JICA USA Newsletter May/June 2013

Transcription

1 JICA USA Newsletter May/June 2013 The JICA USA Newsletter is a bi-monthly publication which seeks to provide information on JICA s activities in Washington, DC and around the world. If you are interested in receiving this electronic newsletter, please contact jicaus-newsletter@jica.go.jp to be added to our mailing list. In this issue: TICAD V draws to a successful close Helping Pakistan tackle its top two challenges: energy and terrorism JICA USA hosts training course on partnerships in international development Learning from the past and looking to the future, JICA assists postrevolution Egypt JICA expert shares lessons on working in fragile states at SID-Washington Annual Conference Chief Representative Nakazawa discusses efforts to engage emerging Asian aid providers TICAD V draws to a successful close By Eiji Wakamatsu, Assistant Director, Planning and TICAD Process Division, JICA Africa Department The Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) was held in Yokohama, Japan, on June 1-3, The conference adopted the "Yokohama Declaration 2013" and the "Yokohama Action Plan ," which focus mainly on building "robust and sustainable economies," fostering "inclusive and resilient societies," and promoting "peace and stability." Participants of TICAD V, including African nations and other partners, agreed to pursue these goals through joint and coordinated actions. At the conference, Japan pledged a total of 3.2 trillion yen ($32 billion) in public and private support to the African continent over the next five years. JICA will contribute to the TICAD V package by providing $6.5 billion in development assistance to accelerate infrastructure development, strengthen human resources, improve education, and increase agricultural productivity. More specifically, JICA intends to train 30,000 African people for industrial development, improve the learning environment for 20 million African children through mathematics and science education and primary school management, increase agricultural production, especially for rice cultivation, and promote a "farming as business" approach for 50,000 small farmers. 1

2 During TICAD V, JICA hosted and co-hosted 19 seminars as official events. High level participants including 8 heads of states participated in the seminars, which covered a wide range of issues including how to achieve economic transformation in Africa, how to encourage investment through public-private cooperation, how to improve higher education, and how to promote base of the pyramid (BOP) businesses. Other events focused on South-South and Triangular Cooperation, universal health coverage (UHC), peace-building and local government, climate High Level Panel on Inclusive and Dynamic Development in Africa, including JICA President Tanaka and the leaders of Cote d Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Senegal. change and resilience, inclusive development for persons with disabilities, corridor development, challenges for African development leading up to 2050, women s empowerment, and sustainable forest management. More information on the seminars can be found at the following link: In total, JICA held 76 bilateral meetings during the conference. JICA President Tanaka and other senior officials met with representatives from 44 African countries, including 27 of 39 African heads of states. During the meetings, JICA discussed the current status of Japan's cooperation and the future direction of its support in each country. Furthermore, JICA s leadership met with 9 African regional institutions and 10 international organizations to explore opportunities for further partnership in Africa. More information on the bilateral meetings can be found by visiting the following links: As one of the major implementing entities of the "Yokohama Declaration 2013" and the "Yokohama Action Plan ," JICA will continue to play an active role to support African development by strengthening partnership with African governments and the African Union, international organizations including the United Nations and the World Bank, the private sector, and civil society. As it is written in the Yokohama Declaration, JICA pledges to enhance its efforts to promote transformative, resilient and inclusive growth across Africa. 2

3 Helping Pakistan tackle its top two challenges: energy and terrorism By Ken Kato, Muhammad Zubair, Imran Ahmad, and Arshad Mahmood Abbasi, JICA Pakistan Office On May 11, 2013, Pakistan experienced its biggest electoral turnout ever, with participation from 60% of the electorate despite terrorist threats and hot weather. As the post-election results in Pakistan have moved from hazy to clear, the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif (PML-N) has taken the reigns of the new government. They come to power amidst a wide range of challenges, including an ailing economy, frequent power outages, terrorist attacks, poor basic education & health services, and many more to count. In Parliament, besides these daunting national issues, the new government will have to weigh the demands of the opposition parties, particularly Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). While there are a number of problems to address, the biggest priorities of the Pakistani people are resolving the energy crises and ending terrorism. Energy and terrorism were the most talkedabout issues of this election cycle, and every political party vowed to end the menace if given a chance to govern the country. The new government is expected to take immediate action as well as to develop a mid-term strategy to tackle these challenges and to revive Pakistan s economy. For its part, JICA is ready to support the new government by helping to strengthen the power sector and invest in human capital in terrorism-torched parts of the country. Investments in the power sector A group photo of young Pakistani officials departing for Japan The current energy situation in Pakistan is severe, resulting in 6-12 hours of power outages in urban areas and hours in rural areas daily. The lack of power generation is seriously affecting the domestic and commercial sectors, badly hurting industries, discouraging foreign investment, and crippling the overall economy. According to one estimate, power shortages are costing Pakistan between % of GDP growth per year. Due to poor governance and reluctance to increase power tariffs, the overall annual losses of the power sector have reached approximately Rs. 400 billion ($4 billion) and are unsustainable. Other problems include: increasing power generation costs due to an excessive reliance on fossil fuels; high transmission and distribution losses due to substantial electricity theft; difficulties in the collection of electricity bills; and the public sector s inability to implement and complete hydropower and coal-based projects. Over the past three decades, JICA has been helping Pakistan to resolve its power sector problems by increasing its power generation capacity. JICA helped to finance power generation units at Bin Qasim, Karachi and Jamshoro, Hyderabad; it also supported the Ghazi Barotha Hydropower 3

4 Project. At 2,110 Mega Watts (MW), these three facilities make up 10 percent of Pakistan s total installed power generation capacity. JICA has also assisted Pakistan to reduce power transmission losses. It has been providing financial resources amounting to billion yen ($590 million), as well as technical expertise, to the National Transmission & Dispatch Company (NTDC) to expand its grid system by building new grid stations (3 grids of 500 KV and 9 grids of 220 KV) and transmission lines (274 kilometers for a 500 KV grid station and 1,213 kilometers for a 220 KV grid station). In addition, the Load Dispatch System Upgrade Project supported by JICA aims to upgrade the National Power Control System from analogue to digital. The project will help to increase the reliability and efficiency of the transmission system and improve governance in the sector. As Pakistan moves forward with its energy sector reforms, JICA will be one of the major supporters of its efforts. Restoration of livelihoods to end terrorism Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project Stabilization, job creation, and livelihood restoration in the terrorism-affected Pakistan- Afghanistan border areas have also been priorities for JICA. In 2009, Pakistan experienced the worst displacement crisis of its history when up to 2.7 million individuals were forced to leave their homes in Malakand Division and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs) as a result of insecurity and hostilities in the region. Furthermore devastating floods in 2010 caused significant human suffering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and badly affected the livelihoods of the local population. In response, JICA has been focusing on strengthening human resources in these volatile areas in vocational/technical education and agriculture. From August 2010 to January 2011, JICA, in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), sponsored a project in Malakand Division to train 105 young, unemployed students in Heavy Machinery Operator, Plumber and Steel Fixer courses. The training provided an opportunity for the youth to learn skills to participate in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of their communities. Within this year, JICA will also launch new capacity A practical demonstration on the use of heavy machinery for Malakand trainees 4

5 development projects at a Government Technical Teachers Training Center (GTTTC) in Peshawar, as well as three Government Technical and Vocational Centers in Peshawar, Haripur and Swat. The objective is to strengthen vocational training in machinist and electrician fields. In addition, 300 agriculture extension staff will be trained on modern techniques to improve the agricultural productivity and livelihoods of small-scale farmers in KP. This approach will facilitate the peace-building process by helping trainees develop skills to support themselves and to contribute to their region s development. Besides these measures, JICA s activities in Pakistan also encompass health, education, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and agriculture, transportation, industrial development, and disaster risk management. Since 1954, Japan has received more than 5,200 government employees from Pakistan for training in Japan, dispatched over 1400 experts to the country, extended grant assistance of over 266 billion yen ($2.6 billion), and provided loan assistance of over 794 billion yen ($7.94 billion) to Pakistan. JICA intends to continue using all its different aid modalities to support the country s development agenda and to strengthen the friendly relations between Japan and Pakistan. 5

6 JICA USA hosts training course on partnerships in international development By Alexandre Takahashi, JICA Brazil Carolina Wyttenbach, JICA Paraguay Human resources development and partnership with other development organizations have always been at the core of JICA s activities. In pursuit of this goal, the JICA USA Office organized a training course on Partnerships and Trends in International Development in Washington, DC from June 5-7, The novelty of this training course was to invite national staff from JICA s offices in Latin America to meet other DC-based donors such as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and USAID; listen to policy-level discussions on international development trends at the Society for International Development-Washington s Annual Conference; and exchange donor collaboration experiences among JICA country offices in the region. The course participants held meetings with other donors, including USAID, the IDB, and the World Bank. The meetings with other donors provided an opportunity to learn about their regional strategies and different approaches to carry out partnerships. At USAID, we had the chance to exchange information about experiences with Public-Private Partnerships, involvement with civil society, and Triangular Cooperation schemes. At the World Bank and IDB, we learned about their methodologies to develop Country Assistance Strategies based on analytical work, permanent political dialogue with partner governments, and consultations with civil society. These discussions gave us many insights to improve JICA s own strategic planning processes. At the SID-Washington Annual Conference, we were exposed to the ongoing political debate on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, lessons learned from the MDGs uneven progress, and the focus on linking economic growth with social inclusion. The interesting presentations and current discussions about the Post-2015 Development Agenda provided us with a broad perspective of the current trends in international development, and they will inform our thinking as we consider how JICA can contribute to the global development agenda in the years ahead. When looking at development at large, it is also necessary to think about scaling up successful programs and projects in order to multiply impacts and benefit a larger number of people. The JICA Research Institute and the Brookings Institution have done some joint research on this topic. During the training course, we received a briefing from Brookings scholars on the challenging process of scaling up aid from small-scale/short-duration/fragmented projects to sustainable solutions that can have a transformational impact on the lives of millions. Their research findings suggest that innovative business models, partnerships, and policies are needed to scale up successful development interventions. 6

7 For us, the highlight of the training course was the exchange of experiences among national staff from 12 participating offices. During participants presentations and after-office meetings, we could begin to consider the possibility of closer collaboration among JICA offices and with other donors to improve the quality of service delivered at the local level. In particular, the experiences of donor collaboration from the Honduras and El Salvador Offices with the IDB and USAID on community policing projects in Central America, the coordination of the Paraguay Office with the World Bank and IDB on financial inclusion in rural areas, and the Peru Office s leadership within the water sector table (Grupo Agua) to promote a water culture in the country stood out as examples of best practices. National staff from Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Peru participated in the course. The training course gave us a sense of empowerment. Beyond our roles as national staff in charge of operational activities, we are international cooperation professionals with important field experience and the capacity to contribute to the political and strategic discussions in our offices, our institution, and the larger community of development practitioners. Future initiatives and further discussion on how to promote greater participation of national staff in the agency s planning and decision-making would be of great value and very motivating. We speak in the name of all participants in thanking JICA USA for this opportunity and to stress our commitment to work to forge successful partnerships, scale up transformational impact, and deliver assistance ever more efficiently to our people. 7

8 Learning from the past and looking to the future, JICA assists post-revolution Egypt By Marvin Fernández, Program Officer In post-revolution countries, Mr. Matsunaga stated that donors should promote inclusiveness, share other countries experiences, and help the government to make informed decisions. As revolutionary changes sweeping across Egypt continue to transform the country s political, economic and social fabric, it is imperative for donors to consult widely with Egyptian society and to promote inclusive policymaking to support the ongoing transition process. This was one of the main points that Mr. Hideki Matsunaga, JICA s Chief Representative in Egypt, delivered to a diverse audience of development practitioners, scholars and policymakers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in mid- May. In his remarks, Mr. Matsunaga outlined some of the lessons JICA has learned from its post-revolutionary assistance to Egypt. JICA, which prides itself on being one of Egypt s strongest international partners, has worked to aid Egypt in a number of ways since the toppling of the Mubarak regime. One of its major efforts has been to support the National Income Doubling Plan, a strategic document to guide Egypt s development efforts from Under the Mubarak regime, five year master plans were mainly drafted by Ministry of Planning officials within a very limited circle and with little external consultation. In contrast, with JICA s support, the plan was formulated with the participation of a wider number of experts. However, there is still room for improvement. Mr. Matsunaga suggested that future plans should obtain more input from the private sector and civil society, and they require stronger execution mechanisms. In addition to promoting inclusive policymaking, JICA has also facilitated Egyptian policymakers efforts to learn from the experiences of other countries that have gone through similar transitional processes. The goal is to help Egyptian policymakers and the people of Egypt to emulate what works while avoiding costly mistakes. To share these lessons, JICA organized a seminar in Cairo at the beginning of this year to enable Egyptian officials to hear about the experiences of other countries in attracting foreign direct investment (Turkey) and promoting the decentralization of administrative powers (Indonesia). Mr. Matsunaga suggested that the experiences of Indonesia in particular, can give Egypt many useful insights on the transformational period. Lastly, Mr. Matsunaga suggested that donors could assist emerging leaders to analyze their own actions in a critical manner and use effective feedback in the decision-making process. He stated, 8

9 Constantly reassessing the situation and revising actions accordingly is essential for any government. Despite these efforts, Mr. Matsunaga admitted that no agency has all the answers. He noted, Just like the Egyptian government is in search of its own way, donors are also in search of new approaches. For more information, please read Mr. Matsunaga s editorial for Asharq Al-Awsat on Post- Revolutionary Lessons for Egypt : 9

10 JICA expert shares lessons on working in fragile states at SID-Washington Annual Conference By Stace Nicholson, Senior Program Officer Japan pledged $5 billion to Afghanistan from At this year s Society for International Development- Washington (SID-W) Annual Conference, which was held in Washington, DC in early June, Mr. Haruyuki Shimada of JICA s South Asia Department took part in a panel discussion on how to address the complex needs of fragile states. Mr. Shimada remarked on the particular case of Afghanistan, where he served as a JICA representative from June 2006 to July In 2009, Japan pledged to provide $5 billion to Afghanistan over five years to improve the country's infrastructure, education, health and rural development. In his presentation, Mr. Shimada emphasized that state- or nation-building is costly, time-consuming, and inefficient, and external development organizations must realize this fact from the outset of their work. Indeed, he acknowledged that development assistance to Afghanistan over the past decade has not been used optimally due to weak governance and rampant corruption in the country. A large amount of resources has also been diverted for necessary security expenditures to protect aid workers and through multilayered contracts which employ a large number of sub-contractors. Although he also conceded that the development prospects for Afghanistan and other fragile states can seem bleak at times, Mr. Shimada stressed the importance of long-term involvement to promote these countries progress toward stability and recovery. Given that fragile states harbor potential threats to international peace and security-- Afghanistan stands out among them in this regard-- patience is not so much a virtue as it is a strategic imperative. Fellow panelists similarly underscored the need for donors to think more systematically about their long-term engagement with fragile states. Mr. Joseph Hewitt, technical team leader of USAID s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation, said donors need to increase their own capacity to assess the short-term progress of development interventions against their long-term goals in fragile-country settings. Mr. J. Randall Tift, senior policy advisor for World Vision, urged donors and other relevant stakeholders not to write off fragile states as helpless or passive and to recognize that microinterventions can have a significant cumulative impact. He suggested that development can sometimes work better from the bottom-up than from the top-down. Finally, Mr. William Garvelink, former U.S. ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and senior advisor for global strategy at International Medical Corps, pointed out that rapid urbanization is exacerbating already-difficult situations in many fragile states. In these settings, 10

11 he urged donors to work to improve public services and foster an enabling environment for businesses to create much-needed jobs. While there is still a lot to learn regarding assistance in fragile states, JICA will continue its efforts to strengthen government institutions and human resources, repair infrastructure, and meet basic human needs. As former JICA President Sadako Ogata noted at last year s Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan, "Winners get everything [and] losers lose everything" oftentimes in fragile states. Instead she suggested, "The first step is that everybody gets something." Mrs. Ogata encouraged donors and host governments to apply this concept to their decision-making and activities in conflict-affected environments. 11

12 JICA USA Chief Representative discusses efforts to engage emerging Asian aid providers By Vanessa Arness, Program Officer Mr. Nakazawa explained how JICA s relationship is evolving with emerging Asian countries. In recent years, Asian countries have become increasingly important players in the development assistance arena. On April 23, the Asia Foundation, USAID, and UNDP convened a highlevel event to discuss Asian approaches to development cooperation and the likely impact of these new actors on future development policy and practice. JICA USA Chief Representative Keiichiro Nakazawa participated in the event as a panelist, and he discussed Japan s changing role as other Asian countries emerge as donors. Rather than the traditional donor-recipient relationship, Mr. Nakazawa explained how JICA is finding new ways to engage with these actors. One arena for dialogue is the Asian Development Forum. JICA has helped to co-organize these forums for the past four years, which have served as useful venues to discuss development assistance methods and remaining development challenges among Asian countries. The last two forums focused on how to use ODA to promote green growth in Asia and Asian perspectives on the Post-2015 Global Development Agenda. Mr. Nakazawa also noted that JICA has a long tradition of supporting South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation. To reduce the transaction costs, fragmentation, and limited impacts associated with these modalities, JICA introduced Partnership Program frameworks in the late 1990s. Under these Partnership Programs, JICA and the emerging aid provider hold regular consultations to plan third country training programs (TCTP), dispatch third country specialists, and develop joint cooperation projects. In Asia, JICA has Partnership Programs with Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines. With active participation from South Korean, Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese representatives, the event made clear that there are several lessons to draw from Asian development cooperation. First, Asian development cooperation is grounded in Asia s own development experience, and it is shaped by the concept of mutual benefit. Second, Asian models of development cooperation are transforming global development landscape by encouraging all aid providers to pay more attention to trade and investment. Lastly, the event demonstrated that it is difficult to predict the global aid architecture going forward, because there is no longer a single approach to development assistance. But one thing is for certain. Asian countries will be taking on an increasingly visible and active role in the global development community. 12

13 As Mr. Nakazawa concluded in his remarks, There are a lot of things that Asia can teach the world about their experiences with rapid growth accompanied by poverty reduction. In a world where ending extreme poverty has become the goal, Asian countries can contribute not only by eradicating poverty in their own countries, but also by extending development cooperation to others. For more information, the archived video of the event can be viewed here on the Asia Foundation s website: 13