Norway’s government recently launched the white paper ‘Sharing for Prosperity: Promoting democracy, fair distribution and growth in development policy’.

The document is tainted by viewing development and poverty reduction through a Norwegian lens. Only to a limited extent does it appreciate the situation of the poor.

It does not take into account the challenges of combining the Oil for Development programme with being an oil operator, nor the critique against our involvement with authoritarian states like Angola.

An aid policy for poverty reduction must take the actual situation and the challenges of the poor as its starting point. Basic needs for employment, income, food and housing should have priority and this should not require much effort.

Read more…

The Swedish government’s new-found interest in doing business with Africa is a very welcome return to the continent after years of top-level ignorance and negligence.

But the thinking is stuck in the past. Trade between Sweden and Africa has not increased in line with Africa’s economic growth.

The way forward is to promote transparent trade and vibrant connections offering inventions and innovations and working with Africans.

This can be done through funding of business reporting, non-existent today due to media’s own structural crisis; and hooking up Sweden’s acclaimed internet entrepreneurs with Africa’s own success story.

Read more…

There is a private sector boom in development and cooperation policy, including a role of business in fighting poverty. Also in Finland the private sector has got a central role.

In recent years Mozambique has been flooded with foreign investment. The state has been highly welcoming towards the foreign companies, offering huge tax breaks and weak regulation.

Companies and civil society disagree on whether corporate responsibility should be mandatory, or whether it is voluntary and additional to the companies’ core activities.

It should be evident that the private sector does not contribute to sustainable development through joint development projects if they at the same time operate in an illegitimate and irresponsible manner.

Read more…

Recent years have seen a growing interest on taxation in developing countries among aid agencies. This reflects a concern for raising domestic revenues to finance public goods and services.

It also represents a recognition of the centrality of taxation for growth and redistribution. However, efforts to broaden the tax base are intimately connected to the quality of government expenditure.

Aid to taxation can be grouped into three broad working areas: (1) strengthen tax policy and design; (2) build more effective tax administrations; and (3) encourage constructive state-society engagement around taxes.

This article discusses experiences with donor support to strengthen tax systems in developing countries and challenges in scaling up donor efforts, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Read more…

A new dynamic stage has been reached in the debate on social protection and cash transfer programs, both internationally and on the African scene.

These issues are likely to figure more prominently in connection with the on-going discussions about the new multilateral development goals beyond 2015.

In Africa the debate has also been influenced by the current dilemma: high economic growth rates in many African countries, but persistent poverty and widening income gaps.

Stronger African action at the political leadership levels is needed with increased willingness to embark on concrete programs in cooperation with civil society.

Aid agencies need to take a stronger interest in cash transfers as a means to fight poverty. Sweden has a legacy of being in the forefront regarding social protection systems.

Read more…

Every year approximately 850-1000 billion US dollars escape developing countries as illicit financial flows, with a large proportion ending up in tax havens or rich countries.

If these funds were taxed in the source countries, they would provide these developing country governments much greater revenues than the total official global development assistance (ODA).

Tax evasion and aggressive tax planning are global issues that affect rich EU and OECD countries as well as developing countries negatively. This calls for global solutions.

If the Nordic countries join forces in tackling tax havens and tax avoidance they have the potential to be true global leaders in this area. And we definitely need a group of countries to push hard on the agenda if we aim to succeed.

Read more…

Through successful growth and development, a number of economies have been transformed to ‘advanced’ countries. These countries may offer lessons for development to poorer countries.

The derived lessons may, in certain cases, actually be more reliable than those based on countries still undergoing active development, several of which are yet to evince inter-temporal robustness.

A research project on this theme was organized in three country groupings: The Nordics, Other Advanced Countries, and Transition Economies. The findings are summarized in this article.

Although development strategies are country-specific, the historical accounts may prove useful as guides for certain developing countries with the proximate conditions.

Read more…

The new documentary ‘Stealing Africa’ reveals a troubling subject. It shows how enormous resources are being stolen from people who have the greatest need for them. And thus,our aid is being counteracted by global corporate tax dodging.

The amount of total illicit financial outflows from developing countries is around 1 trillion dollars per year, ten times more than global official aid. Tax dodging accounts for over 60 per cent of these outflows.

The Swedish Government has long neglected this problem. However, in its latest communication on Policy for Global Development the government has highlighted the problem.

This should be a starting point for Sweden to work for a strong EU legislation based on the proposals from the European Parliament and to show that Sweden wants to change the situation and act.

Read more…

The African Union has just installed a new leader: Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from South Africa. In her installation speech, she declared that the AU will be more proactive in resolving conflicts.

There are in particular two issues where she is expected to strengthen AU: (i) in coming down hard on the ineffective AU bureaucracy and (ii) in focusing on the financial challenges facing the union.

With regard to both defence and development policies, Denmark and other Nordic countries give high priority to secure peace and stability on the African continent.

Now is the time to focus on AU, when it may achieve a new importance. Its role in DRC and Mali will be a crucial test, not least for future decisions about Nordic support for peace activities in Africa.

Read more…

These are not happy times for South Africa. Political violence is becoming normalised, the strike wave shows no sign of letting up, education remains in crisis and corruption is being compared to that in Mobutu’s Zaire.

We have passed the point at which we could look to the government and the ruling party to find a way out of the swamp into which we have sunk. We know have to look to society itself for a way out.

If Brazil, once a dictatorship and once the most unequal country in the world, and a country that has been wracked by gross corruption, could turn the corner — so can we.

Mass unemployment is politically unsustainable. If a grants system can buy us some time while we try and resolve our economy problems we should examine it carefully and seriously.

Read more…