Colaboração entre o Banco Mundial e a Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD

O Banco Mundial desenvolve há alguns anos um programa de colaboração com a Sociedade Civil, financiando, através de contratos quadro, alguns projectos de algumas ONGD.

A Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD foi contactada pelo Conselheiro do Banco Mundial para Itália, Portugal e Espanha e pelo Vice-presidente Europeu do Banco Mundial que apresentaram a seguinte questão: no âmbito de uma redefinição de prioridades do Banco Mundial no apoio ao desenvolvimento, aperceberam-se que os Países em Desenvolvimento que estão no topo da lista das suas novas prioridades são, na maioria, os PALOP com os quais as ONGD portuguesas têm vindo a trabalhar.

Nesta medida, o Banco Mundial pretende aproximar-se das ONGD portuguesas e fazer um levantamento das suas capacidades e necessidades. Com base nas conclusões irá formar uma task force composta pelos representantes das ONGD que se manifestarem interessadas e elegíveis com base nos critérios dos contratos quadro para, em 2006, se deslocarem por uma semana a Washington para troca de informação e averiguar formas de colaboração duradouras.
Até agora o Banco Mundial apenas só teve relacionamento com 3 ou 4 ONGD portuguesas, pelo que querem que essa realidade seja alargada.

Neste contexto, a Plataforma preparou conjuntamente com o Banco Mundial um questionário para levantamento das ONGD interessadas e elegíveis para a relação com o Banco Mundial.

O Questionário do Banco Mundial foi enviado em Outubro de 2005 para a lista de ONGD registadas no IPAD, um universo de 105 ONG.
Responderam correctamente ao Questionário 73 ONG, isto é cerca de 70%.
Não responderam ao Questionário por opção (fundamentada ou não) 7 ONG.

No dia 6 de Julho de 2006, realizou-se uma reunião entre o Banco Mundial e a Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD, para avaliar os resultados do questionário e preparar a viagem de uma delegação (6 a 8 pessoas) das ONGD portuguesas à sede do Banco Mundial a Washington, que se prevê realizar-se no final de Outubro início de Novembro de 2006. Em Setembro, em nova passagem daquela delegação por Lisboa, será apurado um programa de trabalho mais detalhado para aquela visita.

Pão de Todos

Pão de Todos
14 a 17 Dez: 14h-20h

Pelo 3º ano consecutivo a Associção CAIS promove a iniciativa Pão de Todos, uma forma de celebrar o espírito de comunhão, partilha e convívio a que se apela na época natalícia.

Numa tenda, montada na Praça da Figueira, vai funcionar uma padaria, com capacidade para produzir entre 10 a 12 mil pães por dia, distribuídos a quem queira partilhar esta experiência.

Nestes quatro dias, entre as 14h e as 20h, são feitos vários tipos de pão que podem ser acompanhados por chocolate quente. Em torno desta iniciativa, decorrem espectáculos de dança, música e ainda workshops e tertúlias.

Informações Úteis: 218 369 000 (Associação Cais)

The AU: Countries need to walk the talk

DELEGATES to the Pan African Parliament (PAP) have wound up a two weeks’ Session in the small urbane outskirt of Johannesburg, Midrand.They have, once again been grappling with the elusive and sometimes illusive notion of an African Union. It should be noted, that the body skipped one of its previous sessions due to lack of funds to convene the event, and was therefore running behind schedule this time. The parliament’s objectives, stipulated in the protocol to the treaty establishing the African Economic Community and the AU, is to act as the legislative organ of the Union. But during the session, questions abound in the corridors and on the floor of the house, as to how feasible the notion of an African Union was, especially with the level of commitment being exhibited three years down the road. In their concerns after the opening of the sixth ordinary session, members expressed concern over the rigours they had to go through in their countries, to obtain visas to South Africa, the host country and headquarters of the Parliament. Tempers flared with many members infuriated that, their host had no modesty to exempt them from the rigours that ordinary members of the public go through to get visas to of all things, a Pan African meeting. Others were vexed that a female Member of Parliament was near molested, contents of her bag spilled on the checking table as she cleared through Johannesburg international airport. “We do not need visas to come to South Africa for the Pan African Parliament meetings. We are not coming here to look for jobs, we only come here to attend our plenary, then go back to our countries. Where are our privileges,” a clearly disgusted delegate complained on the floor of the house. Mood.This tone set the mood for the two weeks meet, in which members vented anguish at foot-dragging countries that show lack of commitment to the ideals of the union, non-performance by structures of PAP, and intransigence of the west. And the problem did not stop at frustrating individual members, since it spilled on to the issue of committees not being able to raise quorum, as many members were not able to travel due to visa problems. Commitment.The above scenario did raise the question of whether there is enough commitment on part of the African governments and body politic, to work towards transcending border barriers and building the spirit of an African Union. Whereas there was unanimity on the economic benefits of bargaining as a continental bloc, the political willingness to go beyond national boundaries and belong to one entity called Africa was lacklustre. There was also the question of whether we are not running before the horse to market, by jumping onto a bandwagon of a continental bloc, before we are even able to hold together regional blocs. How can Uganda or Kenya for example purport to belong to a United Africa, before it has effectively belonged to one East Africa? Then there was the issue of whether the union, together with NEPAD can purport to know the priority issues in each member country, to be able to negotiate with the west on behalf of all member states. The more reason, it was observed, members often go behind the back of collective bargaining, and strike their own individual deals with enthusiastic giants like china, outside the continental negotiating mechanism. PAP Fund.Perhaps one of the highlights of the occasion was the launching the PAP Fund by venerable former South African President Nelson Mandela, which symbolised the struggle for internal solutions to Africa's financial woes. The fund will act as the basket for pooling assistance from member states of the African Union (AU), companies and individuals from the continent. It will also allow PAP to seek financial and related support from foreign governments and organisations for implementation of its programmes. Prominent people from the public and corporate sectors from the continent were picked as trustees of the Trust Fund, to ensure accountability. Mr Mandela challenged African leaders to expand the democratic space in their countries so that people could enjoy the fruits of the freedom they fought for.

Women’s access to land crucial for Africa’s development

Johannesburg (Nov 22nd)- The Pan African Parliament has been asked to take up seriously the issue women’s ownership of land in Africa.Its members, debating a report submitted by the body’s Permanent Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, noted that the rural economy of almost all countries in the continent depends on women who are deprived the right to wn land. Okioma Mwancha from Kenya noted that the role of women in developing the rural sector is hampered by the fact that they do not have legal access to land. “There is a need for these issues to be taken up and relevant policies be put in place so that African women can play the role required.” He said. According to the Kenyan representative to the Pan African Parliament, in his country women have no right to acquire land, adding that “no title deed is transferred to the wife once the husband is deceased.” Instead, honorable Okima said the title deed is given to her in-laws until her sons grow up. He said such a situation deprived the woman the right of providing with good care the children she has been left with. Okima also urged politicians who hold junks of land without using it while others are landless to release if for the continent to be food sufficient instead of importing food from outside. Agnes Mukabaringa from Rwanda called for enactment of legislations on succession of land. “Such legislation will lay down principles of equality on how best men and women can own land.” She said, noting that land is the fundamental property which will also allow women to use it as collateral when securing bank loans. She however, said for sustainable development, women should be encouraged to participate in macro-agricultural activities that for long have been accessed by men. Maria-Angeline Deque Enoqe from Mozambique noted that women in her country are entitle to land but it is difficult for them to acquire it, adding that “there is a need to form partnership for objectives of making land accessible to all to be realized”. Earlier presenting the report on the eighth sitting of the ongoing Sixth Ordinary Session of the Pan African Parliament, the Chairperson of the Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment honorable Chara Bachir from Algeria cited four workshops that have been earmarked by his team. Among them is the Rural Area Development which will focus on issues such as role of women in rural development as well as investing in rural area.

Beyond the UNDP Human Development Report 2006

The 2006 UNDP Human Development Report (HDR), entitled ‘Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and Global Water Crisis’ is now available. While many of the individual issues and arguments presented will already be familiar to water sector experts, the report cleverly draws together the wealth of existing knowledge, lays bare the challenges faced and sets them within a much wider context.
The report is welcome for a number of reasons, in particular:
Firstly it highlights the fact that in recent years the water and sanitation sector has generally not fared as well as counterparts in education and health despite its centrality in terms of human development.
Secondly it exposes some of the myths which have infiltrated global water discourses including efforts to link lack of access with supposed ‘scarcity’ and scaremongering about imminent ‘water wars’.
Thirdly it recognises the centrality of power, poverty and inequality as underlying causes of the so-called global water crisis and that solutions should not just be technological and financial but also political.
The report is entitled ‘beyond scarcity’ but the report could arguably have gone even further:
Beyond crisis? Continual talk of ‘crisis’ tends to encourage short term solutions and must not be allowed to divert attention away from the central problem of providing access on a sustainable basis.
Beyond health? The report recognises that the livelihood benefits of improved access extend far beyond health but it remains unclear how the artificial divide between domestic and productive uses can be addressed to better meet the needs and priorities of poor water users in developing countries.
Beyond water? The report provides clear justification for increased water sector investment on the basis of human development needs and identifies the need to build sectoral capacity to absorb and spend funds effectively but many of the biggest obstacles to implementation lie beyond the water sector and relate to the wider challenge of building effective developmental states. Chapter 3 rightly highlights that sanitation still lags far behind water supply, despite the negative health consequences of poor sanitary conditions in many developing countries.
The report also points to a number of areas where our understanding is currently lacking:
Water governance. The systems and processes by which societies manage water tend to be highly context specific and good water governance may take many forms. Important unresolved questions remain around the relative costs and benefits of trying to reform developing country institutions versus efforts to build on existing institutions and make them perform better.
Water as a catalyst. The report refers to water as a ‘catalyst for progress in public health, education and poverty reduction and as a source of economic dynamism’ but the contribution of water sector investment to wider objectives of poverty reduction and growth in low income countries remains poorly understood.
Donor behaviour. The report includes a call from Gordon Brown for increased aid and innovative financing mechanisms but recent reviews of existing sector financing mechanisms suggest that a great deal of work is required in order to improve donor harmonisation and alignment in the water sector in practice, to increase the effectiveness of existing funds.
The HDR provides a damning critique of the underlying causes and consequences of the so-called ‘global water crisis’ that leaves, at the beginning of the 21st century, some 1.2 billion people without access to safe water and 2.6 billion without access to sanitation. The focus it gives to the issues is welcome. However, it will be in what action it inspires and what results it brings that the report must be judged and it remains to be seen whether it will it provide the impulse for a step forward for the sector.
What do you think?: Should the report have gone further? Will it be the impetus for a step forward in the sector?

Monday, November 27, 2006 12:01 PM by Tom Slaymaker

Presentes de Natal

Dezembro.
Sem duvida o mes das compras natalicias. Cada ano o esforco de se ser original aumenta assim como a ambicao de ver a satisfacao no amigo/familiar.
Tomo a liberdade, e talvez a ousadia, de fazer uma sugestao: Cabazes do Comercio Justo.
(Isto para quem for ambisioso para alem das fronteiras tradicionais)

Informacao sobre os cabazes para 2006 ja estao disponiveis
http://coresdoglobo.org/Cores_do_Globo_cabazes_2006.pdf