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Africa Diaspora Investment writes "...The Africans in the Diaspora merit increasing attention they are a source of investment funding, expertise and a confidence building measure of great importance.Financial flows from the Diaspora on average contribute 5-10% of some African countries Gross Domestic Product and in a few cases over 20%. In a year alone it is estimated that the Diaspora invest over US$ 450 million, this excludes the estimated US$ 12 billion remittances sent by the Diaspora annually..."

Edited by Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa "...Reforming Africa’s Institutions looks at the extent to which public sector reforms undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years have enhanced institutional capacities across the breadth of government, and to what extent the reforms have been internalized and defended by governments. The book also reviews the impact of reforms on different African economies and questions whether “ownership” can be attained when countries continue to be heavily dependent on external support..."

Steven Vertovec writes "...Over the past 25 years, diasporas have increasingly become significant players in the international political arena...There are many reasons why, over the past few decades, such diasporas have become more prominent on the world stage. New communication technologies have improved abilities to mobilize, and multiculturalism policies in receiving countries have revitalized ethnic pride and assertiveness...The foremost means of diasporic nation-building comes through individual remittances, followed by hometown associations and charitable initiatives that directly affect economic development, poverty reduction, and capacity building. Governments of migrant-sending and receiving countries, international agencies, and academics are now paying considerable attention to the relationship between diasporas and development(PDF)..."
via NaijaMan

The Nigerian Marketing Network and a number of UK universities arrived at a number of conclusions on how to enhance formal and informal market institutions in the continent
They are:
* Promote associations of traders and producers where they can support poor people’s access to markets, such as trader associations.
* Identify the appropriate role of the public sector in providing better market places: for example, state and local governments should stop subsidising market stalls since this does not help poor people.
* Expand access to market information on prices and standards: for example, donors and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should fund access to telephones for poor people and provide information about trusted suppliers.
* NGOs and schools should offer market-based education on measures and quality standards.
* State and local government should make decisions about market and transport intermediaries based on locally specific evidence. This should identify both the benefits of intermediaries and specific occasions where intermediaries exert excessive control over market places.
* When reorganising urban markets, local governments must take particular care not to disturb the employment niches occupied by the poorest people (such as petty retailers and porters)

photo courtesy of marco werman

Bedford Nwabueze Umez writes "...By comparing the leadership styles of African leaders and nonAfrican leaders, one also observes another handiwork of inferiority complex/lack of self-confidence. Specifically, one notices that while nonAfrican leaders wisely refuse to invest their countries' money and resources in Africa, by practicing "charity begins at home," most African leaders are very proud to invest African money and resources in nonAfrican countries. Why? In their miseducated minds, Africa is "unsafe heaven," while "America ilu oba" - the safe heaven. What a lack of self-confidence! What a leadership! It is a pity!..."

"...James Tooley argues that private education is cheaper and more effective than public education.For instance, in Lagos State, the mean maths score advantage over government schools was about 15 and 19 percentage points more respectively in private registered and unregistered schools, while in English it was 23 and 30 percentage points more.More striking: enrollment at private schools in Africa is hugely under-reported, and efforts to provide free primary education may have encouraged parents to move children from the private to the public sector, saving money but making no impact on educational standards.

In Ga District, Ghana, 64 percent of school children attend private unaided schools and in Lagos State we estimate that 75 percent of school children are in private schools - with a larger proportion in unregistered private schools (33 percent of the total) than in government schools (25 percent)..."

Ploughing ahead with the wrongheaded assumption that African Welfarism will ease the problems of education et al within the continent the British Chancellor is leading the charge to educate the mostly African worlds poorest. A grand gesture it may be but have we not been down this ineffectual path before? The Telegraph states "...the subsidies will confirm the view of many Africans that they should look to the outside world, rather than to themselves, for betterment. Put another way, they will allow corrupt and inefficient governments to remain in office, shielded from the consequences of their own mismanagement. Third, as well as infantilising Africans, they infantilise British taxpayers..."

Suzy Hansen interviews William Easterly author of The White Man's Burden .In an answer to a question about aid being an effort to rectify the effects of colonialism he states "...I don't think aid is a nefarious conspiracy to keep control in countries that used to be colonies. But it is part of the kind of colonial mind-set that has persisted. Kipling's "white man's burden" saw colonials as these benign white people bringing civilization to these people. It was put in much more p.c. language and became "foreign aid," but still with rich, white people in charge thinking they knew the answers. There certainly isn't the overt racism as before, but there is paternalism...

Kayode Fayemi writes"...The most practical way to link individual choice to collective responsibility is to participate in the institutions that influence our lives. We must ensure that formal and informal institutions are democratised and given more responsibilities for exercising state power...Renewing our democracy through the strengthening of institutions and public participation increases our collective capacity to tackle the major problems facing our society – with a corresponding achievement of individual contentment even as we pursue the common good..."
via Pambazuka News

NaijaBlog succinctly characterizes the barren Nigerian political discourse, "...Nigeria at this time desperately needs a new political language. Instead of 3rd term, South-South vs North etc, fiscal federalism, percentage deviation blah di blah, its time there was talk of transformation, nation-building, planning for the next ten or twenty years, free (or sustainable) education and healthcare for all, job creation strategies, concern for the environment and fostering innovation..."

John Paul reviews Despite Good Intentions a critique of developmental assistance "...in the rush to scale up microfinance offerings, many newcomers to the field might actually be doing more harm than good. He points out a number of flaws with the current approach to microfinance, cautioning that there is little historical evidence for the developmental role of credit to the poor; that there has been little rigorous evaluation of the overall benefits of microfinance to a person’s quality of life; and that the poorest of the poor are by definition the ones who "need" credit the most, but can do the least with it..."
via NextBillion

An Id21 paper stated that "...Southern firms can still break into export markets. Developing-country firms do export to markets with exacting standards for product quality, reliability of delivery, and consumer safety. Two crucial aspects of trade promotion for developing countries, however, are often overlooked:
* Non-manufacturing sectors, such as tourism and horticulture, generate significant employment and offer opportunities for supplying increasingly sophisticated products. Although manufacturing is considered more attractive, certain areas of tourism and horticulture can be equally appealing.
* New export opportunities are created as southern producers establish closer links with foreign customers. Producers of labour-intensive products such as garments, horticulture and footwear frequently depend on large retailers and specialist international traders for designs, information about demand and technical support..."