recent years, major reserves of oil have been discovered at various locations across Africa. If this ‘black gold' represents an opportunity for economic growth, the fear that the windfall may not benefit the local populations - and maybe even become a curse - is shared by Sub-Saharan African citizens and experts alike.

In 2009, Modern Ghana’s Nana Adjoa Hackman suggested a possible solution:

It is common practice for oil and gas producing countries to negotiate local content agreements with interested IOCs [International Oil Companies] in an attempt to secure for the country a higher share of the value from oil and gas projects. This trend has surfaced as a result of the realization of the poor economic performance of many resource rich countries despite their vast wealth.

Tullow oil camp, Uganda. Image by Conservation Concepts on Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Taking the example of Ghana, he explains:

As part of measures being undertaken to put in place the framework for Ghana's oil and gas production, a Bill entitled the Ghana Petroleum Regulatory Authority (GPRA) Bill was released in October 2008. (…) Sections 100 to 105 inclusive of the Bill deal with the promotion of local content, specifically, the involvement of the state oil company, provision of goods and services by local entrepreneurs, as well as the employment and training of citizens of Ghana.

The adoption of the local content policy framework in Ghana followed in 2010, however it is still pending parliamentary endorsement. The latter is now more urgent than ever, as finding employment is a preoccupation for an increasing number of Ghanaian citizens.

Commenting on an article entitled ‘Youth Angry-Over Elusive Jobs In Oil Industry‘, Christiane Badgley writes:

Oil brings in huge amounts of money, of course, and along with that come expectations of many, well-paid jobs. The problem is that the industry – at least as it exists in Ghana now – doesn’t generate much work. (…) We’ll have to wait for details on how the government intends to increase local content and participation, which is easier said than done. Training, education, quotas, regulation, penalties, taxation, incentives – the government has multiple options for addressing the question.

In Uganda, the same move towards the adoption of a local content policy is being made, as explained on the In2EastAfrica website:

Uganda wants a strong local content in the nascent oil and gas industry for its citizens to gain skilled manpower and a competitive supply edge. This is in an attempt to ensure revenues trickles down, averting the resource curse.

Indeed, avoiding the oil curse is important for Uganda, particularly if it helps to prevent the emergence of other Joseph Kony- like characters. Petroleum was, after all, discovered in the north-west, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the 30 year long conflict led by the Lord's Resistance Army chief. A local content policy would hopefully create employment for local populations and distract them from the path of war.

In Kenya case, where oil was found earlier this year, Local Development Network of Africa asks on Twitter:

@ledna: How far have discussion on #Ghana “local content” for the oil and gas sector gone? #Kenya (new found oil) could learn from that

Günther Schulze, professor of economics at the University of Freiburg, Germany, adds another perspective on the World Bank blog:

The biggest -but most important- challenge is to build and maintain good institutions. (…) transparency will be the most powerful lever for accountability. If Kenyans know exactly how much oil is being produced, how much royalties oil companies pay this would already be a major step in the right direction. (…) Kenya’s strong civil society and creative industries, especially in ICT, can play a strong role in monitoring the oil revenue flows and proposing solutions on how to spend the money well. Then the resource curse can be turned into a blessing.

Visit the ISN blog and see more related stories.

Georgia: Lazika, Facebook, and the Constitution

Onnik Krikorian — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:27:09 +0000

Despite growing concerns about plans to build a new city on swamp land, Democracy and Freedom Watch says that Lazika will be included in the country's Constitution. With no transparency in the decision-making process, the blog sarcastically notes that for now the city exists only in the form of a Facebook page.

Guatemala: State of Siege Due to Hydroelectric Plant Conflict

Renata Avila — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:51:50 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

The Guatemalan government has declared a state of siege in Santa Cruz Barillas, following demonstrations and clashes sparked by the death of a community leader who opposed the construction of a hydroelectric plant. Citizens from this community have been using blogs and social networks to report on the current conflict.

Santa Cruz Barillas is located in Huehuetenango, one of the most culturally diverse areas in Guatemala, where members of at least four different indigenous groups live, and where Spanish speakers are the exception rather than the norm. It is also the place where the cruelest, most brutal acts of genocide were perpetrated by members of the Army back in the 1980s.

The process of peace and reconciliation never arrived there; in some of the massacres there were no survivors left behind. It is also one of the most impoverished areas with a rate of 79.7% child malnourishment [es].

The community vs. the hydroelectric plant

The unrest first started with a disagreement between Spanish energy corporation Hidralia Energia [es] (@HidraliaEnergia) [es] and the inhabitants of Santa Cruz Barillas. According to the company's public relations website, the project complies [es] with environmental regulations. However, the company did not ask for the community's approval to build the hydroelectric plant.

The entire community [es], through their legitimate representatives in each and every Community Development Council (COCODE), have opposed the hydroelectric plant, asserting that it will seriously harm the Cambalan river environment, as reported by a Santa Cruz Barillas news portal [es]. In October 2011, community leaders publicly condemned [es] and rejected the project, and during the following months the confrontation increased.

Back in 2007, more than 46,000 members of the community had voted against mining and hydroelectric companies through a mechanism of public consultation.

Picture by SantaCruzBarillas.org under a Creative Commons License

In late April 2012, allegations of land mines placed around the hydroelectric company to protect it from any disruptive actions triggered a series of protests where citizens expressed their concern and demanded that the company be expelled from the community. Protesters denounced the mined field at the offices of the police, and later demanded protection and action from the army.

Citizen media connections

In spite of limited connectivity, unstable electricity and geographical isolation - or maybe because of the latter - Santa Cruz Barillas has high quality, interactive citizen media, which is key for understanding the community's dynamics and problems, especially in moments of tension.

During the last weekend of April 2012, villagers in Santa Cruz Barillas were kicking off their local annual festivities, starting with a beauty pageant to elect the 2012/13 Mayan Q'anjob'al beauty queen, as Pancholon reported on his blog [es]. Several of these activities were even livestreamed [es], offering an opportunity for the diaspora, especially in Los Angeles, California, to watch the festivities and also become aware of local issues, such as the hydroelectric one.

Blogs represent a bridge between these two communities living so far apart and they share information through a social network called Barillenses [es], and also use Facebook and Twitter (@barillas) [es].

Among the disagreements between the community and the company was the obstruction of pedestrian movement in a public area due to the works of the company. Pancholon reported the incident in his blog [es] and provided a copy of the complaint from the community to the police.

Pancholon also shared his concern [es] that there is pressure on local media to not report on the incident:

Se ha solicitado a los medios de comunicacion en Barillas a no hacer eco de esta noticia por temor a represalias y no pasar anuncios publicitarios a favor de la empresa Hidro Santa Cruz. La poblacion de Santa Cruz Barillas ha puesto una denuncia ante el Juzgado de paz porque se ha encontrado artefactos explosivos activados y la denotacion de bombas tipo Claimor en la entrada donde se esta construyendo la Hidroelectrica. Los vecinos se dedican al trabajo de cultivar la tierra y temen que encuentren en su camino mas explosivos, tambien han sido obgetos de amenazas, intimidaciones via telefonica por parte de trabajadores de HIDRO-SANTA CRUZ

Media in Barillas have been asked not to spread the news about the conflict, as people are scared of reprisals, and not to publish any advertisement of the company Hidro Santa Cruz. The people of Barillas filed a complaint before the minor court because they found active land mines and Claymore-style bombs in the entrance where the company is building the hydroelectric plant. The community is dedicated to cultivating the land and are afraid of finding more explosives on their way to work. They have also been subject to threats and intimidatory phone calls from workers of Hidro Santa Cruz.

As reported earlier, one of the community leaders - Andrés Francisco Miguel - was killed and two others were seriously injured in their face and arms in the aftermath of these events. The community blamed the company. Since the village was celebrating its annual festivities, some of the people present were drunk and the unrest lead to the destruction of public facilities and private property. It is uncertain whether the community leaders were involved or not.

NotiBarillas [es], one of the leading local media outlets in Barillas, reports that the government declared a state of siege for 30 days and restricted, but did not cancel, the festivities in the village. They also provide a comprehensive timeline [es] of the conflict and events leading to the recent developments: more than 12 people have been arrested, including a 74-year-old woman accused of keeping unlicensed guns in her residence.

Through its blog, the peoples' Council demanded [es] the release of the arrested community leaders and condemned the President's declarations claiming that the protests were linked to drug dealers and organized crime. Diverse social organizations, like legal advocacy group SERJUS [es] and other organizations from the neighboring Ixcan locality, demanded [es] an exhaustive investigation to discover who was behind the killing of community leader Andrés Francisco Miguel.

Declaring a state of siege has been the reiterated practice of the last three governments when situations get out of the authorities' control. Meanwhile, citizen participation mechanisms where all stakeholders can convene and agree on the best solution have been largely ignored.

An open letter to the President was published today in a collective Latin American Social Scientists blog [es], signed by dozens of well know academics and institutions, demanding that the President of Guatemala defend the people over enterprises and private companies.

According to the government of Guatemala's Twitter account (@GuatemalaGob) [es] the President visited Santa Cruz Barillas on May 7. His message favors the hydroelectric plant and blames the conflict on organized crime and ideological disagreement. He also affirmed he will increased the number of soldiers in the village.

In his communique [es] he did not mention the killed local man, but showed the injuries of one of the soldiers.

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

China: Rural Left-behind Children

Oiwan Lam — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:57:11 +0000

Acopy.net introduces a Chinese documentary, the Road, directed by independent documentary worker Jiang Nengjie on “left-behind children” in rural China.