By FUNMI FALOBI.

Freedom of Information (FOI) advocates in Africa, supported by their counterparts around the world, are asking for a reversal of the decision by the World Bank to downgrade its access to information programme.

In a letter by the Working Group of the African Platform on Access to Information (APAI) to the World Bank’s President, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, endorsed by over 130 other national, regional and international organisations in Africa and other parts of the world, the FOI advocates noted that “both the decision itself and the diminished capacity of the Bank to engage on this critically important issue will send the unfortunate message to governments of developing countries around the world that the issue of transparency and, in particular, access to information, is no longer important or a donor priority.”

 

The Chair of the APAI Working Group, Ms Gabriella Razzano, said in a statement that the letter to the World Bank was only the first step in a series of measures planned by the advocates to get the World Bank to reconsider the decision.

 

It will be recalled that the World Bank recently closed its Governance and Inclusive Institutions (GII) unit and some of GII positions were transferred to other areas of the Bank. In the process, the Bank’s freedom of information-related work was also eliminated ostensibly because of a desire by the bank to increase traditional project lending.

 

Calling on the Bank to reconsider the decision, the FOI advocates noted that the World Bank, through its Access to Information Programme, has “played a key role in the passage and implementation of access to information laws around the world,” adding that “in Africa, where the process was slow, the active support of the World Bank to governments and civil society organisations has resulted in the fast tracking of adoption of access to information laws from five countries in the 2010 to 18 in 2016.”

 

They contended that the closure of the World Bank’s Access to Information Programme will not only hinder adoption and implementation of access to information laws but could also engender a reversal of the progress already made.

 

The organisations also observed that in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Bank and other development agencies will be providing developing countries with loans and grants, arguing that “the need for citizens to access information on development financing and locally generated revenue is vital for the attainment of the SDGs” and that the bank’s decision also sends a negative signal in this area.

 

According to them, “in the absence of access to information and participation in programmes funded by governments and development partners, including the World Bank, the levels of corruption in Africa and other developing countries will undoubtedly escalate.”

 

Urging the World Bank not to abandon citizens at this time, the organisations argued that by accessing public information and monitoring development projects, citizens are able to hold governments accountable and to contribute to the realisation of development outcomes, adding that such efforts require the support of the World Bank’s technical expertise and influence to create maximum impact.

 

The organisations reminded the bank that over the past few years, multilateral institutions have moved towards being more inclusive of citizens in governance through initiatives like the SDGs, Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA), Open Government Partnership (OGP) and Open Contracting, African Union Agenda 2063,among others, and that through various consultations, civil society organisations and citizens have contributed to the formulation and shaping of the character of these initiatives.

 

They insisted that the “World Bank’s role in standard setting on key transparency and integrity initiatives in development programmes has been unparalleled” and that at a time when discussions on SDG indicators on access to information as set out in Goal 16 target 10 are high on the global agenda, the bank’s leadership and expertise is needed.

 

The organisations told the Bank’s President that “the fight against poverty is about people. This fight cannot be won without people being able to access information. We strongly recommend that, rather than downgrading the Access to Information Unit, the World Bank should strengthen it so as to be able to continue the important work that the World Bank has been doing in this area.”

 

>By Tobi Oyetunde<

 

Which is most desirable; working towards a goal with diligence or hoping on luck to be successful? That was the focus of forum by the Royal Character Academy with the theme, “Diligence as a performance optimiser: where is the place of luck in success?, which held in Lagos recently.
Giving an introduction to the discourse, the lead facilitator, Bosede Olusola-Obasa defined “diligence” as a combination of “hard, smart, successful, tireless, creative, timely and deliberate” work. She noted that “diligence is a determined, continuous and careful effort to accomplish a given task”. She further said, “for your diligence to pay off, you must cut distractions, stick to your plan, prioritize your goals, reward yourself and go extra mile”, noting that everything in life has its reward.

 

“Diligence has its benefit which are in reward, recognition and fulfillment”, she said, adding that some people have some wrong beliefs and expectations about being diligent only when they own their own private business, while others believe in waiting for luck.

Contributing to the discourse, the guest speaker, Mr. Peter Farotimi Olorunsheyi, Managing Director of PETFAM Technical Services Nigeria Limited shared the story of his life and how diligence helped him in attaining success in life. He told participants how he had to learn roadside mechanic after his primary education and how diligence helped him to take the learning serious, which inspired him to become an engineer.

 

He said, “I used to write notes about what I was being taught while undergoing my learning (as a roadside mechanic)” and it was “my diligence that lifted me from being a roadside mechanic to an industrial engineer”.

 

Olorunsheyi recalled how he was to later go to the Nigeria Army School of Mechanical Engineering, Lagos and then an upgrading course at the Nigeria Army School, Auchi. He noted that in pursuing success, diligence and hard work should not be negotiated for mediocrity just to please others.

 

Concluding, he gave seven key points that can help diligence to yield results, namely: Be determined, Dig your ground and you will find your gold, be meticulous, be a good thinker, be consistent, be focus and be practical in your thoughts.

 

The final segment of the forum was an open session where participants at the forum talking about ‘The Place of Luck in Success’ agreed that there is nothing as luck. A participants whose name is Lucky said: “You must take deliberate steps in life, be clear in what you want and be logical” while another by name Tope said “it is only lazy people that expect luck without doing anything, you must do something and that’s why there’s a saying that when preparation meets opportunity, success is inevitable”.

By Funmi Falobi.

 

Nigerian citizens have been urged to familiarise themselves with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in order to access public information and promote transparency in the country.

 

This was the outcome by experts at a tweet a-thon entitled “The Use of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by Media and Civil Society in the Quest for Transparency in Nigeria” organised by the International Press Centre (IPC) with support of Public Affairs Section, U.S. Consulate General, Lagos.

The FOIA , according to discussants at the forum can be used to curb corruption and entrench transparency in Nigeria if Nigerians including professionals make use of it as it was revealed that over 90 percent of public institutions violates Section 29 that mandates submission of Report on every February 1 with National Assembly, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and security agencies being worst culprits.

According to the lead speaker, Olukayode Majekodunmi, Deputy Executive Director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP):  “It is important for the citizens including the media to use the Act as the only way to make Nigerian government accountable is through the FOIA.”

He noted that to bring the Act to public domain, there is need for more public enlightenment on the usage of the Act and the judiciary should be more engaged to help in its implementation.

On the challenges of the Act, Majekodunmi said sanctions are not provided for non-compliant agencies. He therefore called for the review of the act saying “The Freedom of Information Act needs to be reviewed so that about 10 sections of the law which dwell on non-disclosure of information will be looked into.”

On his part, Kabir Garba, Editor, Art/Media, The Guardian newspaper said journalists have role to play if the Act must succeed. While declaring that there are still challenges facing the act five years after its passage, he stated that the civil society organisations have been more active while the media have been passive in the usage of the FOIA.

“The media was active in agitating for the law and now that it has been passed we seem to go to bed. If not for the CSOs the success recorded so far would not have been there. There is need for media and CSOs to collaborate as it was in the beginning of the struggle in 1993, which was sustained until the Bill was passed in 2011,” he said.

He declared that journalists should elevate discussion on FOiA: “So far, the war against corruption in Nigeria are still government led and not media led and is not good for democracy because they will give us what they want us to hear”, he noted.

In his speech, IPC Director, Lanre Arogundade said decision to focus on the use of the Freedom of Information Act by the media and the civil society was based on recent happenings in the country which shows that the journey towards transparency in Nigeria could take longer than anticipated despite the change of government a year ago.

“It is quite worrisome that a wall of darkness envelopes the true earnings of our elected leaders; be it in the legislature or the executive. It is equally worrisome that transactions in the oil sector are still shrouded in secrecy based on the under belly of wide spread corruption. It is “Also worrisome that there have been so many corruption allegations that have left members of the public wondering whether this cankerworm can actually be terminated or whether it is fighting back and defeating the nation.

There is also the embarrassing controversy over the 2016 budget in terms of what constitutes the original version, the true version, the mutilated version, the un-mutilated version, etc.

Yet we have in place the three-year old FOI Act whose enactment was believed would pave the way to greater accountability and transparency by those who exercise public authority on behalf of the people,” he said.

-By FUNMI FALOBI, Lagos.

Research has revealed that Africa lags behind among comity of nations in the area of internet usage and access to internet.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, percentage of individuals using the internet showed that Europe has 77.6 percent; America 66.0 percent; Arab States 37.0; Asia and Pacific 36.9 percent and Africa 20.9 percent.

Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa, World Economic Forum advocates that there is a need to fix the  digital poverty,  explaining that if Africans have access to affordable and fast internet, they would be able to create a rich future for the continent.

 

 “Initiatives like this will only work if everyone has access to the internet in the first place. For too many of us, this critical first step is still lacking. In fact, according to figures from the International Telecommunications Union, just over 20% of Africans have internet access,” she said.

Ahead of the 2016 World Economic Forum on Africa, which takes place in Kigali on May 11-13, the Global Shapers, over 1,000 young people across 94 cities in Africa with the drive to make a contribution to their communities, are launching an #internet4all conversation.

Similarly, the Web We Want Foundation, as part of efforts toward increased internet access in Africa has scheduled programmes from May through June sensitising and advocating fast, safe and affordable internet access in Africa commencing with an action week between May 1-7 through activities to commemorate the International Worker’s Day, the World Press Freedom Day, the African World Heritage Day, the World Economic Forum on Africa and African Union Summit.

Activities include calling for more action on internet rights in Africa; Speaking out on internet, economy, jobs and rights; free speech and the internet should go hand in hand, among others.

Full report on the research available @https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/only-20-of-africans-use-the-internet-we-must-fix-this-digital-poverty-now?utm_content=bufferfa0c9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer