Photo: Corbis/Getty Chinese premier Wen Jiabao speaks at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009
As UN climate talks enter a 17th round in Durban, sceptics ask whether a global deal is the best approach
More . . .Peter Eigen, the founding chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and one of the world’s leading transparency campaigners, stepped down as chair of the EITI in March. As he hands over to Clare Short, the former UK secretary of state for international development, he explains that transparency on its own was never enough.
More . . .
Connecticut Democrat senator Chris Dodd (left) and Massachusetts Democrat representative Barney Frank (right) attend the signing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Photo: AFP/Getty Images
An amendment to US post-crisis financial regulation has caused a stir amongst the consensus of resource companies, civil society organisations and governments that are working towards better transparency in the extractive industries
More . . .- Paul Collier: Beyond Transparency
Transparency and the fight against corruption is only one element of a larger governance picture for natural resources, says Paul Collier, the director for the study of African economics at Oxford University.
- Chris West: Good foundations
“In the early years, I think we did what a lot of corporate foundations and a lot of foundations in general do, which is fund lots of small projects with a lot of not-for-profit partners around the world,” says Chris West, who, after a career that spanned both the private sector and the development world, joined the Shell Foundation as director a decade ago. “Pretty quickly we realised that that achieved neither scale nor sustainability... I think in many ways that’s a historic reflection of how a lot of donors and NGOs and indeed corporates have behaved in the past, and it’s been driven by short term reputational benefit over real genuine systemic change.
- Beyond business
Perhaps accelerated by the financial crisis, a number of businesses operating in Africa are taking a greater interest in the social and economic impact of their operations, engaging in activities usually associated with development agencies
- A sleeping giant stirs
Out of all the Bric nations, Russian interest in Africa seems the least compelling and the most enigmatic, but the stirring of a new wave of interest in minerals, telecoms and energy suggests that the “R” in Bric may yet have some significance for the continent
- “Wild West” seeks cowboys
South Sudan is likely to become Africa’s newest country in a January referendum, but the differing approaches between development bodies and the private sector towards its many challenges are becoming clear
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Interviews
Olusegun Obasanjo
“The reason I am‘re-inventing’myself as an investor... is because I was on the other side when I was in government. During that time I tried to create a conducive environment for investment into Nigeria, knowing fully well that you cannot talk of development and growth without investment”
Andrew Mitchell
“Ninety percent of all jobs around the world are created by the private sector, not governments”
Siegfried Russwurm
“Africa has grown into a focus area and the best proof is that the whole board has convened in South Africa to get a first-hand impression”
Adji Otèth Ayassor
“Our plan has been to attract investors by improving our business climate, making it easier for commerce in the country”
Stephen Chan
“Many countries are going through the protocol of holding an election... but the actual conduct of elections is not legitimate in itself”
