Working with Policy Makers

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Working with Policy Makers

• Adolfo Mascarenhas, LINKS.P. O. Box 35102,
  Dar-es-Salaammascar_at_udsm.ac.tz

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Draft Notes OnWorking With Policy Makers

• But just to remind you we are here on
• A Forum on Drought Risk
• Development Policy

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Who Controls Policy In Contemporary Africa?

• The conventional answer is the Government.
• Indeed you may be right.
• But the evidence we have is different.
• It is premature to answer this question if you
  are not aware of the process.
  
• Let me piece together a collage to illustrate
  what happened in Southern Africa!
  
• But alas I have to ask another question?.

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1.1 Who for instance at a national level decides
that a national policy on conservation is
important?

• Its a long story !
• WCS
• The Nature of Zambia
• Why Not A Nature of Tanzania.
• Lets see what can be done in Zimbabwe!
• NEAPS

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BACK To Tanzania

• Period of Fantastic Changes!
• Policies Galore Forestry, Wildlife Privatization
  etc.

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2.0 Why are policies adopted?

• Invariably -come with lots of carrots.
• Bureaucrats love policies
• There is a mystique about policies
• Presented in national interest.

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2.1 What have been the major policy directions
in Africa since the 80s

• To summarize for Tanzania
• Structural Adjustment
• and Macro-Economic Correctness.
• A Feeling of doing good.

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Impact

• Things actually seem to work
• There is foreign exchange galore, there is FDI,
  privatization etc.
  
• The TIC which coordinates investments
  periodically croons about the marvelous job it is
  doing about FDI and to some extent this is true.

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BUT

• At the end of the day Tanzania is still a back
  water for industrialization, processing etc.
  
• Meanwhile because of the correct macro economic
  policies the Government has been given enormous
  power to see that things work. Basket Funding,
  HIPC and
• this means a passport to borrow more etc!
• 
  

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The Policy On Poverty

• All of us agree of its importance.
• Naryan. The Voices of the Poor
• portrays the various dimension of poverty by
  livelihood and gender etc.
  
• She pinpointed that poverty is deeply embedded in
  rural Tanzania.
  

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• Some of us had increasingly cautioned the
  simplistic views eg poor environ-ments meant
  poor people.
  
• Has concentration on Poverty Issues and Policies
  dampened thinking
  
• I believe so!

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2.3 In Whose Interest Are The Existing Policies?

• The Rich and then Powerful are the first
  beneficiaries!
  
•  Would the people who are suggesting the policies
  be the main beneficiaries?
  
• How many of us have seen the fine footnotes ?
• What can we learn about the political process
  involved in policy making ?
  
•  If attention had been paid to Naryan work would
  the PRS be the same?
  

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2.4 Meeting the Challenges.

• Basically in the PROCESS of Policy Formulation
  what should we emphasize?

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3.0    So How do We Work With The Policy Makers?

• Some valuable space has been earned. Compared to
  the old days of dogma,
  
• there is much more willingness on the part of the
  WB to listen.
  
• Both Government and the WB believe in inputs from
  the civil organization and some gains have been
  made.
  
•  

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Some Gains..

• There is a National Policy Forum and periodically
  sessions have been held.
  
• For example after a great deal of lobbying,
• Gender Budgeting is in place. However, some
  Ministries can just ignore these good practices
  and get away with it.
  
• Notable gains have been made in the policy on
  Land, FGM etc.
  

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Basically To Work With Policy Makers You Need To

• Build trust
• create space.
• Realize that within Ministries there are various
  forces at work. (Tourism, Mining)
  
• Need to form coalitions.
• Be very well informed.
• Know who have a stakeholders.
• Need to monitor changes.

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3.0    So At Present Who Controls Policy In
Africa?

• ?
• ?