Presentation on PhD thesis of Aderemi Oladele

1. DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT AND THE
POLITICAL-ECONOMY OF AFRICA’S
RENEWAL:
Towards Assessable Local Impacts of Evolving International Development
Norms and Policy-drive
A presentation on the PhD Dissertation of :
OLADELE O. Aderemi
Centre d'Études Diplomatiques et Stratégiques,
École des Hautes Études Internationales, Paris
18 June, 2009
___________________________
Examiners:
Dr. Christina AGUIAR
Dr. Emmanuel CAULIER
Dr. Michael LEBEDEV
Dr. Fouad NOHRA

2. DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT AND THE POLITICAL-ECONOMY OF AFRICA’S
RENEWAL:Towards Assessable Local Impacts of Evolving International Development Norms and Policy-drive
Assessable Evolving Development Norms
INTRODUCTION
• MOTVATION
• RESEARCH/WRITING PHASE CHALLENGES
• PLAN
• SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS
• CONCLUSION

3. MOTIVATION
• Quest for:
– Effective alternatives to « begging-pot politics » and « Plus ça change,
plus c’est la même chose » in Africa’s socio-economic and development
planning;
– The need to move from rhetoric to more impacting action in
development debates for Africa;
– Progressive insight to what works and what could work at the collective
level of development planning and execution in Africa; and which will
also
– Have impact on country level response to changing local demands for
practicability and adaptability;
– Need to relate to the fact that the debate on who caused the problem is
not as important as who will fix it and how to fix it efficiently;

4. RESEARCH/WRITING PHASE
CHALLENGES
• Choice between a practical manual and the prefix of a
thesis supported with many theories
• Classifying development management as a discipline:
sounds general as to what every development
practitioner does
• Documentation: few academic precedents of publications
on development management
• Writing plan dilemma: maintaining a balance between
chapters devoted to explaining the concept and those on
the Africa’s perspectives

5. PLAN
• Work divided into 3 Parts; and sub-divided into
• 9 chapters (3 chapters for each parts)
• PART I
UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT: Definition, Dynamics and
Highlights on the African Challenge and Viccisitude
• PART II
EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT
MANAGEMENT
• PART III
PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA

6. PART I
UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT:
Definition, Dynamics and Highlights on the African
Challenge and Viccisitude
• CONCEPTION OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
– First introduced by donor agencies and NGOs working in developing
countries
– Businesslike approach/Emphasis on results rather than procedure: from
administration to management
– Development manager is responsive, disciplined, flexible and
constrained by the parametres of development itself
– Combine external expertise with local knowledge and skills; by
– Employing external resources in the service of indigenous direct
endeavours
– Dynamism: Institutional Agenda, tool, process and value phases

7. PART I
UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT:
Definition, Dynamics and Highlights on the African
Challenge and Viccisitude
• FACTORS THAT SHAPED DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
– Globalization
– Sustainable Development
– Africa Vs Western Globalization
• DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT AS LEVERAGE
– Sustainable Development-The Global Scenario on Sustainable
Development
– Cultural Diversity and Development Practice

8. PART II
EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL APPROACH TO
DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
• GLOBAL GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT
MANAGEMENT
– International Organizations
– Organogramme of Development Management
• Policy Generation and standard setting
• Technical aid and cooperation
• Development financing/funding

9. PART II
EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL APPROACH TO
DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
• LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND UN DIPLOMACY OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT/THE BIRTH OF PRAGMATIC DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICE
– The Road from Stockholm to Rio – The MDGs and
Timeline Policy Making
– From Bretton Woods to Limits to Growth
– Failure and Promise of Global Governance and the
New International Development Agenda
• Limits to target and legally binding comitments or burden sharing
• Defining priority for the poor in securing of national political will
• Finding innovative ways for public/private partnership

10. PART II
EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL APPROACH TO
DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
• PRIORITY AFRICA
– MDGs and the African Poverty Reduction Case Study
– UN Reform and Africa Priority: descentralization and
Result-Based Management – doing it with the people
and not for them
– Case of the Clean Development Mechanism

11. PART III
PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT IN
AFRICA
• SHAPING OF AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT
– Structural Adjustment Effects
• one –size-fits-all
• Caused economic decline and depression in the 80s
– Institutional Framework of Development Management and the
Decline of Quality Delivery
• Nationalization and public cooperation’s high importance
• Political, social and financial barriers
– Effects of corruption and inefficiency
• Interwoven effects that results in blockage of positivepolicy
implementation
• Success of development depends largely on dealing with the duo

12. PART III
PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT
MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA
• RESHAPING AFRICA’S INSTITUTIONS: OWNERSHIP AND REFORMS
AS TOOLS
– Logic of Ownership and Development Management
• Do it with the people and not for them
• Development process needs to engender psycological ownership of culture
• Needs to develop clients capacity to solve their own problems
• Client know more about their own situation than the donor agency or consultant ever
will
– Political and Public Service Reforms: Nature and Progress
Evaluation
• Progress from Military to Civilian Rule
• Increased Political Competition; but
• Neo-Partimonialism Persists
– New Public Management Paradigm
• 1946 – 1982 : Public Sector Reform at the margins
• 1983 – 1989: Focus on quality of governance
• 1990 – 1996: increase awareness of governance agenda
• 1997 – 2007: Public Sector Reform efforts become central, include anti-corruption

13. PART III
PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
IN AFRICA
• NEPAD, THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND DEVELOPMENT
MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA
– NEPAD’s Original Objectives
• establish conditions for sustainable development (including peace and
security and improved governance)
• identification of priority sectors that could reverse the marginalization of
Africa
• mobilization of resources from within and outside the continent for effective
implementation of policies, programmes and projects
• Emphasis on the MDGs achievement
– Critics of NEPAD and the APRM
• Wade’s comment of June 2007 that NEPAD achieves nothing but waist
• APRM limited in Checks
• Ian Taylor (2005) on governance problem, clientelism, corruption and unwilingness of
leader to work with NGOs will creep into NEPAD’s Management
– African Public Service Innovation Award: Is that all?

14. CONCLUSION
• Responsibility as Driving Force
– All eyes on Africa
– Results depend on the efficacy, speed and inspiration of local initiatives
– Trust of the International community should drive African leadership
• Strategic Planning
- There is an urgent need for reclassifying the roles and inter-relationship
of NEPAD and the AU
– NEPAD as well as states’ institutions need results-based management approach
- to results « Results » over « Outputs »
– NEPAD must focus more on policy generation and technical assistance to States
rather than direct involvement in implementation
– As strategy, NEPAD must accelerate the involvement of NGOs and the private
sector for father reach to locals and customized initiatives
• On Values and Continuity:
– Correcting negative values of corruption, neopatrimonialism as integrated strategy
– Customized models/ building on indigenous strategies rather than stereotype external
models as example
– Political reform in Africa is not complete until political corruption is totally erradicated
• Creating enabling environment in States requires:
– Complete change in negative norms of the political class as short-term approach
– Breeding a new generation of positive value minded political class as long-term solution
– Incentives of civil servants must be competitive with those of the private sector and their
political counterparts