Project & Operations

Abstract: The Support to a Network of African Institutions of Science and Technology Project is based on the premise that it is cost-effective to promote and enhance linkages among African S&T institutions to pool resources through networks established as poles of excellence, and build on the strengths of the respective institutions. As such, the Project seeks to provide a regional consolidated response to the need for high-level expertise in science and engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by expanding equitable access and improving the quality and relevance of higher education and research through the enhancement of a pole of excellence in science and technology (S&T) in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. Indeed, it is increasingly recognized that the availability of a critical mass of water, energy and environmental scientists and engineers are essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in health, education and economic growth, hence the crucial need for high quality and relevant training programs. By building skills and strengthening knowledge, tertiary institutions can provide countries with the capacity to generate growth and accelerate economic development. The Project outcomes include: (i) increased access to quality engineering and science education; (ii) enhanced relevance through linkages with the productive sector; (iii) harmonized certification of academic degrees in ECOWAS region; (iv) strengthened public-private partnerships (PPP) in the provision of quality HEST training; and (v) enlarged regional and institutional networking in S&T. The Project will be implemented over a 3-year period at a cost of UA12.00 million and will benefit all countries in the ECOWAS region and beyond.

Abstract: Good governance of natural resources is key to national development. For resource-dependent countries1, the economies of democracies grow faster than despotic autocracies—provided, however, that sufficient restraint on political power exists. Where ‘checks and balances’ are absent, democracies actually lag behind. Thus, the importance of oversight mechanisms like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which requires the regular publication, by individual companies and government, and the reconciliation and audit of all material benefits made by companies and revenue received by government in the oil, gas and mining sectors. When Liberia joined the EITI, it decided to include forestry in its reporting. Over the last two decades, logging had been a source of patronage; previous governments colluded with industry to evade millions of dollars in taxes. However, lost revenue was not the only impact on governance. Loggers trafficked weapons and revenue from logging fueled violent conflict, so that in 2003 the Security Council sanctioned timber from Liberia. In many ways, however, Liberia is not unique. Illegal logging—harvesting in excess of authority, or avoiding taxes—comprises up to a third of all timber in trade. An estimated US$10 billion a year is lost worldwide. But the costs are more than just financial. Persistent impunity for illegal loggers challenges the authority and legitimacy of the state; hand in hand with erosion of rule of law is the entrenchment of corruption. All of which has implications not only for economic development but for the human security of already vulnerable rural people. The ceding of forests to logging companies represents a significant loss of forest-based livelihoods, as well as cultural uses of the forest. In relatively lawless regions, security forces intimidate community members, violating human rights, in order to protect logging operations and gain access to forests. In fact, financial oversight is just one of the mechanisms necessary to confront illegal logging. Nonetheless, the EITI can play a valuable role in reinforcing rule of law. In developing countries, privately held companies dominate the forestry sector. Free of the reporting requirements of publicly listed companies, this opacity increases the risk that logging companies are mere shell companies with little assets to recover. And the tax structure of logging creates clear incentives for companies to ‘cut and run’.