Pages

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Voters reported to sell their rights

Voters reported to sell their rights


at Tsh 10,000

By Arusha Times Reporter



There is a new election-related racket taking place in Arusha town whereby some unknown people move from house to house buying or hiring voters’ cards from original holders.



“We are very aware of these latest strategies by some politicians here who are working hard to ensure that they get control of people’s voting powers,” said Mr Matei Basilio the Regional Police commander who added that his force was already investigating the issue.



“But at the end of the day it is the owners of the voters’ ID cards that who should refuse to sell their documents as well as report such incidences to the police,” said Mr Basilio.



But with good money being involved in the transactions it is becoming apparent that few people will be in a hurry to report their ‘customers’ to the law.



Investigations conducted in town reveal that a single voter’s identity card could be hired out at between 5000/- and 10,000/- with agreement that whoever takes them, return the document immediately after the general elections set for October 31, 2010.



A person could totally let go of his or her voting card by selling off the document at prices starting from 15,000/- upwards depending on either the individual’s bargaining power or the financial muscle of the customers or the parties they happen to represent in the transaction.



“Many of the ID buyers ,it has been discovered ,are merely agents sent by politicians or party supporters to ensure that people in the areas where their candidates are least supported go without voters’ cards,” said the Police boss.



Meanwhile the police force here said they are completing initial investigations on claims that one of the local ward representative aspirants had allegedly caused chaos at the bus station a few days ago.



An aspirant was arrested by the police late last week for allegedly causing chaos at the main bus station in town where he reportedly went round calling upon people to stop paying local government taxes.

Community project challenges

Community project challenges




By Ramadhani Kupaza



Politicians continue to promise during the ongoing political campaigns that they would establish this and that community development project if they are elected during the general elections in October. The politicians promise to establish projects in order to improve peoples’ lives. But one wonders whether the politicians who make the promises are aware of the enormous challenges that are involved in establishing successful community development projects.



Challenges involved start early during the project identification stage. For instance, financiers like banks or donors do not provide pre-project funds to carry out social economic surveys to determine priority community needs that proposed community projects would address. As a result, the tendency is for community development projects to address imaginary rather than actual priority community needs. It follows that politicians will find it difficult to improve peoples’ lives in the communities since interventions like projects may not often address community priority needs.



Based on a similar argument, politicians will find it difficult to improve peoples’ lives by establishing projects because financiers provide project funds based on their institutions' funding policies rather than on priority community needs. For instance, some institutions finance projects involving some development sectors but not others. For example, there are funding institutions which provide financial support for conservation projects but not for water supply projects even if water scarcity is the main problem in the community. It is a message to the politicians that there are actually fewer relevant institutions that may finance priority community projects than what meets the eye.



Politicians who promise to establish community development projects during campaigns would encounter other challenges at the project design stage. Like for the project identification stage, the politicians would be forced to design community development projects based on imaginary rather than on actual community needs. The reason is the same: financiers do not provide pre-project funds to collect relevant information that would be used as the basis for designing relevant community development activities. Needless to emphasize, irrelevant project activities do not improve peoples’ lives.



As if that is not enough challenge. Financiers that provide funds dictate timing and duration of projects. Yet, such project timing and duration may not be the most suitable for members of a particular community. As a result, members of a community may not be able to participate fully in implementation of a project. Project timing and duration are common challenges that project executants encounter.



A community development project being implemented in Sekei, Arusha







Institutions that finance community development projects require guarantees which indicate that the organization that will implement a project is credible. The financiers assess the implementing agency by conducting what project planners refer to as Organization Capacity Assessment or OCA in short. The framework of an OCA may include how effective an implementing organization manages finances. How it manages its personnel and equipment. Of particular interest to financiers in this case are audited financial reports prepared by a project implementing organization. The reports serve as proof that the implementing organization manages finances correctly. Financiers are obliged to terminate contracts any time if implementing organizations embezzle or misappropriate funds. It suggests that some politicians are simply not aware of the financial management commitments that are

involved during implementation of community development projects.



By the way, a community development project design is reflected in a document referred to as Project Proposal. An approved project proposal is a project implementation guide. The document becomes a Project Contract when contractual aspects like signature pages are incorporated to the document once a financier commits to fund a project. Contents of the Project Contract like agreements between the financier and the project executing institution become binding.



Politicians who promise to establish projects will encounter challenges at the project implementation stage as well. The stage involves identification of qualified personnel, relevant partners and stakeholders to implement the project among other things. Yet, there is acute scarcity of qualified personnel in developing countries like Tanzania.



Community awareness, logistics and empowerment are major challenges when implementing community development projects particularly in rural areas. Awareness is especially important when a project involves new ideas, products, services, technologies and major community commitments. As regards logistics, aspects like transport and sometimes communication are major challenges in many parts of Tanzania.



Community empowerment is important as an act to enable members of the community to implement development activities independently with and without the project. In addition, community empowerment is part of an early preparation to ensure that project activities are sustained in the long run. Community empowerment can be in the form of training on relevant skills, establishment of practical systems to carry out activities effectively and provision of incentives in the form of cash or equivalent. It can be difficult to find relevant individuals to empower.



Politicians will find that it is one thing to implement a project and it is quite another to ensure that project activities are carried out on time and effectively. Project planners refer to such project stage as project monitoring. It is challenging to set up an effective monitoring programme particularly when a project has not been properly designed and when members of project staff are not adequately qualified.



Politicians will continue to encounter challenges at the evaluation stage of a project. Project evaluation process measures causative effects and positive as well as negative changes on lives of members of a community as a result of a particular intervention like a project. Accuracy of the measurements depends much on the relevance of indicators of causes and effects that are usually outlined in a detailed matrix called logical framework. The enormous project challenges suggest that many of the projects that politicians promise to establish in order to improve peoples’ lives are simply wishful thinking.

source: Arusha Times newspaper.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Doctoral Studentships 2010 at School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, UK

Doctoral Studentships 2010 at School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, UK








The School of Business and Management currently has three studentships available for entry onto the PhD Programme in January 2011.



Research within the School clusters around six broad themes (i) innovation, networks and knowledge; (ii) communications, discourse and narratives; (iii) equality and diversity; (iv) education; (v) globalisation and (vi) business history. Faculty conduct research across one or more of these themes. We also host the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity, the Globalisation Research Centre, the Business History Research Centre and co-host the Centre for Global Security and Development with the School of Geography and the School of Politics.



More about PhD research.



We are looking to attract applications from candidates with an interest in one of three broad areas – innovation, ethics and communications. However we welcome applications which may be inter-disciplinary and cross-cut any of our research themes, for example the ethics, fairness and diversity of contemporary policy and employment practices, the globalisation of innovation, pedagogical issues associated with the use of digital communication, transparency and accountability in the context of globalisation, fairtrade governance structures and impacts on local development etc.



More about the PhD programme.



One of the Studentships will entail working as a paid editorial assistant one day a week with the journal ephemera: theory and politics in organization, the other two will be scholarships without any specific tasks attached. All will be subject to the terms of conditions of Queen Mary funded College studentships in the Humanities and Social Sciences see http://www.qmul.ac.uk/hss/funding/bursaries/index.html



The Studentships are open to home and overseas students and include payment of tuition fees and an annual stipend of £15,590.



The school strongly advises prospective PhD students to contact a member of the School before they apply to the programme. This will ensure that your research proposal is complementary to the expertise and strengths of the School. Details about the School’s academic staff and their research interests can be found below:



Academic Staff Details



For further information please contact:-

Miss Monira Begum

PhD Programme Administrator

Tel: 020 7882 8581

Email: m.begum@qmul.ac.uk



Information about the Doctoral Programme and the application procedure can be found here: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/index.html#procedure



The deadline for return of completed applications is 5.00pm (GMT) on 31st October 2010.



Source:

http://www.busman.qmul.ac.uk/newsandevents/general/items/36111.html

Joint European Master (MISOCO) in International Migration and Social Cohesion, NetherlandsSep 23

Joint

The general aim of the Master programme in International Migration and Social Cohesion is to educate students and create dialogue among students, professionals and policy makers who will understand advanced theories, techniques, and methodologies in the field of Migration Studies, and who will be able to translate perceived societal problems into relevant social scientific research questions and to contribute to the solution of such problems by combining insights from fundamental social theory joined with substantive theories.




More specifically, the programme seeks to explore the critical elements of international migration and the incorporation of immigrants in the society of destination.This Master is unique to Europe and unique in the countries and the institutions (both EU and third-country) which participate in the Consortium, a unique opportunity to bring together those who have an interest in creating a shared outlook for Europe in terms of migration studies. All the partner universities not only teach but actively research various migration-related issues, thus being able to offer students state-of-the art knowledge in respective specialization areas.



The MISOCO Mundus Master’s has been designed for people working or intending to work in the field of migration and social cohesion; regardless of their race, gender, religion, age, and/or geographical origin.



Candidates are chosen on the basis of the quality of their education and professional background, their experience in and concern for migration issues, their multicultural sensitivity, and their linguistic abilities.



All applicants must follow the joint application procedure as established by the MISOCO consortium. Admission may be granted to applicants who meet the following common admission criteria:



Candidates must have obtained, as a minimum, a Bachelor Degree (with a minimum of 3 to 4 years of University Studies) in Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology or another social science discipline (in this case the study transcripts have to demonstrate sufficient credits in Social science theory and research methodology). Minimum grade average of B (ECTS system), B+/A-/3.5 (American system), First class Honours degree (British system) or 7.5 (Dutch system).

All non-native speakers of English applaying to MISOCO are required to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who are nationals of countries other than the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland or New Zealand are required to submit an English test score that meets specific requirements: TOEFL (550-600 paper, 215-250 computer and 93 internet) or IELTS (6-7) Certificate.

Practical experience in the area of migration in governmental, inter-governmental, and/ or non-governmental organisations and institutions is valued.

Completed applications received.

Selection criteria



The selection committee takes into account the following:



Type and level of academic qualifications.

Level of motivation and concern for humanitarian issues.

Level of language abilities.

Type and level of research experience.

Type and level of professional experience.

Application Procedure: Step-by-step instructions



ALL APPLICATIONS for MISOCO Mundus Master’s MUST be made online at the MISOCO APPLICATION FORM ON-LINE

LOOK AT the online application and prepare all the data that you are asked to provide for each section of the form, and all the documents that you must attach to your application.

READ carefully the criteria to determine whether you are eligible to apply for an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship (Description of eligibility criteria for an EM scholarship: nationality, 12 month rule for non-European scholarship, 3 EMMC’s max, non EMMC scholarship holder previously)

FILL IN the APPLICATION FORM ON-LINE , completing each and all the sections as requested.

ATTACH all compulsory documents:

Copy of international passport (Only main page(s)).

Certified copy of Diploma (if this document is not in English then you must attach an official translation) and, if available, diploma supplement.

Certified copies of academic transcripts.

Curriculum Vitae in English (Europass model: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/ )

Official proof of language abilities (where applicable).

2 reference letters.

Contact



Coordinator of Consortium

Prof. Dr. J.C Rath

Programme Manager

Ms. Emilie van Tol

University of Amsterdam

Prins Hendrikkade 189-B

1011 TD Amsterdam

The Netherlands



E-mail: misoco@uva.nl

Website: http://www.misoco.org











Join us and get free scholarship information to your inbox. Fill in the form below with your email address:

FEM Fellowships starting on Spring 2011

FEM Fellowships starting on Spring 2011


FEM - Research and Innovation Centre welcomes applications for 3-years research fellowships to support brilliant and highly motivated students to get the PhD title in the fields covered by the Centre.



We welcome applications from students of all countries. The official language of the programme is English. Applications can be sent from 13 September 2010.



General information



Eleven (11) scholarships are available for PhD research in the fields covered by the strategic research areas of our Centre: Environment and Natural Resources Area , Food Quality and Nutrition Area, Genomics and Crop Biology Area. Applicants will be assessed on the basis of their curriculum and of the letters of reference. Letters sent by the applicants will not be considered (see below the form for the reference letter).



The grant is for three years and the expected start is February 2011 (Spring 2011 at the latest). The gross salary is 20.000 Euros per year. Students will also benefit of funding for travelling to our projects’ partner institutions as the projects include a minimum period of 6-months-stay at the institution co-responsible for the single PhD project.



There is a general empowerment of the student choice when applying to our PhD research projects. Candidates can postulate for one to three specific projects (see list).



Selected candidates are awarded a 3-years fellowship. The scholarship can be additionally extended for up to 1 year, pending the approval of the FEM PhD Fellowships Committee.



Please note that the CRI issues a specific certificate of attendance, but candidates are asked to register at the doctoral school of the University partner of the project or of another University, in order to get the conferral of the PhD degree. The selected candidate has 1 year time from the start of the contract to register at the University doctoral school. If the candidate fails to register within the first year, the scholarship will be interrupted.



Admissions requirements



Candidates should hold a Master’s degree or equivalent in fields relevant to the research projects (e.g. biology, chemistry, ecology, mathematics, environmental science…).



DEADLINES



CRI PhD Office receives applications from September 13 to October 18, 2010.



Application deadline 18 October 2010.







DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION PACK



To apply, send by e-mail the application form and your cv (1 page) in pdf format only and a scanned copy of your passport.



Ask your referees to send directly the letters to this e-mail address:

phdfem[AT]iasma.it



Please find hereafter the form for the reference letter: it has to be signed and sent in pdf format to the given address.

Reference letters sent by the applicants will not be considered. Please inform your referees early enough to give them enough time to transmit the letter!









please find more detailed information at:







http://www.iasma.it/sperimentazione_context.jsp?ID_LINK=3779&area=6

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery


Millennium Development Goals Summit

United Nations Headquarters

New York, New York





As Prepared for Delivery –



Good afternoon. Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen.



In the Charter of this United Nations, our countries pledged to work for “the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples.” In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we recognized the inherent dignity and rights of every individual, including the right to a decent standard of living. And a decade ago, at the dawn of a new millennium, we set concrete goals to free our fellow men, women and children from the injustice of extreme poverty.



These are the standards we set. Today, we must ask—are we living up to our mutual responsibilities?



I suspect that some in wealthier countries may ask—with our economies struggling, so many people out of work, and so many families barely getting by, why a summit on development? The answer is simple. In our global economy, progress in even the poorest countries can advance the prosperity and security of people far beyond their borders, including my fellow Americans.



When a child dies from a preventable disease, it shocks our conscience. When a girl is deprived of an education or her mother is denied equal rights, it undermines the prosperity of their nation. When a young entrepreneur can’t start a new business, it stymies the creation of new jobs and markets—in his country and in ours. When millions of fathers cannot provide for their families, it feeds the despair that can fuel instability and violent extremism. When a disease goes unchecked, it can endanger the health of millions around the world.



So let’s put to rest the old myth that development is mere charity that does not serve our interests. And let’s reject the cynicism that says certain countries are condemned to perpetual poverty. For the past half century has witnessed more gains in human development than at any time in history. A disease that had ravaged the generations, smallpox, was eradicated. Health care has reached the far corners of the world, saving the lives of millions. From Latin America to Africa to Asia, developing nations have transformed into leaders in the global economy.



Nor can anyone deny the progress that has been made toward achieving certain Millennium Development Goals. The doors of education have been opened to tens of millions of children, boys and girls. New cases of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are down; access to clean drinking water is up. Around the world, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted from extreme poverty.



Yet we must also face the fact that progress towards other goals has not come nearly fast enough. Not for the hundreds of thousands of women who lose their lives every year simply giving birth. Not for the millions of children who die from the agony of malnutrition. Not for the nearly one billion people who endure the misery of chronic hunger.



This is the reality we must face—that if the international community just keeps doing the same things the same way, we will miss many development goals. That is the truth. With ten years down and just five years before our development targets come do, we must do better.



Now, I know that helping communities and countries realize a better future isn’t easy. I’ve seen it in my own life. I saw it in my mother, as she worked to lift up the rural poor, from Indonesia to Pakistan. And I saw it on the streets of Chicago, were I worked as a community organizer trying to build up underdeveloped neighborhoods. It’s hard. But I know progress is possible.



As President, I have made it clear that the United States will do our part. My national security strategy recognizes development as not only a moral imperative, but a strategic and economic imperative. Secretary of State Clinton is leading a review to strengthen and better coordinate our diplomacy and development efforts. We’ve reengaged with multilateral development institutions. And we’re rebuilding the United States Agency for International Development as the world’s premier development agency. In short, we’re making sure that the United States will be a global leader in international development in the 21st century.



We also recognize that the old ways will not suffice. That is why in Ghana last year I called for a new approach to development that unleashes transformational change and allows more people to take control of their own destiny. After all, no country wants to be dependent on another. No proud leader in this room wants to ask for aid. And no family wants to be beholden to the assistance of others.



To pursue this vision, my administration conducted a comprehensive review of America’s development programs. We listened to leaders in government, NGOs and civil society, the private sector and philanthropy, Congress and our many international partners.



Today, I am announcing our new U.S. Global Development Policy—the first of its kind by an American administration. It’s rooted in America’s enduring commitment to the dignity and potential of every human being. And it outlines our new approach and the new thinking that will guide our overall development efforts, including the plan that I promised last year and that my administration has delivered to pursue the Millennium Development Goals.

Put simply, the United States is changing the way we do business.



First, we’re changing how we define development. For too long, we’ve measured our efforts by the dollars we spent and the food and medicines we delivered. But aid alone is not development. Development is helping nations to actually develop—moving from poverty to prosperity. And we need more than just aid to unleash that change. We need to harness all the tools at our disposal—from our diplomacy to our trade and investment policies.



Second, we’re changing how we view the ultimate goal of development. Our focus on assistance has saved lives in the short term, but it hasn’t always improved those societies over the long term. Consider the millions of people who have relied on food assistance for decades. That’s not development, that’s dependence, and it’s a cycle we need to break. Instead of just managing poverty, we have to offer nations and peoples a path out of poverty.



Let me be clear, the United States of America has been, and will remain, the global leader in providing assistance. We will not abandon those who depend on us for life-saving help. We keep our promises, and honor our commitments.



In fact, my administration has increased assistance to the least developed countries. We’re working with partners to finally eradicate polio. Building on the good efforts of my predecessor, we continue to increase funds to fight HIV/AIDS to record levels—and that includes strengthening our commitment to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria. And we will lead in times of crisis, as we have done since the earthquake in Haiti and the floods in Pakistan.



But the purpose of development—and what’s needed most right now—is creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed. So we will seek partners who want to build their own capacity to provide for their people. We will seek development that is sustainable.



Building in part on the lessons of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which has helped countries like El Salvador build rural roads and raise the incomes of its people, we will invest in the capacity of countries that are proving their commitment to development.



Remembering the lesson of the Green Revolution, we’re expanding scientific collaboration with other countries and investing in game-changing science and technologies to help spark historic leaps in development.



For example, instead of just treating HIV/AIDS, we’ve invested in pioneering research to finally develop a way to help millions of women actually prevent themselves from being infected in the first place.



Instead of simply handing out food, our food security initiative is helping countries like Guatemala, Rwanda and Bangladesh develop their agriculture, improve crop yields and help farmers get their products to market.



Instead of simply delivering medicine, our Global Health Initiative is helping countries like Mali and Nepal build stronger health systems and deliver better care. And with financial and technical assistance, we’ll help developing countries embrace the clean energy technologies they need to adapt to climate change and pursue low-carbon growth.



In other words, we’re making it clear that we will partner with countries that are willing to take the lead. Because the days when your development was dictated in foreign capitals must come to an end.



This brings me to the third pillar of our new approach. To unleash transformational change, we’re putting a new emphasis on the most powerful force the world has ever known for eradicating poverty and creating opportunity. It’s the force that turned South Korea from a recipient of aid to a donor of aid. It’s the force that has raised living standards from Brazil to India. And it’s the force that has allowed emerging African countries like Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique to defy the odds and make real progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, even as some of their neighbors—like Cote d’Ivoire—have lagged behind.



The force I’m speaking of is broad-based economic growth. Now, every nation will pursue its own path to prosperity. But decades of experience tell us that there are certain ingredients upon which sustainable growth and lasting development depends.



We know that countries are more likely to prosper when they encourage entrepreneurship; when they invest in their infrastructure; and when they expand trade and welcome investment. So we will partner with countries like Sierra Leone to create business environments that attract investment, not scare it away. We’ll work to break down barriers to regional trade and urge nations to open their markets to developing countries. And we’ll keep pushing for a Doha round that is ambitious and balanced—one that works not just for major emerging economies, but for all economies.



We know that countries are more likely to prosper when governments are accountable to their people. So we are leading a global effort to combat corruption—which in many places is the single greatest barrier to prosperity, and which is a profound violation of human rights. That’s why we now require oil, gas and mining companies that raise capital in the United States to disclose all payments they make to foreign governments. And it’s why I urged the G-20 to put corruption on its agenda and make it harder for corrupt officials to steal from their people and stifle their development.



The United States will focus our development efforts on countries like Tanzania that promote good governance and democracy; the rule of law and equal administration of justice; transparent institutions, with strong civil societies; and respect for human rights. Because over the long run, democracy and economic growth go hand in hand.



We will reach out to countries making the transition from authoritarianism to democracy, and from war to peace. The people of Liberia show that even after years of war, great progress can be achieved. And as others show the courage to put war behind them—including, we hope, in Sudan—the United States will stand with those who seek to build and sustain peace.



And we know that countries are more likely to prosper when they tap the talents of all their people. That’s why we’re investing in the health, education and rights of women, and working to empower the next generation of women entrepreneurs and leaders. Because when mothers and daughters have access to opportunity, economies grow and governance improves. And it’s why we’re partnering with young people, who in many developing countries are more than half the population. We’re expanding educational exchanges, like the one that brought my father to America from Kenya, and we’re helping young entrepreneurs succeed in a global economy.



As the final pillar of our new approach, we’ll insist on more responsibility—from ourselves and others. We’ll insist on mutual accountability.



For our part, we’ll work with Congress to better match our investments with the priorities of our partner countries. Guided by the evidence, we’ll invest in programs that work and end those that don’t. Because we need to be big-hearted and hard-headed.



To my fellow donor nations—let’s honor our respective commitments. Let’s resolve to put an end to hollow promises that are not kept. Let’s commit to the same transparency that we expect of others. And let’s move beyond the old, narrow debate over how much money we’re spending and let’s instead focus on results—whether we’re actually making improvements in people’s lives.



To developing countries, this must be your moment of responsibility as well. We want you to prosper and succeed—it’s in your interest, and it’s in our interest. We want to help you realize your aspirations. But there is no substitute for your leadership. Only you and your people can make the tough choices that will unleash the dynamism of your country. Only you can make the sustainable investments that improve the health and well-being of your people. Only you can deliver your nations to a more just and prosperous future.



Finally, let me say this. No one nation can do everything everywhere and still do it well. To meet our goals, we must be more selective and focus our efforts where we have the best partners and where we can have the greatest impact. And just as this work cannot be done by any one government, it cannot be the work of governments alone. Indeed, foundations, the private sector and NGOs are making historic commitments that have redefined what’s possible.



This gives us the opportunity to forge a new division of labor for development in the 21st century. It’s a division of labor where—instead of so much duplication and inefficiency—governments, multilaterals and NGOs all work together. We each do the piece we do best, as we are doing in support of Ghana’s food security plan, which will help more farmers get more goods to market and earn more money to support their families.



That’s the progress that’s possible. Together, we can collaborate in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. Together, we can realize the future that none of us can achieve alone. Together, we can deliver historic leaps in development. We can do this. But only if we move forward with the seriousness and sense of common purpose that this moment demands.



Development that offers a path out of poverty for that child who deserves better. Development that builds the capacity of countries to deliver the health care and education that their people need. Development that unleashes broader prosperity and builds the next generation of entrepreneurs and emerging economies. Development rooted in shared responsibility, mutual accountability and, most of all, concrete results that pull communities and countries from poverty to prosperity.



These are the elements of America’s new approach. This is the work we can do together. And this can be our plan—not simply for meeting our Millennium Development Goals, but for exceeding them, and then sustaining them for generations to come.



Thank you very much.







###

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

"World leaders warned that approach to African aid needs a total rethink

"World leaders warned that approach to African aid needs a total rethink



As key summit on Millennium Development Goals begins, experts cast doubt

on conventional approach to poverty reduction



By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent



Monday, 20 September 2010





As world leaders gather in New York today to decide the future of aid,

an influential new lobby has emerged calling for a total rethink of

foreign assistance. At the end of a decade dominated by slogans such as

"Make Poverty History", in which development has been defined by a

series of sweeping targets – known as the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) – experts are warning heads of state at the global poverty summit

not to sign up blindly to more of the same.



A draft declaration being circulated by the UN deplores the lack of

progress and calls for "redoubling of efforts" towards 2015 targets such

as slashing poverty and improving access to education. International

NGOs concerned at "aid fatigue" are demanding a "rescue package" to save

the goals.



But a third way is being called for by some experts, who warn that

ignoring the shortcomings of the past 10 years in favour of staying the

course risks destroying public faith in aid. "While laudable and

important aspirations, the targets are actually the wrong measures of

development progress," says Phil Vernon from International Alert, a

London-based group calling for a radical rethink of aid. "It is not just

the MDGs which are at fault. Despite some brilliant thinking and actions

within the development sector, the prevailing paradigm has become tired,

confused and is in need of renewal."

Related articles



The summit marks the 10th anniversary of the Millennium declaration,

signed by 189 countries, which set out eight specific targets aimed at

making a better world by ending extreme poverty. Some progress has been

made, but it is clear those targets will not be met.



The architect of the MDGs, US economist Jeff Sachs, says the blame for

the anti-poverty project being off-track lies in western capitals. "Rich

countries made promises which they didn't follow through on and now

people want to say it was wrong all along," Professor Sachs says. The UN

estimates the gap between funds promised and those delivered is worth

$20bn (£12.8bn) for this year alone, with $16bn of that affecting the

poorest continent, Africa.



The G8 grouping of wealthier economies committed themselves to spend 0.7

percent of GDP on overseas development assistance (ODA) but are lagging

behind on 0.34 percent. Professor Sachs says the targets remain

"realistic and practical" if rich countries would spend less on their

military and more on development.



But leading aid sceptic Professor Bill Easterly says the goals were a

successful fundraising exercise which then squandered much of the money

meant for the poorer world. "Why waste any more efforts on the MDGs?"

Professor Easterly asked recently. "[They] will go down in history as a

success in global consciousness-raising, but a failure in using that

consciousness for its stated objectives."



Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion and professor of economics at

Oxford University, says both left- and right-wingers have exaggerated

the importance of aid. "Aid is not transformational by itself in either

a good or a bad way. It's not that if only we had a lot more aid we'd

transform Africa." The age of slogans such as "End Poverty Now" is over,

he says. "We have moved beyond that and we have got to recognise

complexity."



The Overseas Development Institute, the UK's leading think-tank on aid,

says that the millennium goals should be judged on relative progress,

rather than absolute failure. " The problem with the MDGs was that they

were agreed as ends but then confused with means," says the ODI's Claire

Melamed. "They were a political bargain, not a blueprint for development

but that's how they have been misused."



Despite concerns over international strategy, senior UN officials and

anti-poverty campaigners will put the EU delegation under severe

pressure to make good its funding promises and take moral leadership of

the aid project. There is a broad understanding of the failings of

efforts so far but many governments and aid agencies would rather "hold

their nose", as one official put it, and get to the end of the target

period rather than risk a rethink now.



But the consensus that the MDGs are the only show in town is being

questioned, with some analysts suggesting that this approach could hurt

any remaining public trust in the aid industry.



While the West's broken promises are coming across loudest, there are

voices calling for better-quality aid, and the need for non-aid

approaches, including reducing trade barriers, International Alert said

in a pre-summit report. "There is no simple correlation between the

volume of aid and its impact," Mr Vernon says. "Failing to meet the

goals should not be interpreted to mean we should spend more money in

the same way. People were told a story in which if they opened their

chequebooks they would end poverty. But ending poverty is as much about

politics as about getting children into school."



Unless a more honest story is told, which admits that the targets set 10

years ago were too narrow, it is argued, there could be a huge backlash

from people who feel misled. A failure to get this right now could mean

that instead of ending extreme poverty, present efforts destroy the

compact between taxpayers in the rich world and the development

community and make aid history."



http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/world-leaders-warned-that-approach-to-african-aid-needs-a-total-rethink-2083864.html



http://snipurl.com/14y9sf

WomensLandRights] FW: Call for Proposals - Women's Property & Inheritance Rights & HIV/AIDS

http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1166#links


Call for Proposals for Fund for Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS



The Call for Proposals opens on 20 September 2010 and will close on 20 October 2010. Interested applicants from Sub-Sahara Africa are invited to apply.



UNIFEM (part of UN Women), with the generous contribution of the Canadian International Development Agency, today launches a Call for Proposals for the Fund for Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS. The Fund will provide small, catalytic grants totalling US$700,000 in 2010 to grassroots and community-based organizations or networks in Sub-Saharan Africa working to improve women’s access to property and inheritance rights within the context of HIV/AIDS.



Women’s property ownership and inheritance rights can play a significant role in potentially breaking the cycle of AIDS and poverty. There is growing evidence to suggest that where women’s property rights are upheld, women acting as heads and/or primary caregivers of HIV/AIDS-affected households are better able to mitigate the impact of AIDS on their families and communities and can also help prevent the further spread of HIV/AIDS. Realistic and workable strategies at the grassroots have demonstrated that increasing women’s economic security and empowerment, increases their negotiating power in the household and is a means to reduce their physical and social vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.



Interested applicants from Sub-Saharan Africa are invited to apply. The Call for Proposals opens on 20 September 2010 and will close on 20 October 2010.









~~ The information contained in or accompanying this email and any attachment thereto, is intended solely for the use of the stated recipient(s) and may contain information that is confidential and/or privileged. Any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment by anyone who is not a stated recipient is strictly prohibited. If you receive this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the message and any attachment from your system without retaining a copy. ~~











================================================================

To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you. _______________________________________________

WomensLandRights mailing list

WomensLandRights@lists.oxfam.org.uk

http://lists.oxfam.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/womenslandrights











Oxfam works with others to overcome poverty and suffering



Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International and a company limited by guarantee registered in England No. 612172.

Registered office: Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2JY.

A registered charity in England and Wales (no 202918) and Scotland (SC 039042)

International Conference about Climate Change and Food Security in Africa

SUPPLEMENT AFRIQUE


DE LA LISTE DE DIFFUSION DE L'UNIVERSITE PARIS DIDEROT - PARIS 7



International Conference about Climate Change and Food Security in Africa





To identify scientific strategies and policy options for the future, the

Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) will organize the conference

'Impact of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Relation to Food Security

in Africa'.



Climate change is expected to have a high impact on food security. This

may specifically affect African countries, since predictions indicate that

the African climate may be subject to more extreme conditions, and food

security is already at risk in large regions of Africa.



To identify scientific strategies and policy options for the future, the

Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) will organize the conference

'Impact of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Relation to Food Security

in Africa'. From 23-25 February 2011, the conference brings together in

Nairobi, Kenya, the very best climate change scientists to exchange ideas

and experiences on climate change impacts and adaptation in relation to

food security in Africa. Together with NASAC the KNAW developed a joint

three year programme for capacity building in Africa. This conference is

one of the action points to be initiated from this collaboration work

plan.



We invite all excellent African and Dutch scientists with a strong

interest in climate change linked to food security to send in an abstract

for this conference. Besides senior researchers also young scientists

holding a PhD degree are invited to take part in the conference. The

deadline for submitting abstracts is 31 October 2010. You can send

abstracts to the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC). An

organizing committee is responsible for the selection of candidates.



Travel- and accommodation costs will be covered for all selected

participants. No conference fees will be charged.



For more information about the call and the conference, and the

guidelines, please visit the NASAC website www.nasaconline.org or contact

us via email climatechangeconf@aasciences.org



Download the Call for Proposals and the guidelines.







Electroniquement votre.

Service communication de l'université Paris Diderot

Jean Grisel

jean.grisel@univ-paris-diderot.fr



La liste de diffusion de l'université existe en 3 versions

Générale - Externe - Interne(Brève)

http://www.univ-paris-diderot.fr/actualites.php

Téléphone 01 57 27 82 08 (33 1 57 27 82 08 )

2011-12 VLIR-UOS Master Degree Scholarships for Developing Countries, Belgium

2011-12 VLIR-UOS Master Degree Scholarships for Developing Countries, Belgium









Share Sponsored Links

Email this • Share on Facebook



Career Blog

Canada: Destination for Education

Education in USA

September 21, 2010

VLIR-UOS funded International Training Programmes and the International Master Programmes in Belgium for developing Countries Students



Job description: VLIR-UOS awards scholarships to students from developing countries so that they can follow a master programme in Belgium. These scholarships cover all related expenses. Every year, VLIR-UOS awards up to 180 scholarships to first-year master students.



VLIR-UOS funds and facilitates academic cooperation and exchange between higher education institutions in Flanders (Belgium) and those in developing countries, which aims at building capacity, knowledge and experience for a sustainable development. As part of the Flemish Interuniversity Council, VLIR-UOS is responsible for managing and dispersing the university development cooperation funds of Belgium’s Minister of Development Cooperation.



Field of Study and the the Programmes



International Training Programmes 2011



•AudioVisual Learning Materials – Management, Production and Activities (AVLM)

•Beekeeping for Poverty Alleviation

•International Training Programme in Food Safety, Quality Assurance Systems and Risk Analysis

•Lib@Web – Management of Electronic Information and Digital Libraries

•Technology for Integrated Water Management

International Master Programmes 2011-2012



•Master of Development Evaluation and Management

•Master of Globalisation and Development

•Master of Governance and Development

•Master of Human Settlements

International Master Programmes 2011-2013



•Master of Aquaculture

•Master of Biology – Specialisation Human Ecology

•Master of Biostatistics

•Master of Environmental Sanitation

•Master of Food Technology

•Master of Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (Oceans & Lakes)

•Master of Molecular Biology (IPMB)

•Master of Nematology

•Master of Nutrition and Rural Development,Main Subject: Human Nutrition

•Master of Physical Land Resources

•Master of Water Resources Engineering

Only residents and nationals of the following countries are eligible for a VLIR-UOS scholarship:



Africa



Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe



Asia



Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Palestinian Administered Areas, Philippines, Vietnam



Latin America



Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, Surinam



Applicants applying for both academic admission and a VLIR-UOS scholarship need to consider both the admission requirements and the scholarship criteria.

Applicants applying for academic admission but not for a scholarship simply need to fulfill only the admission requirements of the host university running the programme.



The host university is in charge of the academic admission of applications. Study results will be taken into consideration during the selection, but the most important academic selection criteria are relevant professional experience and prospects for applying the acquired insights after return to the developing country. The academic admission requirements are specific to every programme. Please peruse the requirements from the relevant programme.



A joint selection committee of VLIR-UOS and the host university is responsible for selecting scholarships. The host university – not the applicant – forwards the scholarship applications to the VLIR-UOS secretariat if the academic admission requirements are met. The VLIR-UOS scholarship criteria relate to the qualifications required of all scholarship applicants and selection criteria evaluated by the selection committee. Download the VLIR-UOS scholarship criteria at the bottom of this page.

All applicants receive an acknowledgement of receipt of their applications. Applicants whose proposals are deemed academically admissible and who are awarded a scholarship for the academic year 2011-2012 will be contacted by VLIR-UOS and the host university by e-mail in May and June 2011. Applicants whose proposals are deemed academically admissible will be notified by the host university.



This is how you apply for the academic year 2011-2012



You can apply for a VLIR-UOS scholarship from the 1st of October 2010.



You must fill in the pre-screening form at the bottom of the page of the programme you want to follow. You may only choose one programme. If you apply to more than one programme your details will be entered more than once in our central database and all your applications will be inadmissible.



So you must follow the correct and complete procedure below.



1.Apply on the VLIR-UOS website via the pre-screening form: fill in name, birth date, country, etc…;

2.Receive a VLIR-UOS application/file number by return e-mail from VLIR-UOS;

3.Apply on the website from the host university through the link mentioned in the return e-mail from VLIR-UOS;

4.Write the received VLIR-UOS application/file number on the application file from the host university;

5.Send a printout of your application file along with all required documents (diploma transcripts, motivation, etc…) to the International Office of the host university, not to VLIR-UOS.

Applications that are incomplete, illegible or that reach the host university’s International Office after the deadline will be automatically rejected.



The deadline to apply for a scholarship from VLIR-UOS for a master programme is the 1st of February 2011.



Further scholarship details and application:





Tags: Belgium, countries, DEGREE, developing, Master, scholarships, VLIR-UOS





Sponsored Links







Read more: http://scholarship-positions.com/2011-12-vlir-uos-master-degree-scholarships-for-developing-countries-belgium/2010/09/21/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScholarshipPositions+%28International+Scholarships+and+Financial+Aid+Positions%29#ixzz109BzrKE3

2011-12 VLIR-UOS Master Degree Scholarships for Developing Countries, Belgium

2011-12 VLIR-UOS Master Degree Scholarships for Developing Countries, BelgiumPosted by Kitogo on September 21, 2010 at 6:26am


View Kitogo's blog

.Job description: VLIR-UOS awards scholarships to students from developing countries so that they can follow a master programme in Belgium. These scholarships cover all related expenses. Every year, VLIR-UOS awards up to 180 scholarships to first-year master students.





VLIR-UOS funds and facilitates academic cooperation and exchange between higher education institutions in Flanders (Belgium) and those in developing countries, which aims at building capacity, knowledge and experience for a sustainable development. As part of the Flemish Interuniversity Council, VLIR-UOS is responsible for managing and dispersing the university development cooperation funds of Belgium’s Minister of Development Cooperation.







Read more: http://scholarship-positions.com/2011-12-vlir-uos-master-degree-scholarships-for-developing-countries-belgium/2010/09/21/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScholarshipPositions+%28International+Scholarships+and+Financial+Aid+Positions%29#ixzz108ut02sk

scholarship for PhD

Dear all,




This is further to the information I sent you on 27 August 2010 about AgTraIn (Agricultural Transformation by Innovation), the PhD programme supported by the European Commission, in which Montpellier SupAgro (including Bernard Triomphe) is a full partner and Prolinnova is an associate partner.



For this first year (academic year starting early 2011), there will be 10 scholarships available from the EU, and at least 10 during each of the 5 years of the project. Each doctoral candidate will need a minimum of two EU supervisors and one non-EU supervisor (called a “supervisor triangle”). Only partners within the consortium can be supervisors or host the doctorates. For your information, I attach once again the information sent earlier about AgTraIn, which shows who the partners are.



The next steps are now starting up:



· Identifying research topics within 5 topic clusters (Primary production; Community organisation; Processing, value addition and post harvest losses; Market linkages; and Livelihood impacts of commercialisation) by 8 October 2010



· Posting call on website by 15 October 2010



· Deadline for 1st round of applications: 22 November 2010



· Shortlisted candidates (20) announced and invited for detailed application: 13 December 2010



· Deadline for 2nd round of applications: 10 January 2011



· Interviews with applicants by 31 January 2011



· Selection of 10 applicants for scholarships by 28 February 2011.



The first task is to identify research topics. Proposed topics with "supervisor triangles" will be posted with the call on 15 Oct and will be open enough to allow flexibility for applicants to develop the theme. We have been asked to propose topics for the call by 8 Oct 2010. To help us identify suitable topics, we are contacting those of you who are interested in either a) hosting doctoral candidates or 2) carrying out doctoral studies yourself. Our questions to you are:



What are research topics that would be of interest to Prolinnova and/or JOLISAA, could be handled by doctoral students and would complement your Prolinnova / JOLISAA work?



If you are thinking of doing a doctorate and applying for a scholarship yourself, on what topic are you interested in conducting your research?



Within Prolinnova, we think that there could be some very interesting topics related to the FAIR (Farmer Access to Innovation Resources) work in piloting Local Innovation Support Funds, perhaps in the cluster on “Community organisation”; or something on multi-stakeholder partnerships to promote local innovation and farmer-led participatory research and development, which could be in any of the clusters mentioned. What specific questions related to those or other topics would you like to have explored or to explore yourselves?



After we hear from you, we will take up contact with other consortium partners to explore the possibilities of setting up a "supervisor triangle" on the topics you propose.



Should you wish to obtain more information directly, the email address is agtrain@life.ku.dk and the website www.agtrain.eu will soon be set up.



Looking forward to hearing from you,



Cheers,



Ann







Dr Ann Waters-Bayer

ETC EcoCulture Netherlands

Home office: Rohnsweg 56, 37085 Göttingen, Germany

T: +49 551 485751 F: +49 551 47948

E: waters-bayer@web.de ; ann.waters-bayer@etcnl.nl

www.etc-ecoculture.org / www.prolinnova.net

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Raisi ninayemtaka Tanzania afuate principle zenye kuleta maendeleo

To reflect and... Act.


The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country.


This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old
and are poor.

On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich.
The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.
Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing  raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.
Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate of the world.


In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world’s strong safe.Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.
What is the difference then?

The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture.
On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives: Ethics, as a basic principle. 2. Integrity. 3. Responsibility. 4. Respect to the laws & rules. 5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.6. Work loving. 7. Strive for saving & investment. 8. Will of super action. 9. Punctuality.

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.


We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us.


We are poor because we lack attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich & developed societies.

reasons why we are poor we Tanzanian

Tanzania remains extremely poor, forty eight years after independence.




It lags behind her neighbours; Kenya and Rwanda in terms of GDP (total value of the annual output of goods and services: excludes the foreign output of domestic firms and includes the domestic output of foreign firms)



Tanzania is a rich resource country with almost every God given natural resources, raw materials, mining and sources of water. Tanzania is rich in gold, diamond, and the only country blessed for the most valuable stone in the Hollywood nowadays, Tanzanite. Tanzania is not a landlocked country, which cuts cost for export and import of goods through our sources of water; the Indian ocean, the second world largest fresh water body, lake Victoria, and the second world deepest body of water, lake Tanganyika.



Forty eight years after independence, Tanzania continues to depend heavily on agriculture, which accounts for about half of the GDP, about 82 percent of country export and 80 percent of the work force.



In this 21st century of science and technology, Tanzanians still lack any form of agricultural revolution, revolution that would have improved farming tools and introduced new farming technologies and hence increase productivity. Local farmers continue to depend on a simple structure to cultivate the land, a hoe. In a country that is heavily depended on agriculture for its survival and export of goods, why has it taken the government too long to upgrade and improve farming equipment used by local farmers?



How many more decades will the government need to introduce some form of agricultural revolution, which will not only improve productivity, but also standard of living, as farmers will have enough for the market and themselves. It is time that the government introduces a national agricultural subsidy program.



If developed countries continue to provide farm subsidies to their farmers, big and small, why is it that our government has no program to provide fertilizers, improved seeds, insecticides and modern technologies for our farmers?



If we have failed in the manufacturing industry, in science and technology, the government has no option, but to create an environment that will promote sustainable agricultural revolution throughout the country for the sake of our economy and people of Tanzania. Tanzania manufacturing industry and mining industry, both combined, contributes less than 13 percent of GDP, according to the official government website. Manufacturing industry contributes only 9 percent of the GDP, with mining contributing only 3.5 percent of the GDP.



With the current climate changes and the very unpredictable rain season in the country each year, it is awfully hard to tell where Tanzania is heading. When most developed countries have moved away from agriculture to manufacturing industry and technologies, how is Tanzania going to catch up with the rest of the world when manufacturing industry still counts for less than 10 percent of the GDP, with technologies counting for 0 percent of the GDP?



How much time and under what pace this country will need to reverse the pattern of national economy? When will we be able to compete with Botswana mining industry, where gold alone accounts for more than 33 percent of the GDP? Or when will we be able to compete with Namibia mining industry, which accounts for 20 percent of GDP? Botswana and Namibia process own mining, does Tanzania has anything to learn from these countries?



Besides HIV/ AIDS pandemic in Botswana, the country has been hailed by the international community and international institutions as the most progressive in Africa with sound economic policies.



Botswana is a mid income country, with GDP of $11, 200. Last year Botswana exported goods and services totalling $ 4.8 billion, while imported goods and services totalled $3.0 billion. Namibia is another good example of an African country that has done wonderfully in the national economy.



Last year, Namibia GDP was more than $ 7,400 which is pretty high by African standards. If Botswana and Namibia can do this, what excuses does Tanzania have?



It is true that Tanzania has made some progress in the past few years, but you cannot deny the fact that the current economic growth has yet to benefit the poor.



Many international reports have indicated that Tanzania continues to be poor with declining standards of living. Economic disparities continue to widen up the gap between the rich and the poor.



The haves and the have nots have become a symbol of Tanzania, with many citizens losing hope for the future. Standards of living have continued to decline, with this year inflation hitting the poor very badly and there is still no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.



More than 36 percent of the Tanzanian population still lives below poverty line, with life expectancy remaining at 44 for men and 46 for women, according to UNDP�s 2008 Human development report.



Why is Tanzania still behind all East African Countries? Why should Tanzania continue to be poor? Why does it that standards of living have continued to decline?



Why is Uganda, a country that has had a share of political instabilities, produce twice the capacity of Tanzania?



Rwandan GDP, a landlocked country with poor and limited resources is twice of that in Tanzania?



Is there any explanation to justify for the lack of employment, development and the declining standards of living for Tanzanians?



What should the public expect from the current trend of developments in Tanzania?



What has been the role of the public in questioning the government about lack of real change in the lives of Tanzanians?



What has been the role of the media in making sure that the government is accountable to the public?



Source: modified from www.ippmedia.com

reasons why we are poor we Tanzanian

Tanzania remains extremely poor, forty eight years after independence.




It lags behind her neighbours; Kenya and Rwanda in terms of GDP (total value of the annual output of goods and services: excludes the foreign output of domestic firms and includes the domestic output of foreign firms)



Tanzania is a rich resource country with almost every God given natural resources, raw materials, mining and sources of water. Tanzania is rich in gold, diamond, and the only country blessed for the most valuable stone in the Hollywood nowadays, Tanzanite. Tanzania is not a landlocked country, which cuts cost for export and import of goods through our sources of water; the Indian ocean, the second world largest fresh water body, lake Victoria, and the second world deepest body of water, lake Tanganyika.



Forty eight years after independence, Tanzania continues to depend heavily on agriculture, which accounts for about half of the GDP, about 82 percent of country export and 80 percent of the work force.



In this 21st century of science and technology, Tanzanians still lack any form of agricultural revolution, revolution that would have improved farming tools and introduced new farming technologies and hence increase productivity. Local farmers continue to depend on a simple structure to cultivate the land, a hoe. In a country that is heavily depended on agriculture for its survival and export of goods, why has it taken the government too long to upgrade and improve farming equipment used by local farmers?



How many more decades will the government need to introduce some form of agricultural revolution, which will not only improve productivity, but also standard of living, as farmers will have enough for the market and themselves. It is time that the government introduces a national agricultural subsidy program.



If developed countries continue to provide farm subsidies to their farmers, big and small, why is it that our government has no program to provide fertilizers, improved seeds, insecticides and modern technologies for our farmers?



If we have failed in the manufacturing industry, in science and technology, the government has no option, but to create an environment that will promote sustainable agricultural revolution throughout the country for the sake of our economy and people of Tanzania. Tanzania manufacturing industry and mining industry, both combined, contributes less than 13 percent of GDP, according to the official government website. Manufacturing industry contributes only 9 percent of the GDP, with mining contributing only 3.5 percent of the GDP.



With the current climate changes and the very unpredictable rain season in the country each year, it is awfully hard to tell where Tanzania is heading. When most developed countries have moved away from agriculture to manufacturing industry and technologies, how is Tanzania going to catch up with the rest of the world when manufacturing industry still counts for less than 10 percent of the GDP, with technologies counting for 0 percent of the GDP?



How much time and under what pace this country will need to reverse the pattern of national economy? When will we be able to compete with Botswana mining industry, where gold alone accounts for more than 33 percent of the GDP? Or when will we be able to compete with Namibia mining industry, which accounts for 20 percent of GDP? Botswana and Namibia process own mining, does Tanzania has anything to learn from these countries?



Besides HIV/ AIDS pandemic in Botswana, the country has been hailed by the international community and international institutions as the most progressive in Africa with sound economic policies.



Botswana is a mid income country, with GDP of $11, 200. Last year Botswana exported goods and services totalling $ 4.8 billion, while imported goods and services totalled $3.0 billion. Namibia is another good example of an African country that has done wonderfully in the national economy.



Last year, Namibia GDP was more than $ 7,400 which is pretty high by African standards. If Botswana and Namibia can do this, what excuses does Tanzania have?



It is true that Tanzania has made some progress in the past few years, but you cannot deny the fact that the current economic growth has yet to benefit the poor.



Many international reports have indicated that Tanzania continues to be poor with declining standards of living. Economic disparities continue to widen up the gap between the rich and the poor.



The haves and the have nots have become a symbol of Tanzania, with many citizens losing hope for the future. Standards of living have continued to decline, with this year inflation hitting the poor very badly and there is still no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.



More than 36 percent of the Tanzanian population still lives below poverty line, with life expectancy remaining at 44 for men and 46 for women, according to UNDP�s 2008 Human development report.



Why is Tanzania still behind all East African Countries? Why should Tanzania continue to be poor? Why does it that standards of living have continued to decline?



Why is Uganda, a country that has had a share of political instabilities, produce twice the capacity of Tanzania?



Rwandan GDP, a landlocked country with poor and limited resources is twice of that in Tanzania?



Is there any explanation to justify for the lack of employment, development and the declining standards of living for Tanzanians?



What should the public expect from the current trend of developments in Tanzania?



What has been the role of the public in questioning the government about lack of real change in the lives of Tanzanians?



What has been the role of the media in making sure that the government is accountable to the public?



Source: modified from www.ippmedia.com

why millions of rural tanzanian are poor

Why millions of rural Africans are poor




By Vincent Obiro Orute Obunga



Each year, millions of rural Africans find that they do not have enough money to meet their basic needs despite the fact that there are signs of money around them. Sometimes the problem is caused by conditions over which they have no control –illness, old age, discrimination, big business, unions, and economic trends such as inflation; if they could they would vote the culprits out of power.



At other times, however, their own choices are directly responsible –low level of education and career selection are two such areas of choice.



If you take a close look at schools in most African countries, the picture that emerges is that they have become “institutional props for the privileged” yet at the same time they are supposed to be instruments of social mobility.



Clearly, we need to consider alternative in education –alternative content and organization. Above all, we urgently need alternative views on education itself, its nature and possible function in society. Alternative education under the concept of life-long learning is an essential philosophy particularly in this era of rapid scientific and technological information advancement. It ‘s also important to provide ammunition to fight the socio-economic forces, create cultural and demographic awareness in the people and the need to continue learning throughout life. Through this, rural Africans will be equipped and enabled to respond effectively to the changes around them.



According to a recent report of inquiry into education system in Africa, marginalization from the global business due to our low capacity of information use makes us vulnerable to all manner of exploitation by the advanced nations.



This marginalisation occurs not only as a result of our economic poverty but much more so due to our limited knowledge base.



Since the quest for knowledge and its utility are the current measure of human progress across the globe, our survival hangs very much on the extent to which we give due emphasis to education.



Education should be viewed as a process that is not limited to formal or institutional learning only. Rather, it should go beyond the classroom to include cultural and creative activities. The emphasis here in my considered opinion should be to motivate people of all ages and background to continue learning for the sake of acquiring knowledge.



Concerted efforts should also be made to expand and strengthen the campaign for the reduction of illiteracy through the development of reading material couched in local language (i.e. Kiswahili).



Learning materials that would help the youth cope with the society and understand the rest of the world should also be produced in local language (i.e Kiswahili) and made available to them.



The number of teachers for these literacy programmes can be increased through recruitment and in- service training and the use of retired teachers. We have behaved hypocritically by allowing our retired teachers languish in abject poverty instead of utilizing them.



To ensure the efficiency of civic education programmes, there is need for a close collaboration between the government, NGOs and the private sector so that areas of greater need can be identified, prioritized and addressed in a timely manner.



As I had mentioned earlier, school should not be the only place for teaching. And in Africa as we all know, the radio, above all transistor sets, allows the great world news to be instantly known in the most remote corners of the earth. Sometimes when you visit the rural villages of Africa, you hear over the radio “This is Washington DC, “This is BBC London,” “This is Moscow,” and so on. This clearly shows that the entire world is known to the entire world.



Clearly, we need a general civic education. We must foster a more rational scientific outlook toward life. We must understand our true history, our environment –natural and social. We must confront age –old discrimination against certain groups in our society –including women.



Civic education in my opinion should also deal with the evils in society, economic as well as moral.



Civic education should cultivate in the people a sense of self – reflection and the ability to manipulate nature for survival.



And the question we must seek at answer is: What is it that schooling actually does if its education function is laden with archaic administrative philosophies that lead it to rapidly lose touch with the very people it is meant to serve?



Vincent Obiro Orute Obunga is executive director Volunteer network Africa,

a volunteer organization committed to social and economic change across the globe,

Email: orutev@yahoo.com or orute_obiro@hotmail.comor Vincent.orute@gmail.com

Uzinduzi wa Tamko la Wanaharakati wasio wa Kiserikali kuelekea na baada ya Uchaguzi Mkuu 2010 na Mdahalo

wadau hii ni fursa nzuri kwako kama mpiga kura kushiriki na pia kama mtanzania anayejali nchi yake
Ndugu,






Asasi ya Agenda Participation 2000 (AP2000) inapenda kukulika katika uzinduzi wa Tamko la Wanaharakati Wasio wa Kiserikali 2010, Wakati na Baada ya Uchaguzi 2010: Tanzania Ipi Tunayoitaka? (Non-State Actors Charter 2010) na kuhudhuria mdahalo wenye mada kuu ya; "Tanzania Ipi Tunayoitaka sasa na baada ya Uchaguzi Mkuu 2010".





Tamko hili la Wanaharakati Wasio wa Kiserikali ni matokeo ya juhudi za kuunganisha asasi za kiraia zaidi ya 150 zilizokuwa zimeanza mnamo mwaka 2005. Tamko hili linawasilisha mijadala, mapendekezo kwenye maeneo muhimu ambayo wananchi wangependa yashughulikiwe sasa na hata baada ya Uchaguzi Mkuu 2010.





Shughuli hii ya uzinduzi itafanyika siku ya Jumanne, Septemba 21, 2010 katika Hoteli ya Blue Pearl, Ubungo Plaza kuanzia saa mbili unusu asubuhi hadi saa nane mchana.





Wanasiasa wanaongea, wagombea wanaahidi. Njoo ujiunge nasi kama wananchi tupaze sauti zetu zisikike katika mustakabali wa Taifa letu la Tanzania tunalolitaka sasa na baada ya Uchaguzi Mkuu 2010. Tumeambatanisha rasimu ya ratiba ya siku ya uzinduzi.





Muhimu: Kwa watakaopenda kuhudhuria uzinduzi huu na mdahalo, tafadhali wathibitishe kuhudhuria kwao kupitia barua pepe; dalali@corruptiontracker.or.tz au simu: 0717-011112 au 0758-318914.





Wenu,

Michael J. Dalali

Afisa Programu,

Agenda Participation 2000.

slow death of the intellectual

Guys I found very interesting article on education and it sound good to share with you when giving comments in my blog please:

 o racist, sexist or homophobic remarks;

Keep it short;

Keep it on topic;

Show respect to all;

We reserve the right to remove or delete any comment without




ONATHAN JANSEN
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Aug 27 2010 12:32



34 comments
Post your comment ARTICLE TOOLS

Add to Clippings

Email to friend

Print





MORE TOOLS

Add to Facebook

Add to Muti

Add to del.icio.us

Blog Reactions

Digg this story









All but one of South Africa's universities lack strong intellectual cultures on their campuses. True, there are sporadic bursts of what could be called intellectual activities or events, such as a memorial lecture here or a seminar there, but there is not a sustained, tangible and visible intellectual culture that characterises campus life.



By intellectual culture I do not simply mean some high-brow exercise in abstraction (though there is place for the abstract, the theoretical and the imaginary) detached from the pressing social and institutional problems that confront scholars and practitioners on campuses. I mean critical activities (film, drama, seminars, special lectures, open debates, musical performance, architectural display, critical dialogues, scholarly book launches, thoughtful protests -- more about this later -- and speakers) that together act to encourage, excite and evoke thoughtful discussion and deliberation.



An intellectual culture in this sense is a felt experience, not localised events in isolated parts of that campus. It is not busyness but quality activities that breed curiosity, creativity and dissent.



How did we get into this rut? The question presumes that at one stage such intellectual cultures existed on South African campuses. Not too long ago some of the most exciting debates and discussions were fuelled by the drama of the anti-apartheid struggle. A stirring lunchtime lecture on black theology by Allan Boesak at a cafeteria table at the University of the Western Cape or Jakes Gerwel's inaugural rector's address on "The three ideological orientations of South African campuses" would generate months of subsequent seminars and debates way beyond what the latter provocatively called "the home of the left".



The stirring addresses by Onkgoposte Tiro or Gessler Nkondo on the campus of the University of the North (now Limpopo) during that magical moment of Black Consciousness are legendary. But, with the anti-apartheid motif gone, there is no longer a higher appeal to organise, mobilise and cement intellectual cultures on campuses anywhere.



Fascinating debates

To date, the University of Cape Town, on its Rondebosch campus, is the only university that could be said to have an intellectual culture. Whether it was the fascinating debates on a core curriculum during the time of Mahmood Mamdani on that campus, the bitter debates on affirmative action led by David Benatar, a professor of law, or the more recent public standoff between Max Price, the principal, and Neville Alexander, a professor, on race-based admissions policies at that institution, it is a place boiling with intellectual foment as Nobel laureates and troublesome intellectuals criss-cross that campus regularly.



What is very interesting -- and this will offend some people -- is that in the distant past some of the most vibrant intellectual cultures existed on those campuses that were bulwarks of Afrikaner nationalism and, later, apartheid. The University of Stellenbosch, for example, had on its campus the likes of Hendrik Verwoerd, who were superb intellectuals -- if you froze for a moment questions about the troubling moral content of their racial messages.



We got into this rut because of a number of factors that together reduced many of our universities to degree machines and diploma mills. One reason was the creeping managerialism that turned the scholarship of teaching and inquiry into a parade of "measurable units" used by university bureaucracies to satisfy the constant demands for numerical accountability -- for outputs by the research office or administrative compliance with external regulations by the academic standards office.



I am not for a moment suggesting that performance or compliance are unimportant in the modern university. What I am suggesting is that these obligations became a mindless churn within institutions that reward the academic mechanic more than it does the thoughtful intellectual.





CONTINUES BELOW







Another reason we are in this rut is because of poor leadership. More and more universities appoint people at senior levels of leadership who are ignorant of the purposes of the university and the threats to it. Slowly, universities have become places that have descended into endless confrontations between rival factions over all kinds of nonsense (the indecent salary of a vice-chancellor, the constant fight over leadership positions, the sleeping patterns of a lecturer, et cetera) that have absolutely nothing to do with the academic project.



As these confrontations repeat themselves, the leaders become preoccupied not with the academic mission of a university but with containing the embarrassing fires of discontent within their institutions -- a problem exacerbated by the fact that the leaders are themselves often part of these skirmishes.



Fixation with numbers

A third reason for the collapse of intellectual cultures on campuses has to do with the fixation with numbers to ensure financial survival in many universities. The more students are allowed to cram into lecture halls, the more academics are forced to engage in crowd control. But it is not simply that more students are crowding classes, it is also that academically weaker students started to enter campuses and classrooms. Academics were forced into a predominantly remedial stance in their teaching, killing the instinct to engage, provoke and deepen student learning beyond the transmission of the ubiquitous "notes" that define university life.



The other crucial reason for the demise or nonexistence of intellectual cultures has to do with the mass exit of serious scholars from university life. The sheer demand of work with low intellectual returns means that those who choose "the life of the mind" find the post-1994 university singularly unattractive. The cream of the crop has left for science councils like the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), only to find in time that the allure of research is replaced with the pressures of consultancy where your worth as a highly paid council employee turns on the extent to which you can generate the next multimillion-rand contract.



The gestation time needed for thinking deeply about research, theory and data is simply not there. Exhausted HSRC scholars find themselves trapped between high incomes in the science councils and low rewards in the public universities.



Others have made a straight break for the government or private sector and few have ever reconsidered the return to scholarly life. What universities are left with, in the main, are older academics too close to retirement to risk departure and younger academics too poorly qualified to risk losing the only job they have had.



Instead of intellectual cultures on our campuses we now have political cultures dominating the public space.

Students born after the end of apartheid have learned quickly how to mimic the language of struggle to make demands of institutions for material things — more money, better food, increased spending on student representative councils and the like. Student leaders constantly demand that no student should be excluded because of poor academic results. Often institutions cave in to such ridiculous demands, adding to the layers of mediocrity that ­sediment institutional life.



Of course, student demands are often legitimate and necessary, but the point here is a different one.



Student protest cultures

Student protest cultures about their personal needs are the only show in town. On some campuses these student protest cultures are spawned and sustained by their political parties outside, thereby bringing the toxic language and racial intolerance of these external agents on to university terrain.



These student protest cultures have no intellectual content or broader social reach on campus. For example, you seldom find students anywhere protesting about xenophobia in the townships, debating pirating in Somalia or holding sit-ins on land reform in Zimbabwe. But student behaviour takes its lead from professorial behaviour, resulting in a deadening of the mind in university life.



How do we get out of this? How do we create and sustain strong intellectual cultures on campuses? What can be done to restore the rich meanings of what it means to teach and learn in scholarly environments?



The task is a difficult one because building cultures is not the same thing as changing a curriculum or erecting a new lecture hall. Cultures, many would argue, should evolve "organically" from within institutional life. Yet university leadership, and here I especially include the senates, can steer an institution towards the attainment of vibrant intellectual cultures.



The first thing that should be done on every campus is to bring together a collective of like-minded academics and students to take charge of such a project to build strong and sustainable intellectual cultures. Like-minded people with strong academic profiles and ambitions can do this. It helps to have in such a collective people who have worked in universities in other places where the habits of the mind create vibrant intellectual cultures. In other words, it is difficult to build such cultures on campuses with academics socialised into a normative experience that is narrow, bureaucratic and deprived of intellectual curiosity and creative thought.



A vital next step is to ensure that the university leadership itself demonstrates its commitment to building such intellectual cultures. This requires money to bring top scholars to campuses on a regular basis, for example. But it also requires imagination -- such as the capacity to capitalise on compelling public problems (xenophobia, land reform, race-based admission policies or the global economic crisis) and turning them into compelling intellectual questions on campuses.



Another option is to build these cultures from the bottom up, within academic departments. This might mean appointing heads of department who understand and come from traditions within which vigorous academic debate and intellectual exchange are common. I have yet to see an advertisement or job description that makes the intellectual value and contribution of the candidate a prerequisite for appointment. If every academic department held weekly seminars in which members of that unit or its doctoral students shared their work in progress, significant progress would be made.



None of these things is possible without revisiting the undergraduate curriculum or, for that matter, the curriculum for residence life. The lack of a broadly liberal arts curriculum in virtually all the universities kills any signs of intellectual life on campus. Curriculum is content-heavy; teaching is transmission-based; examinations are ubiquitous. Sometimes I get the impression that on campuses there are more tests and examinations than there are thoughtful, inspiring and intellectually outrageous teaching sessions. In other words, there has to be a connection between the quality of intellectual life inside and outside the classroom.

The quality of the public discourse in the broader society will be determined in large part by the quality of the intellectual discourses on our campuses.



Professor Jonathan Jansen is vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State

TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE

Tags

universities

intellectual culture

People

Jonathan Jansen





Comments



Prof Jansen, what a truthful article. I think a point missing though is that this days most young people don't go to universities in order to be engrossed in an intellectual culture. They go to universities because they see it as the best, if not only, way to ensure that they end up in a high paying job. In South Africa at the moment, its getting less excusable for any young person to not end up in a high paying job. You'll be interested to know that I attented U.C.T and to most of my fellow students what was most important was how much your first pay check was going to be... Mr Y on August 31, 2010, 8:48 am Mr Y right on spot but just to add that the greater threat to the intellectual culture that Prof Jansen talks about here is in fact the erosion of academic freedom through managerialism, 'politicisation' of the academic enterprise, as well as turning academics into degree manufacturing 'morons' of sorts. Being an academic I would say about 80% of the academic is now wasted on teaching and administrative processes that contribute nothing to the quality of education in South Africa. There is way too little thinking time, as the little time that remains is directed towards the mindless rat race of publishing to ensure you remain in the system. As for students once you take the approach of intellectual interogation the class looks bored to death and they do tell you they are not interested in anything else but getting a degree and getting money.I often here studnets complain a lot about the relevance of legal theory or juriprudence - what a lot! Nevertheless there are still students who bring intellectual vibe to lectures and engage with real issues. Post graduate students have just become the same as undergads and the doctoral studnets are literally insivible. Attendance at staff seminars/lectures are pathetic and some of the seminars are indeed time wasting renditions of mundane issues and there is a clear avoidance of hot issues of the day by academics, lest you become a racist, an apologists for this or that, or simple an academic idiot perceived to be living in 18th century Oxford. Johanne Masadza on August 31, 2010, 9:30 am Well said Prof. Unfortunately the trend will continue until such time that we respect each other for being fellow human beings not because of material possessions. These times of Khulubuses and like-minded people who can buy you expensive drinks does not not encourage that culture. Young stars are afraid to strive for education and be poor. They have learnt there are shortcuts from the leaders of today.The society knows it does not help much to have a PhD and not be able to afford a decent house. We need a need to deal with a culture of materialism and encourage high morals and value good ideas. Like you, Prof, I lament the death of intellectual culture. Gilbert Mosupye on August 31, 2010, 9:33 am As long as it is forbidden, yes forbidden, to discuss any possible general psychological or mental differences between different groups and/or cultures, then your wish will stay just that, a dream. The reason that the situation is as you describe is because there are DIFFERENCES that no-one will acknowledge and that will thus forever stand between success and failure in the workplace, university, government and country. The WORLD understands these differences but they don't exist in South Africa? You can't solve a problem until you acknowledge that it exists, and you, Professor Jansen, as much as I admire your intellectualism, are in a state of denial. Graham Johnson on August 31, 2010, 9:35 am All true but you skirt around the role of race, particularly race hatred, in the decline. Why were university senates deprived of their former powers? To improve management structures is the official reason but the reality is that the replacement management structures were black while the senates they sidelined had a white majority. Some of the blacks appointed were appointed as a reward for their role in the struggle, which typically involved traumatic experiences in South Africa and then exile, with study overseas, nursing a grievance against whites which festered. And boy, when they got their hands on the sjambok, did they wield it. Being a white university associate professor in your late 30s or early 40s in the early 2000s was not a pleasant experience, and most left, preferring to start again as a junior lecturer in an obscure agricultural university in New Zealand or where-ever than put up with the endless carping, committees of discipline, compulsory course content censorship etc they were expected to swallow. It was so unnecessary too. True the white academics who stood up and were prepared to suffer opposing the apartheid regime were relatively few in number but that does not mean the rest were rabid racists. Good luck in trying to turn the tide -- let us all hope South African universities do not end up like the sad shipwrecks of former ambition you see in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria -- the list is long. John Patson on August 31, 2010, 9:48 am Prof Jansen, let me start by saying that as a post-graduate student I agree with everything you say apart from one point. I couldn't agree more that universities in this country are only focused on pumping out as many undergraduates as possible and that undergraduates are, for the most part, only to happy to be spoon fed enough to pass and move into a 'real life'.Any broadening of the mind past what's written in the textbook is very rare. Post graduate study is also less and less attractive as it near on impossible to support yourself on the busaries provided.

The one thing I do disagree on is the 'intellectual culture' at UCT. I have studied at both UP and UCT and in my opinion UCT is very limited in what they try to expand their students miinds on. It is a very political campus, in terms of science, art, language I have found that TUKS offers a much greater oppotunity to learn. I'm not saying that UCT focus is unwarranted I think all universities should encourage political awareness the way UCT does. I just think that there is more to Intellectual cuture than that. helen walsh on August 31, 2010, 10:00 am By this tangential approach to what is a racial issue, the good professor vindicates his own position. The much-mentioned "race debate" will never really be possible because one side must violate the constitution. So we all walk this tightrope using buckets of bullshit to balance ourselves.

Meanwhile the insanity of skin-based transformation has saddled this country with more of what apartheid delivered; a large unskilled population led by a herd of non-intellectual professionals with dubious morals and credentials.

Post-Polokwane SA has shown that non-conformance will result in being cut from the herd. I hope Prof Jansen survives this act of bravery.

Clifford Dean on August 31, 2010, 10:50 am Intriguing. I left a non-threatening comment that should have led to intellectual debate and it was deleted. So much for Prof Jansens' dreams. Only if it accords with ANC-think is it allowed to be 'discussed'. Graham Johnson on August 31, 2010, 11:10 am Perhaps the dearth of intellectual debate is largely due to the insistence on forcing South African reality into the Fanon et al mould. As a topic of inquiry it is as sterile as the doctoral thesis of Jean Bertrand Aristide. Wim Kotze on August 31, 2010, 11:13 am White intellectuals are excluded from any debate unless they merely parrot what a black intellectual has said first in order to validate it. Whites are only expected to cheer and boo from the side-lines and to leave the playing field open only to the darker folk. Why even bother? It's futile. It's, frankly, offensively racist. Atlas Reader on August 31, 2010, 2:40 pm I think the observation that Academia has been encrouched upon by political sensitivities is most apt. Democracy has nothing to do with love of knowledge, it is a political form of government not a method of producing knowledge or cultivating a rigorous intellectual culture. Having said that it should be affirmed that Universities are at their core elitist institutions where the best minds are supposed to converge to produce and understand knowledge and its place in society. The end is knowledge, not preparing students for the job "market!" The market itself should be called into question. A University should strive to be a meta-societal intitution that does not prepare students to be plugged into society, but to question that society and thus better it. I think the core problem is that people misunderstand this raison d'etre. They are too firmly imbedded in a market or political ideology to see the wood for the trees. Yaseen Lagardien on August 31, 2010, 3:01 pm Things have not changed in the academic world of south africa, so nothign to get excited about. I studied in 1980, and even then it was a known fact that each university had their 'thought leaders', your little cliches, if you thought any different to those 'mainstream' clubs you were quickly out in the cold. There are many ways to get your point across though, and they do not always need a rigorous academic platform. white trash on August 31, 2010, 3:39 pm In essence Dr Jansen, you are perfectly correct. Universities have become exactly that - Degree machines, and this is why I feel their time has come and gone. If one looks at why universities were established in the first place - a place where you could learn that which could not be sourced anywhere else - this position has almost been usurped by the Internet. Think of the mavericks Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Richard Branson (Virgin)and numerous others: They all dropped out, because universities could not deliver the stimulation they sought at the pace at which the world was moving. And areas of intellectual debate? It buzzing in the blogosphere every single second. Perhaps, its not time to look back, but too look forward, and drag universities kicking and screaming into the new world.

And on the internet, your face does not matter, only your mind. Crome Dome on August 31, 2010, 3:53 pm I studied at UCT, but I'm now working at UP.As I love studying, I decided to take some of UP's courses. I am now in a position to truly appreciate Jansen's lament at the decline of an intellectual culture. Studying at UP thus far has been decidedly anti-intellectual, in comparison with my experience at UCT. The courses I'm doing seem geared towards getting the credits that will amount to a degree rather than learning anything or debating knowledge. The worst example thus far is having to write an essay on a topic that even the lecturer admits has nothing to do with the coursework. It is merely a means of getting the marks required to pass. Another case is having one, very dated, very narrow-minded book as the only prescribed reading for a subject on which there are many conflicting viewpoints.



I was appalled, but when discussing this with people from UP, the attitude seems to be that this is just the way it is, and for me to expect a higher academic standard is simply too idealistic. Lauren Smith on August 31, 2010, 4:18 pm If it is so that the standard of debate has deteriorated over time then it has more to do with the entry-level of university students being lowered than that the university themselves are responsible for not creating a proper environment for intellectual debate. white trash on August 31, 2010, 5:01 pm It seems that Caleb Stegall's 'Necessary Noble Fiction' is the byword of the ANC and all debate on the subject is thus stifled. Sadly, THEY are the weakest link, goodbye. Graham Johnson on August 31, 2010, 5:01 pm What has happened in the last two decades or so (internationally) is that the loyalty structure in universities has been turned upside down. Previously there was a collegial ideal (even if not always attained) in terms of which dept heads, deans, VCs, essentially represented staff interests to society. There was a kind of concordat with universities and society in terms of which universities could more or less do their own thing, and society trusted that the broad outcome would be for the common good. That is what academic freedom was meant to be.



Collegiality has been replaced by manegerialism. The hierarchy (vc's / deans / HoDs) is now the agent of society and has to dance to the tune of the state in order to ensure funding. Trust and collegiality has been lost. Funding is predicated on formulae which massively influence the structure of courses (especially at post grad level), the numbers of students in different programs, the pass rate, the type of journals in which to publish, etc.



Thus, performance has to be assessed, forms have to be signed and counter-signed, committees have to take decisions. Staff are no longer be allowed the slightest discretion (not even professors), whether in respect of expenditure, appointment of external examiners, grading procedures, etc. All is subject to process, scrutiny and approval up a chain of command, with no real mechanisms for appeal, debate or interaction.



As a result, highly gifted and intelligent people are treated as common labourers, they are subjected to processes predicated on mistrust and uniformity, and they are supposed to respond to infantile reward/punishment systems. Competitions are set up to establish the best "researchers" with trickle-down financial rewards and little certificates of merit for the winners. The atmosphere is one of fear and dominance, rather than debate, collegiality and engagement. No wonder a sterile intellectual atmosphere has set in. It will take a thought-revolution to change things, and there do not appear to be any signs of change in the air.



No wonder talented youngsters are slow to join universities. I would caution any talented young person to think very carefully before doing so. chico chico on August 31, 2010, 5:26 pm Could also be that since about 20 years ago we have coined the phrase 'entrepeneur' where one is being taught to be both labourer and manager in order to create your own business and become a big success. This is ignoring the fact that many people would rather work than manage, and others would rather manage than work, and a miniscule amount of people are talented enough to do both at the same time. white trash on August 31, 2010, 6:13 pm I am of the opinion that an intellectual culture never settled as part of ANY South African university. There is evidence of spirited periods throught the county and indeed in most universities; of stimulating intellectual debate. Alas far more centered around political activism, ect ect ect, maybe because of our history?



We did not get the opportunity to build quantum physics from thin air or participate on the west vs east cultural stand-off.



I think our problem is more fundimental....i am going to make a clear and unambigous accusation: South Africa as a country does not value intellectuals or intellectual participation.I think most view these as novelties.



Here is a quiz for dummies (tyring to drive a point across)...without thinking too much name ten major street names in any town or city in South Africa?



Of the twenty you have named how many are named after scientist; novelists; economical pioneers? I bet R20-00; they are less than 8%. Most on your list are political icons ect ect ect.



I know thinking about numbers or sub-atomic particles can not feed me. However; in time these oddities can feed all of us; protect all of us and make all of us live longer.



I know money is short here at home but we need to start thinking seriously about creating a strong and sustainable culture of inquisition. Knowledge for knowledge's sake. Science for science's sake. If a candidate wants to review Pi; let there be funds for him or her to do so. And let there be an environment for that candidate to associte and liase with anybody in all the places of learning.



Higher learning in most institutions is sadly mostly mechanical (come in go out kind of attitude) but this does not have to be so. There are plenty of opportunities to explore beyond your syllabus. At the moment, the spirit of the true dreamers is unfortunately under attack.



It will be truely sad to see the wheel re-invented over there and being imported once more in the next century here at home. musa makhoba on August 31, 2010, 11:07 pm This is all sadly true. The leading motifs, images, for the nation at present are corporate and managerial - CEOs instead of Town Clerks, stakeholders instead of interest groups, and if you talk to anybody about the franchise, they'll ask you what's the product! FIFA WC was nothing but a huge expensive corporate event.



I resigned my senior university post out of weariness at the massive and increasing managerialism; the dumbing down of curricula; the impossibility of real intellectual engagement with students who have poor schooling; and the political correctness of much that is taught, researched, and discussed. I took a risk but it is a risk I live with, and I am free to read, write, and set my own research agenda. Shaman Sans Frontieres on September 1, 2010, 1:16 am Thank you, again, Professor Jansen for speaking out. However, you may now need 'bodyguards' as the ANCYL long knives will be out to get you.



Intellect and anti-intellect have always been with us. Universities were established before the "Industrial Revolution" when literacy even rarer than it is here (in SA). Scholars were usually impoverished and the process of learning had no deadlines. It took as long as it took to educate oneself to the level of older scholars and to be able to carry their work further. As 'trade' grew and a small affluent class developed scholars were able to travel further and spend time studying the holdings of other universities in more distant cities. Learning and a culture of intellectual enquiry spread. There were still no 'deadlines', no end point at which 'learning' was thought to be finished. Learning was a way of life and when one had demonstrated distinction amongst one's peers, one might be asked to teach younger scholars Rory Quinn on September 1, 2010, 11:05 am David Benatar is a professor of philosophy, not law. Returned Exile on September 1, 2010, 11:17 am The death of the thinking man in SA is drawing ever closer. Steve van Niekerk on September 1, 2010, 11:34 am Sorry, I must have hit a wrong button.



The point of the whole enterprise was to enlarge and, through debate and critical thought, to refine the body of knowledge. Scholars were not universally respected and some were tortured and burnt to death during the Inquisition.



There has always been tension between those who sought to know truth through the work of the mind and those who settled for some form of dogma. The dogmatists see intellectuals as a threat to them and to the authority they wield.



Today, it is the tension between the intellectual life and commercial life. The transformation of the universities from 'citadels of learning' into degree machines reflects a deep mis-understanding of the purpose of the university.



Most parents do NOT want their children to be EDUCATED; they want them to be EMPLOYABLE. For most parents, the 'degree' is what is important, not the process of learning. The 'degree' has become a commodity and once they have this commodity, the students must get out there and 'sell' themselves.



What an odious concept! It has become so much a part of public life that it no longer rouses distaste to 'sell' oneself. This mind-set has turned students into 'products' churned out by universities. And the universities are rated on the basis of how many graduates go straight into jobs. Even the funding for universities is based on which 'programmes' turn out the most employable grads. Corporatising the university has made it the slave of commercial interests and reduced graduates to statistics.



The intellectual enterprise does not create "products", it stimulates thinking and provides the environment for the incubation and evaluation of ideas. Ideas are invisible, yet every aspect of human life developed from an idea. Not all ideas are capable of being expressed as 'things' and those ideas are valued least of all.



Students who see university as a meal ticket or a 'status' symbol are not there to learn. They are there to get a piece of paper in exchange for showing up. The process of tertiary education is wasted on them and they gravitate toward programmes with utilitarian rather than speculative merit.



It is time to re-think what John Henry Newman termed "The Idea of the University" and decide what we as a society want: thinking people like Professor Jansen, Moeletsi Mbeki, Bert Olivier, etc., dogmatists like the current leaders of the ANC, 'tenderpreneurs' like Julius Malema, K. Zuma, and even Madiba's grandson.



The university is not and should never be an instrument of state or commerce. Separate the functions and don't bemoan the antagonism the between 'town and gown'--it's not all bad.



Rory Quinn on September 1, 2010, 11:48 am Prof. jansen, your article is making rounds in Malawian academic circles, at chancellor College. there Are tired people who want to make the last retirement buck before leaving the academy and some of them are bringing back dictatorship approaches and the culture of academia is very far from them. they have not published anything in the last ten years and the conferences they go to are workshops for funding. it is a pity because chancellor College was viewed as 'the' academy amongst the five consituent colleges of the university of Malawi. Now we have a former Banda special branch informer as a Principal and any comment is regarded as undermining his authority. Cry the beloved African University. Chimwala Guta on September 1, 2010, 12:32 pm This era called which is wrongly termed "information age" should have instead been indeed called "data age". It is a about capturing, not synthesising, plagiarising insteading proliferating.

Students at this epoch are engulfed in "petty-cash-talks" and "purse-intellectualism".These are days of "I am not available right now, please leave a message and phone number, I will get back to ou as soon as I can". It is also an era where you just peak a form with further analysis and "inform". There is no diplomacy in our approaches. no distillation of messages. This business modelled transactional type of communication epitomises the period in life when we plagiarise instease of proliferate; we sympathise rather than synthesise; we inform rathern be inform; we do the actual re-search instead of doing research. The era of dogged determination to distill dogmatism and wroshipping of 'isms' have come to an end. It is a peak and go era. There is no sense of grounding. Perhaps, in Xhosa one can say "it had to be had it not been it would not have been" (bekumele ukuba bekungenjalo bekungasayikulunga). Thembinkosi Mtonjeni on September 1, 2010, 1:20 pm Thank you Thembinkosi and Rory and Chico Chico. Absolutely. Thembinkosi, I don't think it's so much a distinction between 'determination to distill dogmatism' nd 'peak and go'. Beside these I'd want it to be about conversation, time (as you imply), careful and wide reading, open dicussion.



At the elite old universities students did not 'study' a subject. They 'read' it. Maybe a euphemism, but it points to what counts.



Now we are told to set 'outcomes' for SAQA before even teaching a course, and to ensure 'throughput' for the sake of state subsidies, and as someone pointed out above, the 'collegium', the age-old consensus among professors and students, is now reduced to a body of service providers and clients that is overseen by an Executive Dean who is often parachuted in.



But as someone else pointed out, epochs come and go. In the eighteenth century, Oxford University was in dire straits with sherry-drinking peudo clerics making merry and little serious reflection or teaching happening. The spirit of the age comes and goes, and we change with it. Shaman Sans Frontieres on September 1, 2010, 1:43 pm A very good point raised by the prof but I don't think anything will change soon under ANCification of education - in most faculties, especially the sciences, universities already have rather mediocre staff. Some departments have been so "transformed" that they no longer represent the ethnic diversity of SA and it is no longer worthwhile to pursue post graduate studies in them although they provided world standard education in the past; that is if you want a quality degree and are concerned about the inevitable discrimination.

Nevertheless, I prefer dumb nuts with some tertiary education than ones without. George S on September 1, 2010, 2:19 pm Well said @Rory Qiunn. musa makhoba on September 1, 2010, 4:26 pm So sad that once thriving universities that trained the likes of Nelson Mandela are now passing illiterate, inumerate half-wits as 'graduates'. No wonder the world laughs off our 'qualifications'. Graham Johnson on September 1, 2010, 4:41 pm Very few truer words have been spoken Prof Jansen.



Although I'm an intellectual, turned "corporate hustler" (ie. consultant), I do fear that money and power rather than knowledge and wisdom are the main motivators behind tomorrow's alumni and political leaders.



Looking at SA from the UK gives your argument some sharp teeth.



Let's use some of the UK's most prominent leaders as an example. Many have gone through sought after schools and universities (Eton College, moving on to Oxford or Cambridge). Their tenure at these institutions were usually characterised by challenging the status quo. Asking "Why" rather than just accepting the norm. Looking for ways to help other before helping themselves.



Back to SA: look at some of the most prominent (political) figures in (recent) SA history: Tambo, Sisulu, Mandela, Verwoerd, Malan. Not all popular, but all highly qualified, well read and quite intellectual.



I'm no carpenter or wood work expert, but if you ask me - I'd rather follow a man (or woman) who has the ability to create rather than destroy. To innovate rather than copy. To debate with reason rather than demand without resonance.



Sadly, the wise and weatherproof intellectuals of SA are fast dwindling. Saffa Expat on September 1, 2010, 5:31 pm Graham Johnson, your racism shines through, atlas reader you are truly sad. dermot o reilly on September 1, 2010, 5:57 pm To the indigenous African (African), colonial education was introduced as the only means to a 'good' life, i.e a good paying job. It never was an intellectual endeavor. Intellectualism existed in the villages at traditional (Kangaroo) courts, in debates on the conflicting cultures of the conquered and the conquror, social commentry thru music, protest and praise poetry. The African never viewed colonial education and its institutions as places for intellectualism. Neither was it considered as a possible extension of the African intellectualism. In the ensuing battle between colonial and African intellectualism, the one of the conqueror prevailed. The African intellectual is nothing but a very pale shadow of the colonial intellectual he/she immitates. It is true to this day. Robert Mugabe on September 2, 2010, 1:41 am As always, Dr. Jansen provides us with some thoughtful (and honest) insights into the challenges facing higher education in South Africa today, insights that are informed by a wealth of experience. But as a South African graduate student at a major US institution (and who is still excited at the prospect of returning to South Africa), I was concerned about the decline narrative that is implicit in his argument (were South African universities necessarily more critical venues), a narrative which seems to pervade South African discourse, and which I think doesn't entirely contextualize the nature of the problems we currently face. More importantly, I am wary of the elitist implications of some of his critique - after all, is remediating (or assisting) struggling students necessarily anti-intellectual work? And aren't the problems he has identified a vital starting point for focusing critical attention on possible solutions?

I completely agree with his argument about the dangers of managerialism, dangers that have also crept into US universities and which threaten to commoditize education. But that is just the point - these problems are not unique to South Africa, and I struggle to engage my extremely well-educated American students to see the value in looking beyond the getting through school as quickly as possible so that they can jump into the business world (a business world that currently isn't offering them the opportunities they had envisaged). Still, despite my concerns with their unwillingness to take up my challenge to think big, they have helped me to recognize that my intellectual aspirations can't come at the expense of their educational goals - they are in higher education to get suitable qualification, and it is my responsibility to find a way to marry both their ambitions and mine.

In short, although I am convinced by some of Dr. Jansen's argument, I am not entirely sure if he has adequately interpreted all the causes, which has important implications for the kind of solutions we propose. For instance, it my experience that the unwillingness for South Africans to engage in debate (a problem which has repeatedly itself in South African politics) is a reflection of a broader cultural insensibility that has much to do with the complex history of our country. Therefore, this is not a political problem, but a cultural problem, one that requires us to rethink the nature and purpose of debate (this is belief that increasingly confirmed to me when I see the tone of comments written in repsonse to editorials such as this one).

Despite our many problems, I think there are South African educators tackling these problems in a creative ways, thereby forcing us to rethink was intellectualism means. And based on the work I have read read by South African scholars from our major universities, I think there is much to be optimistic about - we have some very impressive public intellectuals.

Thank you Dr. Jansen for a necessarily provocative editorial.