sábado, 6 de outubro de 2007

Brasil: Anti-Corrupção em debate no Senado Federal a propósito de Kaufmann

Senado Federal Pronunciamento Completo

Autor Demostenes Torres (PFL - Partido da Frente Liberal /GO)
Data 06/09/2005 Casa Senado Federal Tipo Discurso

O Dr. Daniel Kaufmann, Diretor de Programas Globais do Instituto Banco Mundial, ouviu em português, entendeu em inglês, mas, se quisesse, teria desconfiado em espanhol ou em hebraico que o Excelentíssimo Senhor Presidente da República, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, fazia caçoada quando declarou que cortaria a própria carne para salvar o Brasil das saúvas do PT. Na ocasião, o economista estava em Brasília, na condição de chefe da delegação do Banco Mundial perante o IV Fórum Global Anticorrupção, realizado entre 7 e 10 de junho, onde o Presidente Lula falou o que não ia fazer.

PhD em Harvard, Mr. Kaufmann pensa que a qualidade do Governo é a chave para o desenvolvimento do Terceiro Mundo e certamente não se deixou impressionar pelo ambiente corrosivo da Capital. Não havia a seca de setembro, mas a situação não estava sopa. À véspera, o Deputado Roberto Jefferson tinha estabelecido o dia D do escândalo do mensalão, após entrevista à Folha de S.Paulo. Na abertura do fórum, no auditório do Blue Tree, enquanto autoridades exercitavam a memória em busca de repasses de malas no sofisticado estabelecimento hoteleiro, o ex-Presidente do PTB acenava que tinha mais maldade na caixinha. Naquele 7 de junho, ouviu-se a palavra impeachment pela primeira vez. O Governo Lula estava de luz amarela acesa. O Deputado Valdemar Costa Neto foi para o ataque e o professor Delúbio Soares mantido na Tesouraria Geral do PT. Já Mr. Kaufmann declarou que, na América Latina, somente o Chile, e mais ninguém, havia atingido o grau avançado de combate à corrupção. E o Brasil? Está estagnado entre os medíocres.

O economista acabou de publicar um interessante artigo na revista Finanças & Desenvolvimento, editada pelo Fundo Monetário Internacional, intitulado "Dez mitos sobre o governo e a corrupção", o material de Mr. Kaufmann estima que um processo de governabilidade responsável, centrado no controle da corrupção, poderia no longo prazo fazer com que a Guiné Ocidental se tornasse uma Uganda; que Uganda viesse a ter o nível de percepção da Lituânia; que a Lituânia chegasse a Portugal; e, por fim, que Portugal alcançasse a Finlândia. Dr. Daniel Kaufmann projetou que o controle da corrupção poderia fazer com que se triplicasse a renda per capita de países como Vera Cruz, com efeito imediato na redução da mortalidade infantil e do analfabetismo. Para o cientista, a corrupção é aquilo que o Brasil sabe. É cruelmente danosa com as pessoas de baixa renda, pois são sobretaxadas nos seus ganhos e no consumo, e não possuem acesso aos serviços essenciais.

O Presidente Lula não sabia de nada. Caso tivesse prestado atenção no que se passou no IV Fórum Global de Combate à Corrupção, especialmente no que pensa Mr. Kaufmann, com alguma certeza teria cortado a própria carne para que o Brasil deixasse o ciclo do baixo crescimento econômico, da ameaça inflacionária e dos custos sociais altíssimos da política monetária. Saberia que missões clandestinas, a exemplo da empreendida pelo Sr. Marcos Valério a Portugal, afugentam os investidores. O Presidente seria cientificado de que a baixa qualidade da infra-estrutura está associada aos planos não-republicanos do Deputado José Dirceu. Para um homem que não sabia rigorosamente de nada, talvez passasse a ter noção óbvia de que a corrupção traz o legado da fome, causa depressão, mantém o Brasil entre os piores em saneamento básico e faz dinâmica a evolução da pobreza. Teria se informado de que a ação perniciosa de certo Silvio Pereira reduz a produtividade do setor público. Poderia, então, ter mínimo entendimento de que acordo espúrio, como o celebrado com o ex-Deputado Valdemar Costa Neto, corrói o caráter obrigatório das normas legais. Desmoraliza o Estado. Enfraquece as instituições e torna ilegítima a disputa eleitoral, além de provocar indignação, é claro!

Sr. Presidente, Srªs e Srs. Senadores, o sobrevivente do Palácio do Planalto está convencido de que sai caminhando da crise do mensalão caso consiga restringir o escândalo no terreno do meramente declaratório. Da parte do próprio - parece crucial - o plano é o "nada a declarar!" Já as faladas instituições, em estratégia de defesa, vão continuar acusando a Oposição de denuncista, de emitir declaração caluniosa, embora os companheiros do PT e da base adquirida sejam a fonte da má notícia. Em uma atitude delirante, os remanescentes cuidarão, das respectivas Pastas, de escarnecer do trabalho da imprensa e de diminuir a função vanguardista dos veículos de comunicação na transparência do sistema de corrupção engendrado pelo PTbrás.

A Esquerda ama se vitimizar das conspirações lacerdistas e alimenta a ilusão de que a liberdade de imprensa é a causa do infortúnio. Ao mesmo tempo, vale-se do domínio da fala para fazer fato o inverossímil declaratório da tal agenda positiva.

A partir da próxima semana, o programa radiofônico "Café com o Presidente" passará a ser semanal. Como em nem todo domingo o Brasil ganha de 5x0, as manhãs de segunda-feira poderão revelar regresso no otimismo chapa-branca.

(Interrupção do som.)

A SRª PRESIDENTE (Serys Slhessarenko. Bloco/PT - MT. Fazendo soar a campainha.) - V. Exª já ultrapassou o seu tempo em oito minutos, Senador Demóstenes Torres.

O SR. DEMÓSTENES TORRES (PFL - GO) - Muito obrigado.

No programa de ontem, por exemplo, o Presidente Lula usou metade do tempo para anunciar um feito já comemorado na antevéspera e requentou o improvável êxito da Campanha do Desarmamento.

Sr. Presidente, no último sábado, o Ministro da Justiça, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, havia renovado o encontro com a glória das suas atribuições institucionais. Como a Campanha do Desarmamento é dele, ao titular devia ser reconhecida a condição de salvador de 3.234 almas. O número é o saldo a menor no índice do Ministério da Saúde sobre os homicídios provocados por arma de fogo em 2004 em relação ao ano anterior - resultado revolucionário, diria petista engajado nos tempos em que era oculto o amigo mensalão.

A tendência é positiva, mas de pouco significado real. Já a avaliação do Dr. Bastos consagra o que não lhe pertence e nem ao Presidente Lula! A causa da diminuição desse tipo de homicídio deve-se à política de segurança empreendida pelas polícias estaduais. Os Governadores estão pregando aos peixes por verbas para a segurança pública desde a ascensão de janeiro de 2003 de Lula ao poder. No conjunto dos dados, somente São Paulo contribuiu com 61% na redução do indicador. O Ministro da Justiça, panglossiano que é, fez o apelo ao formidável. Concluiu, antes de explicar. Em momento de auto-admirativo, observou que as Unidades da Federação, vanguardistas no declínio de mortes por arma de fogo, foram justamente as que abrigam sociedades organizadas que, em nome da Paloma, de Picasso, mais acorreram à Campanha do Desarmamento.

Elementar, só que a parte desmente o todo. Na região metropolitana de São Paulo, continuam em circulação mais de 1,3 milhão de armas ilegais. O último boletim do "desarmamômetro" do Dr. Bastos registrou a entrega voluntária de 430 mil armas em todo o País. Se o índice de homicídios com emprego de arma de fogo caiu, não foi por que assassinos potenciais depuseram os meios por conta de R$100,00. Para o Ministro da Justiça, a campanha é uma legenda e foi observada por 8,2% de qualificados cidadãos. Pretendiam matar alguém, mas refluíram a tempo, depois do "rolando o lero" do Dr. Bastos, o codificador.

O crime também possui avaliação de risco e propaga-se à razão direta do comportamento líquido do Estado.

(Interrupção do som.)

O SR. DEMÓSTENES TORRES (PFL - GO) - Vou apenas concluir, Srª Presidente.

A SRª PRESIDENTE (Serys Slhessarenko. Bloco/PT - MT) - Senador Demóstenes Torres, V. Exª já ultrapassou 11 minutos do seu tempo e, como V. Exª está falando pela Liderança, teria direito a cinco minutos. Está concedido a V. Exª mais um minuto.

O SR. DEMÓSTENES TORRES (PFL - GO) - A lei, em si, não tem o condão de promover alterações de condutas. Depende da efetividade das políticas no texto consagradas. Campanhas de publicidade não convencem criminosos a deixar a vida bandida. No Governo Lula, ao contrário, são o portfólio das organizações mafiosas. No Orçamento de 2005, o Governo do PT investiu, das verbas do Sistema Nacional de Segurança Pública, R$0,11 na proteção de cada brasileiro. Nas contas do Dr. Bastos, foi uma pechincha. Para manter a sobrevida dos 3.234 não-abatidos, até agora o Governo Lula gastou R$555,74. Com o dinheiro economizado, vai sobrar verba publicitária para fazer o espetáculo do "sim" no referendo de outubro. O Dr. Bastos é um talento!

Muito obrigado, Srª Presidente.

Patrick Awuah: Educating a new generation of African leaders

About this Talk

Patrick Awuah left a comfortable life in Seattle to return to Ghana and co-found, against the odds, a liberal arts college. Why? Because he believes that Ghana's failures in leadership -- and he gives several mind-boggling examples -- stem from a university system that fails to train real leaders. In a talk that brought the TEDGlobal audience enthusiastically to their feet, he explains how a true liberal arts education -- steeped in critical thinking, idealism, and public service -- can produce the quick-thinking, ethical leaders needed to move his country forward.

Speaker Patrick Awuah: University founder

After working at Microsoft for almost a decade, Patrick Awuah returned home to Ghana and cofounded Ashesi University, a small liberal arts college that aims to educate Africa's next generation of leaders. Its first class of students graduated in 2006.

Why you should listen to him:

Awuah left Ghana as a teenager to attend Swarthmore College in the United States, then stayed on to build a career at Microsoft in Seattle. In returning to his home country, he has made a commitment to educating young people in critical thinking and ethical service, values he believes are crucial for the nation-building that lies ahead. Founded in 2002, his Ashesi University is already charting a new course in African education, with its high-tech facilities, innovative academic program and emphasis on leadership. It seems more than fitting that ashesi means "beginning" in Akan, one of Ghana's native languages.

Kaufmann: ''A longo prazo, o controle da corrupção é crucial para o crescimento e o desenvolvimento "

ENTREVISTA com D. KAUFMANN

“Siga o dinheiro”

Assim o Brasil descobrirá o caminho para reduzir a corrupção. Vencer essa guerra é essencial para o país crescer, diz o diretor do Banco Mundial

Durante o caso Watergate, quando o jornalista Bob Woodward estava tendo dificuldade de juntar as pontas para decifrar o esquema de corrupção no governo Richard Nixon, ele ouviu um conselho célebre de Mark Felt, sua fonte de informações no FBI, tornada famosa pelo apelido Garganta Profunda. "Follow the money" (Siga o dinheiro), disse Felt. Woodward e Carl Bernstein, seu parceiro no jornal Washington Post, seguiram a trilha do dinheiro e abriram o caminho da renúncia de Nixon à Presidência dos Estados Unidos. Três décadas depois, o mesmo conselho é dado ao Brasil por Daniel Kaufmann, diretor de governança global do Banco Mundial e uma das maiores autoridades do mundo em combate à corrupção. Essa é a receita de Kaufmann para evitar a proliferação de escândalos como o das sanguessugas do Orçamento. O monitoramento independente e constante do caminho do dinheiro público - para saber onde ele vai parar - é uma das melhores fórmulas para tornar o controle orçamentário mais rígido e transparente. Para o economista, se as lideranças políticas tiverem vontade e tomarem as medidas corretas, é possível num prazo de oito anos reduzir a corrupção no Brasil aos níveis toleráveis de países mais desenvolvidos.

Quem é ele ?

Economista formado na Universidade Hebraica de Jerusalém, com mestrado e doutorado em Harvard

O que ele faz ?

É diretor do Banco Mundial, especialista em reforma do sector público, governança e combate à corrupção.

ÉPOCA - O Parlamento brasileiro vive uma crise sem precedentes por causa da corrupção. Qual pode ser a conseqüência da desmoralização do Legislativo?

Daniel Kaufmann - Se o Executivo não é cobrado pelo Congresso, isso já é um sinal de corrupção. É extremamente importante que haja um Parlamento com integridade, com comissões sérias para controle orçamentário, para cuidar das contas públicas com transparência, para criar comissões anticorrupção e desafiar o Poder Executivo. Isso garante o equilíbrio do Estado.

ÉPOCA - O que pode ser feito para controlar o Orçamento e evitar a corrupção?

Kaufmann - O Orçamento pode ser uma grande fonte de corrupção. Nos Estados Unidos, há muitos anos um ladrão de bancos foi pego e questionado por que fazia aquilo. "É ali que o dinheiro está", respondeu. É o mesmo raciocínio em relação ao Orçamento. É um lugar óbvio para o corrupto concentrar o foco. Uma boa fórmula de começar a controlar o Orçamento e evitar a corrupção é: siga o dinheiro. Uma ferramenta importante usada por vários países é o levantamento e rastreamento de despesas públicas. Por exemplo: o governo destina dinheiro à educação. Esse levantamento independente é feito por uma instituição fora do governo. Ela vai a um número de escolas para descobrir quanto foi recebido e como o dinheiro é usado. Em alguns casos, há o envolvimento da associação da comunidade no processo. Em países onde isso aconteceu, foi descoberta uma grande diferença entre o valor que deveria ser enviado e o valor que as escolas receberam. É preciso monitoramento claro e transparente de gastos.

ÉPOCA - Existe uma receita para combater a corrupção?

Kaufmann - Há ferramentas para diagnosticar quais os maiores problemas de corrupção num país. Recentemente, aconselhamos autoridades da Guatemala e do Quênia. Nós os ajudamos com pesquisas sobre seus cidadãos, usuários de serviços e empresas. Os servidores públicos fizeram suas pesquisas, um relatório detalhado dos problemas, para um diagnóstico. É assim que as prioridades são destacadas. Deve haver vontade política por parte das lideranças. Não apenas do líder do país, mas também no Parlamento, no Judiciário, na sociedade civil e no setor privado.

ÉPOCA - Que países obtiveram sucesso nessa luta?

Kaufmann - Países como os Estados Unidos eram extremamente corruptos no passado. A polícia de Nova York era dominada pela corrupção. O Reino Unido também foi corrupto e levou cem anos para melhorar. Há casos como Chile e Botsuana, que apresentam níveis mais baixos de corrupção que alguns países desenvolvidos.

ÉPOCA - Como eles reduziram a corrupção?

Kaufmann - Eles tiveram ações de combate apoiadas pela vontade política de lideranças. A corrupção é tipicamente um sintoma de fraqueza em algumas áreas de governança. Em alguns países, e não é o caso do Brasil, há pouca responsabilidade democrática e liberdade de imprensa. No Leste Asiático e na antiga União Soviética, havia restrições à imprensa e às liberdades civis. Aquela velha noção de que devemos apenas acreditar em instituições governamentais não funciona.

ÉPOCA - Como o Brasil está em relação ao resto do mundo?

Kaufmann - O Brasil está na média. Podemos dizer que o copo está "meio cheio". De acordo com nossos indicadores, para o Brasil não acendeu a luz vermelha. Está sempre amarela. Em termos de indicadores de governança (o Banco Mundial avalia 204 países quanto à corrupção), o Brasil está exatamente no meio, na 100a posição. Então podemos dizer que o copo está meio cheio. Por outro lado, podemos dizer que está meio vazio. É uma pergunta que os brasileiros devem fazer. Onde queremos estar? Por que o Brasil não tem uma luz verde? Progresso significativo é possível. Isso aconteceu no Chile, em Botsuana e em países do Leste Europeu. Eles estão ficando cada vez mais verdes. Não acontece da noite para o dia, porque não se pode transformar uma Guiné Equatorial numa Finlândia rapidamente. Mas também não é necessário esperar 30 ou 50 anos. Em um período entre seis e oito anos, um país pode mudar.

''A longo prazo, o controle da corrupção é crucial para o crescimento e o desenvolvimento. Um país com muita corrupção é mais vulnerável a crises econômicas''

ÉPOCA - Então reduzir significativamente a corrupção não é um processo demorado?

Kaufmann - É possível com reformas e vontade política. O importante é ver que o Brasil está na média. Deixo a pergunta: o copo está meio cheio ou meio vazio? Poderíamos fazer a mesma pergunta sobre a Índia e o México. Eles estão na mesma situação. Brasil, México e Índia são poderosas economias emergentes. São avaliados como medianos em termos de governança e corrupção. Estão no meio do grupo. Não é suficiente estar satisfeito com um copo meio cheio. É necessário olhar ambiciosamente para a parte que está vazia e perguntar como estaremos em dez anos.

ÉPOCA - Há algum exemplo de país corrupto que tenha atingido alto estágio de desenvolvimento?

Kaufmann - A longo prazo, o controle da corrupção é crucial para o crescimento e para o desenvolvimento. Isso não quer dizer que alguns países não tenham momentos de crescimento com índice alto de corrupção. Mas por períodos de dez anos, no máximo. Vimos que Bangladesh apresentou boa performance de crescimento, mas tem sérios problemas de corrupção e governança. Perguntam-me sempre como países como a Indonésia cresceram rapidamente com sérios problemas de corrupção. Mas a Indonésia quebrou. Um país com muita corrupção é mais vulnerável e exposto a crises econômicas.

ÉPOCA - A internet é uma arma contra corruptos?

Kaufmann - Sim. Atualmente, há uma ênfase maior nas medidas de transparência. Por exemplo, um site para checar os bens e a renda dos políticos, outro para checar qual político votou em qual lei e um terceiro mostrando que grande empresa ou empresário contribuiu para aquele político. Tudo de forma organizada para o eleitor se acostumar a navegar pelo site. Precisamos lembrar que existe o outro lado da moeda. A internet é inteligentemente usada como ferramenta pelo crime organizado. Não há como escapar do uso dela para combatê-lo.

ÉPOCA - A corrupção pode ser uma ameaça para a democracia?

Kaufmann - Sim. A corrupção enfraquece a legitimidade das instituições democráticas aos olhos dos cidadãos. Onde há mais corrupção, os cidadãos participam menos nas instituições democráticas. Felizmente, os cidadãos da América Latina não pensam em alternativas à democracia. Mas mostram claramente que seu apoio a ela é menor quando há mais corrupção. Os contribuintes sabem que os impostos não serão usados no fornecimento dos serviços públicos que esperam e estarão menos propensos a pagá-los. Isso diminui a renda do Estado.

Governance Matters 2007- Worldwide Governance Indicators, 1996-2006

What is Governance?
Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.
" One of the best kept secrets at the World Bank is their World Bank Country Governance Indicators ."
Gordon Johnson,
Co-Founder, Center for Privatization, Washington, DC
The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) projectreports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 212 countries and territories over the period 1996–2006, for six dimensions of governance:
Voice and Accountability

Political Stability and Absence of Violence

Government Effectiveness

Regulatory Quality

Rule of Law

Control of Corruption

The aggregate indicators combine the views of a large number of enterprise, citizen and expert survey respondents in industrial and developing countries. The individual data sources underlying the aggregate indicators are drawn from a diverse variety of survey institutes, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations.

The six aggregate indicators and the underlying data sources can be viewed interactively on the Governance Indicators webpage . Documentation of the latest update of the WGI can be found in "Governance Matters VI: Governance Indicators for 1996–2006." Further documentation and research using the WGI is available on the Resources page of this website or at www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance.

http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi2007/sc_country.asp
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=999979

Governance Matters VI: Governance Indicators for 1996-2006 DANIEL KAUFMANN
World Bank Institute
AART KRAAY
World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)
MASSIMO MASTRUZZI
World Bank - Research Department July 2007
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4280Abstract:
This paper reports on the latest update of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) research project, covering 212 countries and territories and measuring six dimensions of governance between 1996 and 2006: Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption. This latest set of aggregate indicators, are based on hundreds of specific and disaggregated individual variables measuring various dimensions of governance, taken from 33 data sources provided by 30 different organizations. The data reflect the views on governance of public sector, private sector and NGO experts, as well as thousands of citizen and firm survey respondents worldwide. We also explicitly report the margins of error accompanying each country estimate. These reflect the inherent difficulties in measuring governance using any kind of data. We find that even after taking margins of error into account, the WGI permit meaningful cross-country comparisons as well as monitoring progress over time. In less than a decade, a substantial number of countries exhibit statistically significant improvements in at least one dimension of governance, while other countries exhibit deterioration in some dimensions.

Euvin Naidoo: Africa as an investment

About this Talk

In the talk that opened TEDGlobal 2007 ("Africa: The Next Chapter"), South African investment banker Euvin Naidoo sets the scene, framing the conversation that would unfold over the four-day event. "What's the worst thing you've heard about Africa?" he asks. After fielding call-outs of "famine," "war," "corruption," he urges the audience to move past these preconceptions -- and offers a compelling picture of a continent on the cusp of enormous change.

Speaker Euvin Naidoo: Investment banker

As president of the South African Chamber of Commerce - America, Euvin Naidoo works with leading corporations and governments to strengthen trans-Atlantic economic ties.

Why you should listen to him:

Euvin Naidoo wants to change your mind about Africa. Armed with facts, figures and a forward-looking outlook, he conveys a nuanced picture of a continent that's large, diverse and full of potential, with stabilizing economies and business growth. Speaking at TED in a personal capacity, he offers persuasive reasons why the continent's challenges should be reframed as opportunities, and why investing in Africa can make great business sense.

Based in Manhattan, Naidoo focuses on acquisition finance and private-equity transactions for emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. A third-generation South African, he spent four years as a consultant with McKinsey & Co., and holds an MBA from Harvard.

NIGERIA : L'éveil d'un géant

A propósito do dream team de Obasanjo, vale a pena recuarmos até 10 de Julho de 2005, a fim de relermos este artigo de Abdelaziz Barrouhi, publicado no dossier da revista Jeune Afrique e dedicada às reformas e ao combate à corrupção na Nigéria . Só à luz deste desígnio se entenderá a razão da necessidade de estabilidade e continuidade...
La « dream team » d'Obasanjo
Abdelaziz Barrouhi
Le président a dépêché des spécialistes au chevet de l’économie du pays. Des technocrates triés sur le volet, apolitiques et bardés de diplômes.
Les fans de foot, admirateurs de Jay Jay Okocha, Yakubu Ayegbeni et Obafemi Martins, ont de tout temps rêvé d'une équipe nationale gagnante qu'ils appellent la dream team - l'équipe de rêve. Un nom qu'ils ont naturellement repris pour désigner le groupe de technocrates qu'Olusegun Obasanjo a chargés, en juin 2003, de mener à bien les réformes économiques destinées à jeter les fondations du renouveau. Quant au président, il appelle les membres de cette équipe ses « disciples », pour utiliser un langage religieux dont il est familier. Ce n'est pas exagéré, quand on sait que l'homme de la rue n'hésite pas à dire d'eux qu'ils sont « envoyés par Dieu ».

Choisis parmi l'élite intellectuelle du pays, bardés de diplômes et souvent formés aux États-Unis et en Grande-Bretagne, ces technocrates sont presque tous apolitiques, contrairement aux pratiques anciennes où seuls les hommes d'appareil - souvent corrompus - tenaient le haut du pavé dans l'exécutif.

Chaque semaine, il réunit cette équipe pendant quatre-vingt-dix minutes, juste avant la tenue du Conseil des ministres. Certains de ses membres figurent au rang des plus proches conseillers à la présidence, d'autres occupent des ministères ou des institutions clés, d'autres encore dirigent les organismes spécialisés autonomes qui lui sont directement rattachés.

Au nombre de quelques dizaines, ils comptent parmi eux quelques personnalités : le Pr Charles Soludo, gouverneur de la Banque centrale ; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, ministre des Finances ; Nuhu Ribadu, patron de la lutte contre la corruption ; Nasir el-Rufaï, ministre du District de la capitale fédérale, Abuja ; Oby Ezekwesili, conseillère spéciale du président Obasanjo pour le budget.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Madame Solutions

Première Nigériane à devenir ministre des Finances, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala a considérablement contribué, depuis 2003, à ce que les institutions financières internationales prennent au sérieux la volonté de son pays de réformer son économie et d'utiliser ses revenus pétroliers pour lutter contre la pauvreté. Diplômée d'Harvard et titulaire d'un PhD en économie du développement du Massachusetts Institute of Technologie (MIT), où elle a également travaillé entre 1976 et 1981, elle est entrée à la Banque mondiale comme économiste en 1982, pour ne la quitter qu'en 2003. En une vingtaine d'années de carrière à la Banque, elle a gravi les échelons jusqu'à en devenir le numéro trois, en tant que vice-présidente et secrétaire générale. Obasanjo l'a appelée à ses côtés au début de son second mandat, en juin 2003.

Juste après sa nomination, deux départements vitaux, la planification et le budget, ont failli être soustraits au contrôle de son ministère. Elle a aussitôt menacé de démissionner, obligeant le chef de l'État à faire machine arrière. Depuis deux ans, elle s'attache à mettre de l'ordre dans les finances du pays en introduisant plus de transparence, notamment en publiant dans les médias le montant des allocations versées aux États de la fédération, qui absorbent une large part du budget national. Elle a aussi fait avancer la cause de la réduction de la dette extérieure. « Elle est dynamique et brillante, c'est Madame Solutions », dit d'elle l'un de ses collaborateurs. Reconnaissable à ses pagnes traditionnels, cette battante au sourire avenant a fêté ses 50 ans le 13 juin.

Charles Soludo

L'apôtre des réformes

Âgé de 45 ans, Charles Soludo est au centre des grandes réformes de l'économie nigériane. Il a supervisé la mise au point de la Needs (Stratégie nationale de maîtrise et de développement économiques) comme conseiller économique en chef d'Obasanjo et président de la Commission nationale de la planification de juillet 2003 à mai 2004. Il a engagé, depuis juillet 2004, en tant que gouverneur de la Banque centrale du Nigeria (CBN), une profonde réforme du secteur bancaire qui, si elle réussit, fera de lui son sauveur. Professeur d'économie, il est l'un des plus fins analystes de la problématique du développement au Nigeria. Selon lui, l'économie n'a pas apporté de bénéfices tangibles aux citoyens. Et la faute en revient essentiellement à « l'État rentier qui perpétue une politique du partage des recettes pétrolières plutôt que de la production ».

Oby Ezekwesili

Transparence d'abord

Directrice de l'unité pour le contrôle du budget et des prix, elle est l'une des fiertés du pays pour son rôle dans la lutte contre la corruption, dit d'elle Obasanjo, dont elle est aussi la conseillère spéciale en matière budgétaire. Oby Ezekwesili a contribué à assainir les processus de passation des marchés publics. Son contrôle minutieux des contrats en cours a permis de découvrir un gonflement des montants, et ainsi fait économiser à l'État près de 1 milliard de dollars ces deux dernières années. Ezekwesili s'est distinguée en matière de bonne gouvernance et de développement. Diplômée en administration publique de la Government Kennedy School d'Harvard, elle a notamment été directrice financière de Transparency International. Elle a aussi exercé dans le privé comme consultante en audit comptable.

Mais elle a encore du pain sur la planche, notamment en matière de recouvrement de la part des revenus pétroliers qui revient au Nigeria dans les contrats de partage avec les compagnies étrangères. Car, en ce domaine, l'opacité règne. Or la récente adhésion d'Abuja à l'Initiative sur la transparence des industries extractives (EITI) requiert plus de coopération de la part des compagnies étrangères. Stricte et soucieuse du détail, elle a introduit une discipline rigoureuse dans la préparation et l'exécution du budget de l'État. Inutile de dire que les politiciens se méfient d'elle et que les entreprises adjudicataires la prennent désormais au sérieux. D'ailleurs, elle va faire son entrée au gouvernement dans les prochains jours.

Nasir el-Rufaï

La détermination au pouvoir

DSC00421

Il est l'un des Nigérians les plus brillants de la génération montante. Âgé de 45 ans, il est bardé de diplômes décrochés dans les plus prestigieuses universités américaines. Après un passage dans le privé, il est entré au service de l'État comme directeur général du Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), organisme chargé des privatisations. En juillet 2003, lorsqu'il l'a nommé ministre du District d'Abuja, Obasanjo lui a simplement dit : « Nettoie-moi la capitale ! » Et c'est ce que Rufaï est en train de faire. Il a d'abord « nettoyé » l'administration de la ville en supprimant 5 000 emplois fictifs et en remettant à la disposition de la fonction publique 2 000 autres employés. Puis il a commencé à « nettoyer » la ville des constructions sauvages qui y ont proliféré sur fond d'escroqueries et de corruption. Pour cela, il fait respecter le plan d'aménagement de l'agglomération, en ordonnant la démolition, effective depuis mai, de centaines de constructions dont la propriété et le permis de construire ne sont pas enregistrés. Ce qui l'oblige à s'attaquer à de puissantes personnalités. Il n'en craint pas les conséquences sur sa carrière politique. « Je ne suis pas un politicien, car un politicien ne ferait pas ce que je suis en train de faire, explique-t-il. Certaines de mes décisions d'intérêt public ont fait du bruit, mais ce sont plutôt celles d'un novice en politique. »

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: How to help Africa? Do business there

Negative images of Africa dominate the news: famine and disease, conflict and corruption. But Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Finance Minister of Nigeria, says there's a less-told story unfolding in many African nations: one of reform, economic growth and business opportunity. Cracking down on corruption -- and the perception of corruption -- will be the key to its success. She tells how high-ranking Nigerian officials taking money illicitly have been jailed, and how citizens and prospective business partners are getting at least a partial picture now of where money flows.

Speakers Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Economic reformer

As the first female Finance Minister in Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attacked corruption to make the country more desirable for foreign investment and job creation.

Why you should listen to her:

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, was Nigeria's Finance Minister and then briefly Foreign Affairs Minister from 2003 to 2006, the first woman to hold either position.

During her tenure, she worked to combat corruption, make Nigeria's finances more transparent, and institute reforms to make the nation's economy more hospitable to foreign investment. The government unlinked its budget from the price of oil, its main export, to lessen perennial cashflow crises, and got oil companies to publish how much they pay the government.

Since 2003 -- when watchdog group Transparency International rated Nigeria "the most corrupt place on Earth" -- the nation has made headway recovering stolen assets and jailing hundreds of people engaged in international Internet 419 scams.
Okonjo-Iweala is a former World Bank vice president who graduated from Harvard and earned a Ph.D. in regional economics and development at MIT. Her son Uzodinma Iweala is the celebrated young author of Beasts of No Nation.
"Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a heroine not just of Nigeria, but of the entire continent. Her crusade against corruption has put her life at risk." The Independent (UK)

China in Africa , friend or foe for the European Union? Why Africa Matters ?

Sff ouçam um interessante diálogo entre o nosso estimado Prof. João Gomes Cravinho, SENEC de Portugal e o Director do Instituto de Relações Internacionais da RP da China, Xing Hua. Para visualizar o video , sff , clique sobre o link abaixo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPtf-WSeg24
Xing Hua , China
"Porque é África importante" foi o tema de abertura da conferência sobre este continente realizada esta semana em Bruxelas. Portugal elegeu África como uma das prioridades da presidência da União Europeia. Mas não é o único.
A China é o segundo parceiro comercial de África, logo atrás da Europa. Nospróximos dois anos, Pequim pretende conceder cinco mil milhões de euros em créditos. Mas os avultados investimentos da China geram polémica, em especial em países como o Sudão e Angola.
Xing Hua é o Sub-Director do instituto chinês de Relações Internacionais. E João Gomes Cravinho é o especialista em Segurança e Desenvolvimento e também Secretário de Estado dos Negócios Estrangeiros e Cooperação de Portugal.

fotografia do SENECSecretário de Estado dos Negócios Estrangeiros e da Cooperação

Professor Doutor João Gomes Cravinho

João Gomes Cravinho, 40 anos. Licenciatura e mestrado pela London School of Economics e doutoramento pela Universidade de Oxford. Professor Auxiliar da Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra. Docente na licenciatura em Relações Internacionais dessa Faculdade e Coordenador do Programa de Doutoramento em Política Internacional e Resolução de Conflitos. Docente convidado no ISCTE e na Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

A sua tese de doutoramento versou sobre Moçambique, tendo publicado numerosos estudos académicos em revistas portuguesas e estrangeiras – Reino Unido, França, Espanha. A sua mais importante publicação em Relações Internacionais, para além de diversos artigos em revistas da especialidade, é o livro Visões do Mundo, publicado em 2002 e escrito principalmente enquanto Investigador Visitante na Universidade de Georgetown, em Washington.

Para além da sua carreira académica, João Gomes Cravinho tem dedicado muitos anos de actividade à cooperação para o desenvolvimento. Foi, designadamente, consultor de entidades nacionais (Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian) e internacionais (Comissão Europeia, Banco Mundial), coordenador do relatório interministerial do Governo português sobre assistência a Timor Leste em 1999, trabalhou na Presidência portuguesa da União Europeia de 2000 no âmbito da cooperação, e entre Janeiro de 2001 e Junho de 2002 foi Presidente do Instituto da Cooperação Portuguesa.

Xing Hua

  • Remarks:
  • Mr. Xing enjoys the government's "distinguished contributor" specialist allowance.
  • Curricula vitae of the expert:
  • After graduating from the French Department of Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, Mr. Xing joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as interpreter, second and first secretary and political counsellor in the Department of Translation and Interpretation, and Chinese embassies in Guinea, Mauritania, Switzerland and Mali. In 1973, he joined CIIS where he took position of Deputy Director and Director of Division of European Studies and Vice President. He was a visiting scholar in the United Nations Institute For Disarmament Research (Geneva) in 1986 and Denmark Institute of international Studies in 1998.

    His research areas cover European situation analysis,NATO and European security, EU integration process, China-EU relations.

    http://www.ciis.org.cn/en/aboutus41.asp?id=50

    ( Vale a pena recuarmos até ao ano 2000 e lermos atentamente a entrevista do Sr. XING , abaixo, a fim de compreendermos melhor como se desenvolvem sistematicamente os três pilares da cooperação externa Chinesa)

    INTERVIEW WITH XING HUA

    Published in Autum 200o

    Research Fellow & Vice-President - China Institute of International Affairs (CIIS)

    ASEM: A STEP BY STEP PROCESS

    Laurent Malvezin (LM).- During the Asian Financial Crisis, there has been a lot of arguments among Europeans about the capability of Asia to recover fully from the melt-down of their economies. Today, even if the recovery has been spectacular, doubts remain as to its sustainability, and the interests of the Europeans in the area seem on the wane. Some say that the EU pay less and less attention to the opinion of Asian countries. As an expert on China and European relations, do you agree with such a view?

    Xing Hua (XH).- We have first to keep in mind that during the 2nd summit of ASEM, which was held in London in 1998 precisely during the crisis, European countries proved to be helpful and concerned. Not only that, they, in effect, turned their concern into concrete action, setting up the Asia-Europe Trust Fund (1), providing technical assistance to Asian countries' effort in terms of reform of other financial systems

    Such an attitude was very much appreciated. Of course, Asian countries realised that the world economy being more and more integrated, the Asian crisis was bound to have some impact on the European economies as well, and therefore the European Union could not ignore it.

    Nevertheless, European countries took a friendly posture towards the Asian countries in difficulty. This positive response somehow deepened and boosted the relationship between Asia and Europe. The Asian countries draw two lessons from the crisis: first, the necessity to improve their own industrial restructuring and to reorganise their financial system, second, the necessity to reform the international financial and monetary system. European countries can bring expertise and technical assistance, including to China, to reform our economies and financial systems. Actually, some actions have already been taken in that direction. As regards the international monetary system, the European countries and the Asian countries can cooperate together and make some proposition.

    But having said that, we have to take stock of the fact that some European scholars and even politicians do not necessarily share the same analysis on Asian Financial crisis with their Asian counterparts. In Europe and Asia, there is such a proverb: “ build friendship through hard times “. During painful periods of economic crisis or difficulties, the European countries should look carefully at the objective causes of such a crisis in order to take positive actions. If this is done thoroughly, it will enhance a mutual understanding of what happened. It would obviously enhance the relationship between Europe and Asia on trust basis.

    LM.- You mentioned the second ASEM summit as a key event in the middle of the crisis. What is the place and importance of the ASEM process in China Foreign policies ? Is it in harmony with the concept of “multi-polarization” that is at the core of the Chinese Foreign policies ?

    XH.- First, I would like to emphasise that the involvement of China in ASEM is not accidental nor is it motivated by tactical considerations but the logical consequence of China approach to the new international order.

    China is the largest developing country in the world. In the past 50 years, old China has been rejuvenated, achieving unprecedented developments since it implemented the open-door policy, especially in the last two decades. Its global national strength and its international standing have been notably enhanced and raised. The objectives of its fundamental policy are the economic construction of the country and the improvement of people's livelihood. It means, to achieve such a goal, on the foreign front, to carry out an independent foreign policy of peace, and to strive to create a sustained peaceful international environment. For that, we need to promote friendship and cooperation between the peoples of various countries in the world. Thus China is playing an ever-increasing positive role in the international cooperation.

    For China, to participate in international cooperation means to take part actively in the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and other International Organisations, but also to get involved in regional cooperational institutions. Why then does China take seriously the Asia-Europe relationship? Because, amongst the world’s three largest economies, namely the US, Europe and Asia, which actually means East-Asia, there was already cooperation between US-Europe and US-Asia on a bilateral basis taking place for many years through effective mechanism. And so the third pillar, Europe-Asia would be reinforced and institutionalised)

    Europe in the 1990’s went from being an European community to a European Union,. It has increased its economic standing in the world while the same evolution also occurred in Asia at the same time with the remarkable development of the East-Asian economies (2). Such trends have created a kind of mutual attractiveness between them and led to a common desire of deeper cooperation and relations. Moreover, the Asia-Europe rapprochement may bring additional voices in the arena of international affairs and a more impartial, balanced and stable way to manage the future of a globalized world rather than to rely on one superpower. So the whole process is in line with the concept of multi-polarization.

    LM.- You mentioned three economic zones, the US one, the European one and the Asian one. Do you foresee a fourth pillar such as the South American one, which stands to be different from the US one, if only because it is a Latin speaking bloc rather than an Americanised one?

    XH.- Indeed, and Latin America and Asia are preparing now to reach a common understanding about institutionalised economic cooperation. Later this year, one scholar of my Institute will attend an International conference on Asia-South America relations in Chile. China is deeply interested and will participate actively in the process.

    LM.-While everyone focuses its attention on China-Us relations, has ASEM a special meaning for China?

    XH.- We consider that the ASEM process aims at promoting the concept of multi-polarization, but does not constitute any kind of intention to isolate the US. As you are no doubt aware, in addition to the ASEM process, China, and the United States too, are also a member of APEC. Next year, the informal head of states summit of APEC (3) will actually take place in Shanghai.

    LM.- Just looking at East-Asia, along with APEC, there are other groupings such as ASEAN, ASEAN+3, ASEM, ARF, some with what is known as their track II related organisations (4). How can all these institutions can work together or simultaneously in the fields of economic cooperation or even political dialogue?

    XH.- From now, those who take part in ASEM are the members of ASEAN+3 (5). If East Asia represents Asia nowadays in the ASEM process, it is first because ASEAN has reached an unprecedented level of integration as a regional institution. Furthermore, the initiative of ASEM came from one of the ASEAN members: Singapore. Besides ASEAN members, three other countries of East Asia, China, Korea and Japan have, each of them, a close relationship with ASEAN members.

    LM.- But East Asia is not Asia, and so the Asia-Europe summit is not really true to its name. Would China welcome an enlargement of the ASEM to new members of the South Asia Subcontinent, for example, India ?

    XH.- Absolutely, China is ready to discuss with the members of both sides of ASEM about the possibility for new members to join the dialogue. If I’m not mistaken, India and Pakistan have already expressed their strong interest in ASEM. China is even not opposed to the entry of countries like Australia, and New Zealand as full members of ASEM, but other countries seem not ready to accept it so far.

    LM.- We know that in the foreseeable future, the EU members will increase, and maybe reach 25 or even more. Can an ASEM with 30 members on the one side and 10 members on the other still work in a balanced way?

    XH.- We have to negotiate together whether it is possible to reach a consensus on it. Of course, we have to bear in mind that, even now, there are 15 European members, for 10 Asian members, and somehow, a kind of balanced must be maintained in the future.

    LM.- A question that a lot of people have often in mind when they talk about EU and Asia relationship, is the vision of an European integration model for Asia. Do you think that Asian Countries in their own Institution-building process can use the so-called European experience as a benchmark ?

    XH.- All Asian countries agree that the EU experiment is a unique experience. As a major regional bloc, It has the highest level of integration, the strongest economic power, and has won the respect of Asian countries. But, here we have maybe to distinguish two different aspects of the question. The first aspect deals with each side sharing views from their own experience - the Integration process for the EU, and the regional economic cooperation for Asia. And the second aspect or vision consists in asking if the European model is applicable for Asian countries in their economic cooperation and integration process. I think that the former is possible and feasible, but the latter rather unrealistic. Actually, Europe and Asia have a different history and their present situation each have their own specifics. Perhaps the most relevant point is that the two regions, Asia and Europe, through the EU and ASEAN, are not at the same stage of development, and therefore, for instance, ASEAN integration is built on bilateral and multilateral state-to-state cooperation, rather than purely integration. Moreover, the so-called “European model” is not conceptually or practically as clear as it appears at first glance. Amongst EU members, there are many different views that do not necessarily reflect a unique model or projection of this model. Some countries want to promote the idea of a federal system, while others stand for enhancing cooperation between the sovereign states. In that extent, what is the reality of the “European model” ?

    And secondly, I would have to say that in order to effectively get mutual confidence in cooperation, for both sides, maybe European countries should refrain from acting as a teacher vis-à-vis their Asian partners. The climate would be healthier and the cooperation become more efficient and sustainable if they would discard such a naive attitude.

    LM.- Do you have the feeling that sometimes European countries behave like some sort of a paternalistic superpower?

    XH.- I would rather express this idea in a more simple way. Yes, it is true, sometimes, among some European scholars as well as politicians, there is the syndrome of the medicine man, which consists in decreeing why and where Asia is suffering from and how to deal with it. Perhaps, before delivering the prescription, European people should be better informed of the realities of Asian countries, their idiosyncrasies and constraints.

    LM.- Let us come back to ASEM process. There are three “pillars”, as fundamental areas of cooperation and dialogue: the economic and financial pillars, the political pillar and the intellectual and cultural pillar. In these three domains, what can be done and should be done to give ASEM some new impetus?

    XH.- First, let me say that China is an active member at every level of the dialogue, from state leader summits to the second track activities, and their associated working groups dealing with specific research fields. For example, a Sciences and Technologies Ministers meeting was held in China. Regarding the three pillars of the dialogue, the stand of China is very clear and highlights the importance of each of them. The economic cooperation must lead to create a better economic environment, a sustainable development and the basis for cooperation in other field of activities.

    Here I would say two words about the political pillar or dialogue. It is a fact that in some areas, such as the notion of security, moral values, development policies, Europe and Asia do have different ways of thinking, or even disagree on such notions. China on this crucial question advocate a step-by-step approach based on mutual respect. China’s understanding of the political dialogue broadly covers many area of research and cooperation: illegal migrations, drugs enforcement, international organised crime etc..

    © www.asian-affairs.com

    Notes:

    1.- Responding to the economic and financial crisis in Asia, the London Summit in 1998 held a discussion on the crisis and its implication for Asia-Europe relations. Heads of government pledged to keep markets open in the face of any protectionist pressures which might arise from the crisis (the ASEM Trade and Investment Pledge), and agreed to launch an ASEM Trust Fund to provide technical expertise to address the financial and social issues arising from the crisis. They also agreed to establish a European Financial Expertise Network (EFEX) to identify high-level expertise in both the public and private sectors to provide assistance to Asia.

    2.- Asian ASEM partners represent 31.5% of the world population, produce 18,9% of world GDP, account for 24% of world wide exports of goods (15.9% of services) and for 17.5% of world imports of goods (22.5% of services). They generate 7.5% of FDI outflows while absorbing 14.5% of FDI inflows (Data 1998).

    3.- see Asian Affairs on Asean, avaiable on the website.

    4. See organization chart in this issue.

    5. In 1996, when ASEM was established, as it was an ASEAN-Europe initiative, the membership seemed a straight forward one. It was bound to be the ASEAN members plus China, Japan and Korea on one side (as the Asia part on it) and the European countries which were EU members. However, ASEAN expended faster than EU did. Since ASEM II, ASEAN has become a ten countries organization among which Myanmar which is unacceptable to some EU countries as a member of the Asian community (see S. Jayakumar about ASEM).

    Published in Autum 2000

    "Why Africa Matters" was the opening theme of a two-day conference held in Brussels this week. Portugal has made Africa a key priority during its EU presidency. But it's not the only one. China is Africa's second biggest trading partner after the EU. In this edition of Agora, two experts offer their views on why China will play an increasingly important role in shaping the continent's future.

    Forget aid and money, Africa needs IDEAS ! By Philip Emeagwali

    If ideas are capital, why is Africa investing more on things than on information, and more on the military than on education? Suddenly, I realized what this idea could mean for Africa. If the pen is mightier than the sword, why does a general earn more than the work of a hundred writers combined? If ideas are indeed capital, then Africa should stem its brain drain and promote the African Renaissance, which will lead to the rebirth of the continent. After all, a renaissance is a rebirth of ideas. And knowledge and ideas are the engines that drive economic growth.

    By Philip Emeagwali (Speech delivered at the University of Alberta, Canada, September 23, 2006)

    I once believed that capital was another word for money, the accumulated wealth of a country or its people. Surely, I thought,

    wealth is determined by the money or property in one’s possession. Then I saw a Deutsche Bank advertisement in the Wall Street Journal that proclaimed: “Ideas are capital. The rest is just money.” I was struck by the simplicity of such an eloquent and forceful idea. I started imagining what such power meant for Africa. The potential for progress and poverty alleviation in Africa relies on capital generated from the power within our minds, not from our ability to pick minerals from the ground or seek debt relief and foreign assistance.

    If ideas are capital, why is Africa investing more on things than on information, and more on the military than on education? Suddenly, I realized what this idea could mean for Africa. If the pen is mightier than the sword, why does a general earn more than the work of a hundred writers combined? If ideas are indeed capital, then Africa should stem its brain drain and promote the African Renaissance, which will lead to the rebirth of the continent. After all, a renaissance is a rebirth of ideas. And knowledge and ideas are the engines that drive economic growth.

    When African men and women of ideas, who will give birth to new ideas, have fled to Europe and the United States, then the so-called African Renaissance cannot occur in Africa. It can only occur in Paris, London and New York. There are more Soukous musicians in Paris, than in Kinshasha; more African professional soccer players in Europe, than in Africa. African literature is more at home abroad than it is in Africa. In other words, Africans in Europe are alleviating poverty in Europe, not in Africa. Until the men and women of ideas - the true healers of Africa - start returning home, the African Renaissance and poverty alleviation will remain empty slogans. After all, the brightest ideas are generated and harnessed by men of ideas.

    The first annual report by J.P. Morgan Chase, a firm with assets of 1.3 trillion dollars, reads: “The power of intellectual capital is the ability to breed ideas that ignite value.” This quote is a clarion call to African leaders to shift purposefully and deliberately from a focus on things to a focus on information; from exporting natural resources to exporting knowledge and ideas; and from being a consumer of technology to becoming a producer of technology.

    For Africa, poverty will be reduced when intellectual capital is increased and leveraged to export knowledge and ideas. Africa’s primary strategy for poverty alleviation is to gain debt relief, foreign assistance, and investments from western nations. Poverty alleviation means looking beyond 100 percent literacy and aiming for 100 percent numeracy, the prerequisite for increasing our technological intellectual capital. Yet, in this age of information and globalization when poverty alleviation should result in producing valuable products for the global market and competing with Asia, the United States, and Europe - shamefully, diamonds found in Africa are polished in Europe and re-sold to Africans.

    The intellectual capital needed to produce products and services will lead to the path of poverty alleviation. Intellectual capital, defined as the collective knowledge of the people, increases productivity. The latter - by driving economic growth - alleviates poverty, always and everywhere, even in Africa. Productivity is the engine that drives global economic growth.

    Those who create new knowledge are producing wealth, while those who consume it are producing poverty. If you attend a Wole Soyinka’s production of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” you consume the knowledge produced by Soyinka and Achebe as well as the actor’s production, much like I consume the knowledge and production of Bob Marley’s through his songs.

    We will need wisdom, that which turns too much information - or information overload - into focused power, not only to process, but also to evaluate the overwhelming amount of information available on the Internet. This wisdom will give us the competitive edge and enable us to find creative solutions.

    The following story illustrates the difference between information and wisdom. Twelve hundred years ago, in the city of Baghdad, lived a genius named Al-Khwarizmi, who was one of the fathers of algebra. In fact, the word algebra comes from the title of his book Al-jabr, which for centuries was the standard mathematics textbook. Al- Khwarizmi taught in an institution of learning called the House of Wisdom, which was the center of new ideas during Islam’s golden age of science. To this day we computer scientists honor Al-Khwarizmi when we use the word algorithm, which is our attempt to pronounce his name.

    One day, Al-Khwarizmi was riding a camel laden down with algebraic manuscripts to the holy city of Mecca. He saw three young men crying at an oasis.

    “My children, why are you crying?” he enquired. “Our father, upon his death, instructed us to divide his 17 camels as follows:

    ‘To my oldest son I leave half of my camels, my second son shall have one-third of my camels, and my youngest son is to have one- ninth of my camels.’”

    “What, then, is your problem?” Al-Khwarizmi asked. “We have been to school and learned that 17 is a prime number that is, divisible only by one and itself and cannot be divided by two or three or nine. Since we love our camels, we cannot divide them exactly,” they answered.

    Al-Khwarizmi thought for a while and asked, “Will it help if I offer my camel and make the total 18?”

    “No, no, no,” they cried.

    “You are on your way to Mecca, and you need your camel.” “Go ahead, have my camel, and divide the 18 camels amongst yourselves,” he said, smiling.

    So the eldest took one-half of 18 - or nine camels. The second took one-third of 18 - or six camels. The youngest took one-ninth of 18 - or two camels. After the division, one camel was left: Al- Khwarizmi’s camel, as the total number of camels divided among the sons (nine plus six plus two) equaled 17.

    Then Al-Khwarizmi asked, “Now, can I have my camel back?”

    These young men had information about prime numbers, but they lacked the wisdom to use the information effectively. It is the manipulation of information to accomplish seemingly impossible purposes that defines true wisdom.

    Today, we have ten billion pages of information posted on the Internet - more than enough to keep us busy the rest of our lives, and new information is being added daily. More information has been created in the last 100 years than in all of the previous 100,000 years combined. We need the wisdom to sift through and convert these billions of pages into information riches.

    The genius of Al-Khwarizmi was not in his mathematical wizardry or even his book knowledge: It was in his experiential knowledge - his big-picture, right-brain thinking; creativity; innovation; and wisdom. It was his wisdom to add a camel to make the total 18 and still get his camel back.

    Prime numbers are to whole numbers what the laws of physics are to physics. Twenty years ago, I used an Al-Khwarizmi approach to solve a notoriously difficult problem in physics. I added inertial force, which enabled me to reformulate Newton’s Second Law of Motion first as 18 equations and algorithms, and then as 24 million algebraic equations. Finally, I programmed 65,000 “electronic brains” called processors to work as one to solve those 24 million equations at a speed of 3.1 billion calculations per second.

    Like Al-Khwarizmi, I derived my 18 equations through out-of-the-box thinking in an in-the-box world, adding my metaphorical camel: inertial force. In other words, I applied wisdom to known knowledge to generate intellectual capital.

    Unless Africa significantly increases its intellectual capital, the continent will remain irrelevant in the 21st century and even beyond. Africa needs innovators, producers of knowledge, and wise men and women who can discover, propose, and then implement progressive ideas. Africa’s fate lies in the hands of Africans and the solution to poverty must come from its people. The future that lies ahead of Africa is for Africa to create, after the people have outlined their vision. We owe it to our children to build a firm foundation to enable them go places we only dreamt. For Africa to take center stage in today’s economic world, we have to go out and compete on a global basis. There is simply no other way to succeed.

    Philip Emeagwali was voted history’s greatest scientist of African descent - and the 35th greatest African of all time - in a survey for the September 2004 issue of the London-based New African magazine. He won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize, the Nobel Prize of supercomputing. To view the video recordings of this speech, visit

    http://emeagwali.com .

    ~ by myglobalhustle on August 7, 2007

    sexta-feira, 5 de outubro de 2007

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on aid versus trade

    Vale a pena ouvir a reflexão de Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala contida neste video. A Sra. Ngozi, foi nomeada ontem, dia 4 de Outubro de 2007, "Managing Director" do Banco Mundial. Ngozi, que já foi Vice-Presidente do Banco Mundial e mais recentemente Ministra das Finanças e tb Ministra dos Negócios Estrangeiros da Nigéria, integrando o " dream team " ao lado de Charles Soludo e outros, é um notável exemplo da nova geração que pensa e constroe a Africa Positiva. Bem Haja !

    Le président Zoellick nomme Mme Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala à un poste de directeur général de la Banque mondiale

    Nota HV: Após a recente nomeação de Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesli , ex-minstra da Nigéria para o posto de Vice-Presidente do Banco Mundial, a convite do então Presidente Paul Wolfowitz, eis que Zoellick, o novo Presidente do Banco Mundial acaba de convidar Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala para o distinto e exigente cargo de Managing Director do Banco.

    Em Junho de 2003 , no início do seu segundo mandato, o ex- Presidente Obasanjo chamou ao governo um conjunto de tecnocratas , apolíticos e jovens , logo apelidados pelo home da rua como " dream team", empenhado em fazer profundas reformas económicas , em combater a corrupção e em usar apropriadamente as receitas do petróleo para combater a pobreza.

    No "dream team" contavam-se nomes como o do Prof. Charles Soludo, gouvernador do Banco Central ; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, ministra das Finanças ; Nuhu Ribadu, patrão da luta contra a corrupção ; Nasir el-Rufaï, ministro do Districto da capital federal, Abuja ; Oby Ezekwesili, conseilheira especial do presidente Obasanjo para o orçamento. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala passou desde então (2003), a ser conhecida pelo cognome de " Madame Solutions" e a Nigéria deve-lhe o facto das IFI terem começado a levar a sério o empenho do governo federal em levar a cabo as reformas e em utilisar eficazmente as suas receitas para combater a pobreza.

    Diplomada por Harvard e titular de um PhD em economia do desenvolvimento pela Massachusetts Institute of Technologie (MIT), onde trabalhou entre 1976 e 1981, Ngozi ingressou no Banco Mundial como economista em 1982, donde saíu em 2003, para integrar o "dream team" de Obasanjo. Ao longo de vinte e um anos de carreira no Banco ela subiu degrau a degrau até ao topo da instituição, tendo sido numero três do Banco , enquanto Vice-Presidente e Secretária- Geral. Ei-la de regresso a casa pela porta grande. Bem- Haja !

    Washington le 4 octobre 2007 – Le président de la Banque mondiale a annoncé aujourd’hui la nomination de Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala à un poste de directeur général de l’institution. Mme Okonjo-Iweala rejoint les directeurs généraux, Juan Jose Daboub et Graeme Wheeler, les vice-présidents exécutifs, Lars Thunell (IFC) et Yukiko Omura (MIGA), et le directeur financier, Vincenzo La Via, à la haute direction du Groupe de la Banque mondiale.

    En annonçant cette nomination, Robert Zoellick a déclaré : « Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala apporte une expérience et des compétences hors pair au Groupe de la Banque mondiale. Remarquable ministre des Finances, puis des Affaires étrangères du Nigéria, elle a aidé à piloter le programme de réformes du pays sur des questions telles que la prudence budgétaire, la transparence des comptes publics, la bonne gouvernance et la lutte contre la corruption.

    Elle a été le moteur de l’allégement de la dette du Nigéria, aidant son pays à obtenir du Club de Paris une annulation de dette de 18 milliards de dollars, un chiffre record. C’est en grande partie grâce à elle que son pays a obtenu sa toute première notation de crédit-souverain (BB moins), attribuée par Fitch and Standard & Poor’s. C’est une dirigeante politique mondialement respectée.
    En outre, elle connaît bien la Banque mondiale où elle a travaillé pendant 21 ans. Son attachement à la cause des pays en développement est sans pareil. Je suis ravi de la v
    oir rejoindre mon équipe de direction. »

    Ressortissante nigériane, Mme Okonjo-Iweala, est fondatrice de NOI-Gallup, un institut de sondage d’opinion nigérian, et cofondatrice du Makeda Fund, un fonds d’investissement dans des entreprises dirigées par des Africaines. Elle est membre (Distinguished Fellow) de la Brookings Institution. De 2003 à 2006 elle a été ministre des Finances, puis ministre des Affaires étrangères. En tant que ministre des Finances, Mme Okonjo-Iweala dirigeait l’équipe économique nationale chargée de mettre en œuvre le vaste programme de réformes économiques et sociales de l’administration Obasanjo. Les réformes ont notamment permis de progresser sur la voie du rétablissement de la stabilité macroéconomique, multipliant par trois le taux de croissance, lançant un combat résolu contre la corruption et améliorant la transparence.

    Avant de prendre son portefeuille ministériel, Mme Okonjo-Iweala a occupé plusieurs postes importants à la Banque mondiale, dont ceux de vice-président et secrétaire, de directeur des opérations pour la région Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord, et de directeur des opérations pour l’unité sous-régionale Asie du Sud-Est et Mongolie. Elle est entrée à la Banque mondiale en 1982.

    En acceptant ce nouveau poste, Mme Okonjo-Iweala a déclaré : « Je suis ravie de revenir et heureuse de la possibilité qui m’est donnée de travailler avec cette grande institution pour changer la vie de nos jeunes, et de nos travailleurs et travailleuses dans les pays en développement. Je me réjouis tout particulièrement à la perspective de travailler avec le président Zoellick au moment où il trace de nouvelles perspectives très prometteuses pour le Groupe de la Banque mondiale.»

    Mme Okonjo-Iweala a reçu de nombreux prix et distinctions : European Hero de 2004 du Time Magazine, Ministre mondial des Finances pour l’année 2005 de l’Euromoney Magazine, Ministre africain des Finances pour l’année 2005 du Financial Times/The Banker, Ministre nigérian pour les années 2004 et 2005 de This Day, Docteur honoris causa de droit du Colby College en 2007, et de la Brown University en 2006, Docteur honoris causa de lettres et sciences humaines de la Northern Caribbean University, en Jamaïque.

    Elle est membre ou présidente de nombreux conseils et groupes consultatifs du secteur public, privé et non gouvernemental, à savoir : DATA, World Resources Institute, Clinton Global Initiative, Nelson Mandela Institution/African Institutes of Science and Technology, Mo Ibrahim Foundation Governance Prize Committee, Friends of the Global Fund Africa.
    Elle conseille également la Banque mondiale sur l’Initiative pour la restitution des avoirs volés (STAR) et est membre du Comité Malan sur la collaboration entre la Banque et le FMI.

    Mme Okonjo-Iweala est diplômée de Harvard en économie (A.B., magna cum laude) et titulaire d’un doctorat (PhD) en économie et développement régional du Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, Mme Okonjo-Iweala sera responsable des régions Afrique, Asie du Sud, et Europe et Asie centrale de la Banque mondiale. Elle supervisera également le département des Ressources humaines. Elle prend ses fonctions le 1er décembre.