Goree Institute Commences Regional Capacity Building Workshop in Senegal
By Mohamed Konneh
The Goree Institute on 26th July 2023 commences a three-day Capacity Building Workshop in Goree Island, Senegal, bringing three Anglophone countries together including Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria. The training workshop is been held at the conference hall of the institute in the Old Slave fort of Goree Island.
The workshop is geared towards the prevention and management of conflicts related to resource extractive in West Africa.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director of the Goree Institute, Doudou Dia said the capacity building workshop was born out of a project that started some two years ago after a research was done in six countries with extractive industries.
Mr. Dia said from the research they identify gaps and the need to address those gaps. One of such gaps the capacity gap of civil society and the media and the need for this training.
He said Goree institute is rooted in the Goree Island adding that the island is part of a historic heritage.
“This is a historic island with different residences. It has some logistical problems but this is what we have to do with but we also want to showcase the island and its unique importance.
Mr. Dia thanked the facilitators for putting will be making presentations geared towards building the capacity of participants.
“We are a pan African organization working towards a peaceful and self-reliance society. We believe Africa should be able to administer its own development, he said.”
Mr. Dia noted that similar workshop has been done for francophone countries having same aim and objectives.
Professor Oumar Ndongo in his brief statement said the interesting aspect of the training is the combination of the old and new. There is so much that needed to be discussed and that the mixture of the old and new will enlighten the discussions.
Victor Kofi Afetorlom from the Kofi Anan Centre said the workshop is part of an experience sharing and that they are all here in the training to learn.
“I look forwards to a very good interaction as we move ahead with the training. Mining affect our countries and that the problems we have are similar. That is the more reason we are here to share those experiences, he said.”
Houleymatou Balde in her presentation said the exploitation of natural resources in West Africa particularly mining, oil and gas is of vital importance to the region’s economy.
She however noted that, the governance of these resources presents major challenges such as weak legal framework, corruption and mismanagement.
“It is against this backdrop, a comparative study was carried out in six West Africa countries including Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
The results of the study revealed that all the countries have policies and legal frameworks for natural resource management, but their effective implementation varies, she said.”
Ms. Balde said that some countries have made significant progress in natural resources governance, while others face persistent challenges.
She said the study focuses on an in-depth analysis of revenue management practices and governance system in resource rich countries.
‘Although the arrival of new revenues from resources exploitation has often weakened states, we have identified a variety of instruments, governance practice and lesson learned, she said.’
Ms. Balde noted that said several lessons were learned noting that the study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each revenue management model, as well as the challenges to improving these systems in countries where the study was done.
“It proposes several perspective in improving extractives revenue management in West Africa region. The main perspective include strengthen national regulations and extractive industries transparency and initiative processes by linking the publication of EITI report to parliamentary debates. This would promote ownership of the data and strengthens control over public action, she narrated.”
The first day of the workshop witness participants giving their expectation and what they hope to learn.
