NDI - Botswana

NDI Partners with Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to Strengthen Parliaments

fgalleto — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:42:06 +0000

NDI and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) have signed an agreement to collaborate on efforts to enhance representative government around the world. The association is a group of national and subnational legislatures of the Commonwealth, representing some two billion citizens from all faiths and ethnicities from six continents.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in Nairobi Sept. 8 by the secretary-general of the CPA, William F. Shija, and the president of NDI, Kenneth Wollack.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in Nairobi Sept. 8 by the secretary-general of the CPA, William F. Shija, and the president of NDI, Kenneth Wollack. Shija attended the signing ceremony in advance of the 56th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference hosted by the Kenyan Parliament. Wollack was in Nairobi attending NDI's first board meeting held outside the United States. NDI Board member Tom Daschle, former U.S. Senate majority leader, also participated in the ceremony.

NDI and CPA will continue to work together to develop and promote the use of the CPA's "Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures," a guide to good parliamentary practice developed in 2006 by a CPA Study Group that drew on a number of technical inputs, including an NDI discussion document. The CPA benchmarks are being used around the world to help parliaments self-assess their procedures and processes to identify areas where democratic governance can be improved.

Wollack and Daschle noted NDI's past successful cooperation with the CPA and looked forward to additional partnership at the global level and in Commonwealth parliaments where NDI has a parliamentary strengthening program. For his part, Shija welcomed the formal partnership as a vehicle for the 175 national and subnational legislatures of the Commonwealth to work with NDI to strengthen developing parliaments.

NDI and the CPA also collaborate with other international organizations on parliamentary strengthening, including the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank Institute.

Related:

Pictured above: Kenneth Wollack (left) and William F. Shija at the signing ceremony in Nairobi

Published September 21, 2010

Congress Looks to Women as Agents of Change

fgalleto — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:57:09 +0000

In places as diverse as Timor-Leste, Croatia, Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa, increasing numbers of women are being elected to political office. In each case, more women has meant more legislation related to anti-discrimination, domestic violence, family codes, inheritance, and child support and protection.

"Women's political participation results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace," said NDI President Kenneth Wollack in testimony at a June 9 House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on "Women as Agents of Change: Advancing the Role of Women in Politics and Civil Society."

Wollack and other panelists discussed the concrete ways in which women help democracy deliver benefits to all citizens. Panelists also stressed the role that the United States must play in promoting gender equality and empowering women politically and economically to help establish stronger, more inclusive democracies around the world.

In the last 10 years, the rate of women's representation in national parliaments globally has grown from 13.1 percent at the end of 1999 to 18.6 percent at the end of 2009. Some regions have seen particularly dramatic increases, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of women in parliaments has risen from 10.9 to 17.6 percent. While these numbers show progress, women continue to be vastly underrepresented in politics, excluded from decision-making processes and routinely subjected to discrimination and violence.

In spite of enormous social and economic barriers and often in the face of violent opposition, women around the world are demanding their rights to education, security, and healthcare, and claiming a louder voice in decisions that affect their lives and communities. Panelists highlighted the vital role that women can play as leaders in politics and their communities, and stressed the need for increased support for women's political leadership both in the U.S. and abroad.

As Wollack noted, "it is not an accident that the countries in which health, education and economic development are not part of the national agenda are places where women are denied a genuine political voice. Empowering women politically will help countries develop democratic institutions so they can begin to successfully address issues related to security, jobs, human rights, physical well-being and human development." Throughout his testimony, he illustrated how NDI has been working with political and civic leaders for more than two decades to support their efforts to increase the number and effectiveness of women in political life.

Wollack also called attention to the various barriers that limit women's political and civic engagement, namely access to positions of power and to economic resources, lack of government transparency, and pervasive and discriminatory gender stereotypes. He focused on the eight ways to build women's political participation: conducting ongoing communications trainings; building leadership skills; uniting women across political party lines, often in the form of women's caucuses; reforming political parties internally so that women's participation is a real priority; teaching women to train other women so that knowledge and skills are not lost; training elected women so that they are ready to deliver services back to constituents, increasing their chances of re-election; exchanging information internationally; and engaging youth to help change attitudes and behavior towards women.

Other witnesses were: Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues; Dr. Esther Brimmer, assistant secretary for International Organization Affairs; Swanee Hunt, chair of the Institute for Inclusive Security and former U.S. ambassador to Austria; and Judy van Rest, executive vice president of the International Republican Institute (IRI). The House Committee members and panelists discussed a range of topics, including women and governance; women and security; women's role in Haiti's reconstruction process; U.S. policies in Afghanistan; violence against women; the importance of ratifying The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); and the creation of a new United Nations gender entity that would coordinate efforts to support women globally.

Read Wollack's testimony»

Related:

Pictured above:Wollack testifies at the Subcommittee hearing

Published on June 14, 2010

Women as Agents of Change: Advancing the Role of Women in Politics and Civil Society

fgalleto — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:19:53 +0000

Author:

Ken Wollack

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

06/09/2010

Resource Type:

Testimony

Language:

English

Media Type:

PDF

2010

English

Attachment	Size
Kenneth Wollack's Testimony	42.9 KB

African Legislatures Work to Promote Extractive Industry Accountability

jbowen — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:11:54 +0000

Decades-long misuse and mismanagement of oil and mining revenues have fueled devastating spirals of corruption, conflict and poverty in many resource-rich countries. Some international efforts, such as the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Campaign, are focusing on these problems through partnerships between industry, government and civil society. But many legislatures, particularly in Africa, are not addressing this critical area - despite the lawmaking and oversight responsibilities that make them uniquely placed to do so.

To assess the ability of legislatures to promote transparency and accountability in this key sector, NDI conducted research in nine African countries -- Angola, Botswana, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa. NDI reviewed legal and other documents and interviewed members of parliament, ministerial officials, and representatives from the private sector, multilateral agencies, and donor and non-governmental organizations. These activities led to the publication, last August, of Transparency and Accountability in Africa's Extractive Industries: The Role of the Legislature. The report summarizes the challenges legislators face in overseeing oil and mining industries, highlights best practices, and offers recommendations for greater engagement and coordination by legislators, civic groups and the international community.

In February, NDI presented the report's best practices and recommendations to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) at a workshop in Arusha, Tanzania, conducted in partnership with the EALA, the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) and the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank (PNoWB). The EALA is the independent legislative arm of the East African Community, a regional intergovernmental organization that represents Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The workshop participants included EALA members and staff; legislators from Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda; industry and legal experts; international representatives; and regional civil society leaders.

Two lively days of deliberations were set against a backdrop of actual events, including ongoing negotiations over the management of oil deposits in Uganda, a government review of Tanzania's mining sector, and the anticipated construction of an oil pipeline between Uganda and Kenya. The workshop ended with the adoption of a 21-point resolution to serve as a blueprint for greater legislative engagement at the regional and national levels in managing industry revenues.

The Institute plans to support the EALA recommendations with technical support for the launch of a regional forum of extractive industry representatives from government, civil society and the private sector; assistance to improve legislation on industry management; and by facilitating contacts between EALA representatives and legislators from EALA member countries with counterparts from countries that have joined the EITI process.

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Published on July 7, 2008

Profiting from Africa's Natural Resources

vrao — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 19:16:54 +0000

Why isn’t revenue from oil, gas and mining spurring economic growth and social development in resource-rich African countries?

Why isn’t revenue from oil, gas and mining spurring economic growth and social development in resource-rich African countries?

Many African countries have received billons of dollars in revenues from oil and other natural resources over the last 25 years. Yet, the per capita income of most of these countries remains at less than $3 a day.

In many cases, the lack of accountability and transparency in the management of revenue exacerbates poor governance and often fuels cycles of corruption, conflict and poverty.

And the global demand for Africa’s resources is increasing. In response, Sub-Saharan Africa is increasing its output and by 2015 could supply America with one-quarter of its oil.

The challenge facing democrats in Africa is to prevent corruption in resource-rich states and fight authoritarian governments seeking to consolidate their power by controlling these resources.

In response to this problem, NDI is conducting a program aimed at strengthening transparency and good governance in resource-rich African countries. Specifically, the Institute is identifying effective policies and techniques for overseeing revenues from extractive industries and helping reformers in various countries develop strategies for increasing democratic oversight of these industries.

In countries where revenues and expenditures derived from natural resources are not transparent, NDI and its local partners are identifying the obstacles and publicizing the findings.

The African Extractive Industries program is currently active in Angola, Congo, Chad, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Sudan, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

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Published on June 12, 2006

Report: Democracies in Regions of Crisis: Botswana, Costa Rica, Israel

vrao — Mon, 08 Jan 2001 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

12/01/1990

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	1.55 MB

Southern Africa: The People's Voices: Perspectives on Democracy

vrao — Tue, 26 Dec 2000 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/01/1999

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Download the report	15.21 MB