POST 2015 - HOW THE INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTS CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF TRACKING FOREIGN AID

Through commitment and structured cooperation, migrant NGO’s in the West can make an even more valuable contribution for the development of communities where they originate. The undeniable strength of the migrant NGO’s is their possession of local knowledge and networks from within their countries of origin. It is also an additional advantage that they are easily reachable by the donors and therefore they can be valuable coordinators for projects related to their interests and various knowledge. Support from willing donor organizations can ensure that the NGO’s install simple software for recording transactions therefore making the tracking that much efficient and transparent. For the post 2015, I also urge donors to be more aware of their administrative procedures which are becoming a crutch to motivated migrant NGO’s who are committed to making a difference where they come from. We all have a responsibility to make a contribution and reduce inequality which is a root cause of existing multidimensional problems including environmental degradation, conflicts, food shortage, health impacts and others. As descendants from developing countries we can’t always be dependants, but we can work together with international institutions to build a sustainable global community. I believe inequality can truly be reduced if migrant NGO’s and donor institutions work together towards a common goal. The post 2015 goal should put focus on making a structured cooperation between donor institutions and migrant NGO’s, within the countries . By Stella Evelyne Tesha, 2013, Rotterdam

THE CHRONIC CASE OF INEQUALITIES

National and international inequalities result from non sustainable policies that promote unequal division of goods and services. Inequality disempowers nations and individuals. When the situation continues for a long period it creates a feeling of helplessness and frustration. The results have many faces; economic depression, unrest, corruption, contests, protests, civil wars and others. Tanzania, has always been one of the peaceful countries in Africa. A first stop for refugees from other parts of Africa when seeking sanctuary. Currently there has been several protests against inequality. In Masasi, Tanzania (26/1/2013) 20 vehicles burnt, 2 people dead, 7 houses and buildings burnt as a protest against existing inequalities http://instagram.com/p/U9MPdTjuqU/. Under the economic mode of ‘Ujamaa’ during the ruling of our father of the Nation Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the nation enjoyed peace and no one went to sleep with an empty stomach. Now with unavoidable integration with the global economy what we see is an increased number of problems of which the main root is non sustainable policies promoting unequal division of good and services. Can these problems be handled by the nation alone? That is an impossibility because a poor nation like Tanzania has a very small voice in the international arena whereby the west is determine to promote policies that boosts their national interests. As an individual, what would you say or do if you were in a position to make a positive change? Afterall, we are all in this together … 'Everyone makes a difference' Mwl. J.K Nyerere 1977

Land contests in Tanzania

Dumila violence kills one, injures ten more By Ashton Balaigwa 26th January 2013EmailPrint Field Force Police (FFU) officers remove logs and other road blocks used by Dumila residents in Morogoro to block the Morogoro-Dodoma highway yesterday pressing their regional commissioner, Joel Bendera, to listen to their grievances. (Photo: Ashton BalaigwaOne person was yesterday killed and ten others injured when chaos erupted at rural Dumila in Kilosa district, Morogoro in region. Reports from the scene say police had to use live ammunition to contain the violence when some people decided to block the Morogoro-Dodoma highway. The Guardian on Saturday was informed that Dumila residents blocked the highway for five hours in a bid to register complaints that Maasai pastoralists had persistently fed their cattle on farms located at Mfuru Mabwegere in the district. The dead was identified as Mohammed Msigira, 60 – and the injured were rushed to the Dumila health centre for treatment. But it was not clear who exactly killed Msigira, with claims that he might have died from shock caused by gunshots. The incident held up traffic along the Morogoro-Dodoma highway for about five hours, forcing Morogoro regional Commissioner Joel Bendera to rush the scene and listen to their concerns. In the meantime, Kilosa District Commissioner Eliya Tarimo rushed to the scene, but ended up being roughed up by irate residents, who the district commissioner was the source of the problem. Braving live ammunition, the furious farmers stormed five guest houses allegedly smashed the windows of guest houses said to be owned by the pastoralists. The irate farmers also destroyed one car, Landcruiser, before making away with several belongings belonging to the pastoralists. Before the chaos erupted the residents held a procession along the Dumila township at around 8.30 am, paralyzing transport along the highway for more than five hours before police arrived. In the ensuing chaos, Maasai women and children ran to the Dumila police station to save their dear lives. Speaking to The Guardian, Omari Athuman and Mauya Hamadi, said they were forced to resort to violence because the Maasai had taken away their cattle. The two farmers said they had since reported the matter to the village and regional authorities but no measures had been taken, saying even the Morogoro regional Commissioner, Joel Bendera had failed to address the matter. They claimed that Mabwegere area was reserved for farmers, but Kilosa district commisoner Alias Tarimo had claimed that the area was allocated to pastoralists, a statement that was rejected by the farmers. Later, the farmers are said to have asked the regional commissioner to show them the area allocated for farming activities and pastures under the Land Use Plan (LUP), but the RC failed to do so. Morogoro Regional Police Commander Faustine Shilogile confirmed the incidence, saying several farmers had been arrested. On his part, the Morogoro regional commissioner said he had ordered that all local government leaders who caused the conflict, including Dumila division secretary, be arrested. SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN TANZANIA.

By Stella Evelyne Tesha, 26th October 2012 The threat posed by climate change impacts in Tanzania is life threatening. The majority of the population rely on subsistence agriculture having no alternative opportunities to earn an income. Agricultural production has dwindled due to the change of weather patterns including prolonged seasons of draught followed by heavy rainfalls. It is not only the livelihoods that are threatened. Many lives are at stake from increasing poverty, increasing waterborne diseases, new viruses as well as increasing food prices to name a few. In Tanzania, agriculture is vulnerable to the changing weather conditions. Many farmers are forced to survive in extreme poverty conditions. Women are forced to travel long distances to fetch water for the basic household needs as well as irrigation. Children are forced to drop out of school before they should in order to help in household duties. More youth are moving to urban centers in search of alternative livelihoods. The biggest challenge for most Tanzanian’s , is to find new ways to adapt to climate change impacts. This includes finding alternative livelihoods apart from agriculture. Much as it has been argued that economic development does not go hand in hand with environmental sustainability, failure to invest in alternative activities within rural areas is leading to environmental degradation as scarce resources are depleted at an accelerated rate, while agricultural land is losing fertility. In other areas which are not yet suffering from climate change impacts, agricultural products are still being produced in a subsistence way without the benefits of sustainable supply chains leading to poverty stricken areas, and with accumulating waste from perishable products due to limited capacity for processing, storage, as well as lack of efficient energy. What I’m trying to point out simply is that, sustainable investments are needed in rural areas for climate change adaptation programs. These can be in terms of corporations offering alternative ways of earning an income, sustainable supply chains, small industries for processing and packaging fruits and other products depending on the regions, as well as substantial investment of alternative energy especially solar and wind energy. Private investors will be glad to know that Tanzania, being part of SADDC as well as a member of the East African community offers a huge market as well as investor friendly terms. In addition, investment can be made under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) program to which will enable the investor to gain emission credits (and reduce their green taxes) for their company as well as their country (if in EU). Projects which are setup with companies under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) missions in cooperation with foundations that do projects in Africa, will enable (e.g. Netherlands) companies to claim a tax refund of 69% (within the Netherlands). Furthermore, investors such as IFC (International Financial Corporation), which is part of the world bank, are investing in companies that are performing CSR missions. More benefits for investing companies are in building a positive image that holds their customers faith. Climate change impacts in Tanzania have the potential to have detrimental effects on the population, however cooperation can bring about sustainable development and grow more opportunities for both Tanzanians as well as the investing companies. Green Waters Foundation Netherlands www.green-waters.org

I have a W.I.S.E dream ............

My dream is to have a world whereby individual development is not defined as an economic achievement, and instead individual development is defined as a balance of good health, career satisfaction and happiness. I'll look at the case study of the Netherlands from my perspective, because this is a country I have grown fond of after living here 14 years. Currently the economic crisis has put all individuals into a tough spot. Employees are being over worked to the point that, having a job seems like having a penalty for an unknown commited crime. It is not so strange to see companies taking advantages of the situation while using the excuse of 'costs reduction' by cutting down head count and prioritizing economic gains over employees human rights. Cases of burn out, stress, RSI, ulcers, migraines, are getting to be as common as having a cold. Yet, because the root causes of these problems are not explored, companies can get away with it especially as there are plenty more individuals they can pick from the disempowered unemployed pool. On the other hand, the target group of the unemployed is getting bigger and bigger. The weight of financial responsibility is on the hands of UWV and SOZAWE, which in the past has been able to financially provide social welfare for the unemployed in the Netherlands without seeing the bottom of their financial pit. Now these organisationa are at the point whereby they have to scrap the remaining coins at the bottom and figure out how to share it as the unemployment pool keeps growing. From my perspective, the short term solutions that have been taken by SoZAWe are not sustainable in the long run. SOZAWE is now realizing that it does not have a bottomless pit of money and for this reason, they are now coercively allocating the professional and the educated unemployed work force on jobs such as street cleaning, catering, and other manual labour while they continue to pay ‘uitkering’. Individuals refusal or failure to accomplish these facts means that teh individual will lose rights to the welfare. So basically, what I'm trying to point out is that in the long run, this situation is not sustainable for many reasons. According to IMF reports, Netherlands unemployment rate is now 5.50& compared to ten years ago in 2002 when it was 3.8%. Radical solutions are necessary. Reference: IMF reports July 2012: http://www.statista.com/statistics/17321/unemployment-in-the-netherlands Unemployment on individual level: Unemployment on individual level creates stress for the individual and the family. It also creates disharmony in society, loss of skills and knowledge, melancholy and health problems. Furthermore, by reducing employees, it means that the work burden has to be shouldered by those remaining behind. It means that the amount of work done by one person increases, and in some cases doubles or triples. It also means reduced efficiency due to tiredness and long hours of work which results into reduced productivity, increased stress, and high potential health damage(mentally and physically). Unemployment on Business level: Reducing employees for businesses means reduced production and revenue, employees health problems caused by overwork, reduced purchasing power, increased stress at work as a result of over exploitation for the existing labour force. With each business that shuts down, the direct impact is felt on customers and vendors, on the unemployed, the shops, the tax office, the social welfare office, the health insurance branches. Walking down Rotterdam central from Weena- Stadhuis nowadays, is like walking through Ghost town from business past. Businesses like Studio Hergebruik and others which used to contribute to society both economically and culturally have been forced to close down or relocate to other cheaper locations. Unemployment on government level (National and city councils): Reduced revenue from individual taxes. Larger investment in safety nets such as child support, health insurance subsidies, social welfare. Loss of skilled labour after individuals have remained unemployed from their profession for too long, a society of people who are stressed to hang on to their jobs regardless of the overwork as well as those who are depressed from lack of jobs. Naturally, this is not what we want. We want to create sustainable social-economic development and solve the economic crisis that we are in. Having observed the current situation. I have developed a vision which I believe will solve the multidimensional problems that we are facing as a society. This is what project W.I.S.E (Winning Initiatives for Sustainable Economies) is all about. Vision: My vision for solving the economic crisis is to create job opportunities for the unemployed within existing job positions by means of reducing workload for the existing labour force and reducing work hours for the existing labour force(Public-Private partnership). What is new in Green Waters approach is that, this is a community development project and therefore the approach is different from the normal employment agencies. We will work to understand the wishes of the individuals within our target groups, before matching them with companies who agree to be our partners. We specifically aim to work in close partnerships with national departments which are now giving different sorts of social welfare support as well as the city council of Rotterdam, and eventually others. I am not an economist therefore I could be speaking utopian. However, from my perspective the strategy for implementing the vision seems quite straight forward. Mission: This current situation is not sustainable for a number of reasons including loss of skills, stress, depression and other psychological disturbance. The particular aim of this CSR mission for solving the economic crisis is to create job opportunities for the unemployed within existing job positions by means of reducing workload for the existing labour force and reducing work hours for the existing labour force. This can be considered as having a ‘work buddy’. For instance, if a person is unemployed and yet has experience, knowledge and passion in e.g. Finance, he/she can be ‘matched’ to work with someone who is already employed to do this job in a specific company. The mission can be implemented by means of the following strategy: 1st step: • Explaining the CSR mission to companies and agreeing to implement a CSR vision that focuses on human resources, the mission being to have 2 people( for each specified existing job) working together as ‘work twins’. • Instead of 40hour working week for 1 person, hours can be reduced to 32 to 24 a week e.g. with Wednesday as a ‘common day’ for the ‘work twins’ to come to work for hand over and issues discussion, or else with the current employee acting as trainer/consultant/or by working on process improvement (8-16 hours).  The work reduction will be done transparently and professionally without ulterior motives e.g. By doing an internal contingent valuation for current employees.  By analyzing employment trends within departments 2nd Step: • Working as a link between businesses and organizations such as UWV/SOZAWE/Tax office agreeing the following: o Making agreements with companies to participate in the CSR Human resources project as described by ‘donating’ several work hours to the currently unemployed.  This may depend on open positions within companies which currently are not filled because of ‘cutting costs’  This can also depend on the willingness of the current individual employees to donate e.g. 8-16 hours from their contract. o If companies have open positions that are not currently filled, they can agree to employ the ‘target group’, which will be paid the standard Uitkering by UWV/SOZAWE for 3 months, including transportation costs. After 3 months the company can offer to employ the individual at agreed salary. o If 8-16 hours are donated by employees to the ‘target group’ who are currently being paid by SOZAWE/UWV, they will continue to receive the payment from SOZAWE/UWV without monetary contribution from the company for 3 months (or other specified period if the project is extended on mutual consent). o The Tax office will be responsible for subsidizing Taxes because this is a community development project coordinated by Foundation – Green Waters. NOTE: Alternative solutions can be found after discussions with tax office,UWV/SOZAWE, Gemeente and businesses that are interested in sustainable development. Conclusion: There will be long term repercussions within the society if all stakeholders don’t take the responsibility to make radical changes and even worse long term repercussions if companies continue to make the usual changes. The current situation has to be resolved so that the economy can be revived and development can be made sustainable by keeping the triple bottom line – People, Planet, Profit, during each step of operation. There are many individuals who will become graduates this year, next year, 5 years from now etc who may not be able to find employment, which means more taxes and knowledge lost. It is important to consider a number of aspects including senior members of society who are currently working and struggling to keep up with those half their age terrified of to lose their jobs a year before retirement after investing 40 years of hard work. We also have to consider those struggling to pay students loans, without having steady jobs, as well as to consider the negative atmosphere within homes that many children are being raised. To consider what it means for the many unemployed and those who are overworked, to be in this same current situation for years. To consider where businesses are going, as more of their vendors and consumers go bankrupt along the way. To consider taxes that are lost. The knowledge that is wasted. After taking time to make the considerations, please have another look at the possible advantages that can occur for society, individuals, companies and the government, if the vision to focus on Human resources as a CSR mission is successfully implemented. Individual level: • Reducing health risks • Ensuring skills are not lost • Health improvement • More time to invest in children care and nurturing • More time to invest in alternative activities e.g creativity, studying, leisure, volunteer work. • A permanent ‘back up’ person. • earning new ways of working – with a work position partner • Reduced unemployment • Less depressed people from lack of employment • Skills maintenance • Less stressed people from doing the work of 2+ people • Healthier families • 48 hours of work for the price of 40 hours • Less costs from health insurance companies • Increased purchasing power • Reduced social-economic inequalities • Revived economy. Business Level: • Reducing health risks • Ensuring skills are not lost • Healthier employees • Increased work production • Increased profit • Increased revenue • A permanent ‘back up’ person. • Earning new ways of working – with a work position partner • Skills maintenance • Acquisition of new skills • Less stressed people from doing the work of 2+ people • Healthier families • Subsidized taxes • Less costs for health insurance companies • Increased purchasing power • Reduced social-economic inequalities • Reviving the economy. • Sustainable re-investments e.g. cleaner technology. Government Level: • Reducing health risks • Ensuring skills are not lost • Healthier society • Equity in resources distribution within society. • More time to invest in alternative activities e.g creativity, studying, leisure, volunteer work. • Increased work production • Increased revenue • Increased profit • Less unemployed people/more taxes to collect • Less depressed people from lack of employment • Skills maintenance • Less stressed people from doing the work of 2+ people • Healthier families • 48 hours of work for the price of 40 hours • Increased purchasing power • Reduced social-economic inequalities • Reviving the economy. According to IMF reports, Netherlands unemployment rate is now 5.50& compared to ten years ago in 2002 when it was 3.8%. Radical solutions are necessary. Reference: IMF reports July 2012: http://www.statista.com/statistics/17321/unemployment-in-the-netherlands/

A simplified decision making tool K.M.E.D.T By Stella Evelyne Tesha

K.M.E.D.T is a simplified decision making tools that can be used by anyone under any circumstances. K.M.E.D.T stands for Knowledge, Money, Enjoyment, Development and Time. The idea is to ask yourself the following questions before making the decision and follow with action. Knowledge: Is the action benefiting my knowledge negatively or positively? Money: Is the action earning or losing money? Enjoyment: Does the action contribute to my enjoyment? Is it enjoyable? Development: Does the action contribute to individual(s) development directly or/and indirectly? Time: Would it be more beneficial to use the time doing something else? Or the same thing somewhere else? The total value of K.M.E.D.T is 500 points. That is K=100 M=100 E=100 D=100 and T=100 While analysis an action you want to take, first answer the previous questions of K.M.E.D.T honestly to yourself. Each Yes=100 Each No=0 If an answer is both Yes and No, the value is 50. E.g. I asked my daughter to evaluate the K.M.E.D.T value of waking up early and going to school every day, here is what she gave me: K=100 M=50 E=50 D=50 T=50 Total Value = 300. Any value above 50% is worth taking the action. Any value below 50% is not worth taking the action. Another example is taking drugs, an individual’s analysis may look like this: K=0 M=0 E=100 D=0 T=0 Total value = 100 As a tool K.M.E.D.T is simple and straight forward. It can be processed by the mind in less than 5 minutes. The tool can also be used in office environment, academic, at home and other places. Example. Disagreeing with the wife: K=0 M=0 E=0 D=0 T=0 Total Value = 0 The alternative decision may well lead to a total value of 500. K.M.E.D.T evaluates and gives a number value to consequences beforehand. It can also be used for risk analysis on minor or major situations. Thank you, Stella Evelyne Tesha

Human rights lobby mulls taking police to court

Human rights lobby mulls taking police to courtBy Rose Mwalongo
16th November 2011EmailPrintComments
Elias JohnThe Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) has written to Muhimbili National Hospital (MNM) requesting a medical report for Elias John (28) from Vijibweni, Dar es Salaam, who accuses the police of injecting his eyes with a liquid suspected to be acidic, leading to permanent blindness.

A legal officer at the LHRC’s Kinondoni legal aid clinic, Jeremiah Mtobesya, told The Guardian yesterday in an interview that the move had come about due to the expiration of a 90-day notice filed by the LHRC on July 17, this year.

“LHRC has already requested a medical report from the hospital before we prepare a plaint to demand compensation as indicated in the notice,” said Mtobesya.

The Guardian managed to talk to John’s brother who admitted to have received the letter, saying he had already sent it to MNH.

“I have just come from the hospital and they have told me to return tomorrow (Thursday),” he said.

On July 17, this year, the LHRC filed a 90-day notice to the government, demanding 493.4m/- compensation for John who is accusing the police of injecting a liquid suspected to be acidic into his eyes causing him permanent blindness.

The notice, a copy which was seen by The Guardian, was directed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and copied to the Attorney General and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

An advocate handling the case at the LHRC’s legal aid clinic confirmed that the legal officer had already handed over the copies to all parties and that they had all signed to confirm receiving the notice.

In the notice, John demands compensation for the psychological and physical torture which he sustained when he was in the hands of the police.

John alleges in the claim that he was arrested when he was fishing as his means of livelihood, something cannot do anymore.

He further sought compensation for medical and transport costs incurred in pursuing the case ever since he was blinded as well as for being permanently blind, the food sent to him at the time he was in prison, as well as a daily income he used to earn while fishing until an age he would have retired at 60.

In its notice, the LHRC sums up with the message: “Take notice that unless the total amount (493,423,500/-) being compensation for damages suffered by our client herein above demanded within the 90 days’ notice from the date of the service of this notice, our next step will be to institute legal proceedings for recovery of the same.”

The move has come after John sought legal assistance at the clinic claiming that on February 9, this year, police officers arrested him and six others and took him to Kilwa Road Police Station and later on to Minazini Police Station where they tied and handcuffed him before they injected his eyes with a liquid laced with acid leading to his permanent blindness.

“On February 19, last year, they took me to the Temeke District Court where I complained about the acid liquid incident but no one paid attention to me. I was taken to Keko remand prison and the following morning they took me to Temeke District Hospital for treatment,” John was quoted as saying.

He said doctors at the hospital said his eyes had been destroyed and referred him to Muhimbili National Hospital where he was admitted.

“They removed all my eyes because they were incurable and I was sent back to Keko. I was released on July 27, this year, after being found not guilty by the court,” he claims.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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