IDEP e-Newsletter Volume 2 Num 3

The 2004/2005 academic year saw 62 candidates from 25 African countries submitting their applications for admission. After a rigorous process, only 36 were selected for the MA course programme.

IDEP Awards 5 Fellowships for the MA programme

For the 2004/2005 academic year, which started in November 2004, the Institute has awarded five scholarships in a highly competitive selection process that took place in August 2004. The winners of the awards were announced in October; they are from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition and stipend for an 18-month MA course programme. It is envisaged that a similar offer will be made for the year 2005/2006.

TAILOR-MADE COURSES

A programme to organize a tailor-made training course in Debt Management is being prepared at the request of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Institute organizes similar sector-specific training courses either in member States or on its premises in Dakar, Senegal. Interested member States are encouraged to contact the Institute for detailed information concerning the modalities.

Short Courses

Course on Applied Econometrics for Economic Policy-Making

The closing ceremony for the training course on Applied Econometrics for Economic Policy-making, which took place from 21 June to 16 July 2004, was held on Friday 16 July 2004 in the IDEP Conference Hall. The course, which was organized for 24 senior Government officials from both Anglophone and Francophone African countries, had 9 women participants. They included officials involved in research activities and nominated by Member States. The course was sponsored by IDEP.

Course on Debt Management

The course on Debt Management took place at IDEP from 13 September to 8 October 2004. Participants were African Government officials involved in debt management activities in the relevant ministries and Central Banks. It was attended by 20 participants including 10 women. The countries represented were: Botswana, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The course was sponsored by BADEA.

COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

IDEP Director visits Nigeria

The Director of IDEP, Mr. Diéry Seck, travelled to Abuja, Nigeria, from Sept. 12 to15, 2004 to meet with senior staff of the ECOWAS Secretariat. Mr. Seck met with Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the Executive Secretary, and a number of senior staff that included Mr. Mame Cor Sene, Deputy Executive Secretary in charge of Policy Harmonization, Mr. William Awinado-Kanyirige, Chief of Staff, Mrs. Violet Ukpanyang, Head of Division of Human Resources, and Mr. Yakubu, Political Advisor. After formal discussions, it was agreed that collaboration between the ECOWAS Secretariat and IDEP should be formalized in an MOU, possibly modelled after the one IDEP has signed with the COMESA Secretariat.

NEWS UPDATE

Activities of Staff

IDEP Director attends COMESA Workshop on Peace, Security and Regional Integration in Africa

The Director participated in the Workshop on Peace, Security and Regional Integration in Africa which was held from 20 to 28 September, 2004 at Lusaka, Zambia. He also had working sessions with the COMESA Senior Management. The Workshop was a joint initiative of the COMESA Secretariat, the United Nations University Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) based in Brugs, Belgium, and the University for Peace, in Costa Rica. Its purpose was to set the stage for reflection on issues of peace and security from a regional perspective. A number of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Pan-African organizations representing academic and civil society stakeholders attended. Approximately 20 participants took part in the workshop which provided the Director with an opportunity to examine the general needs of RECs with respect to capacity building, and to discuss with the Executive Secretary of COMESA and the Acting Director of ECA/SA the idea and possible format of a new degree-granting programme at IDEP: an M.A. program in Regionalism. Following discussions about the need for such a course, the Executive Secretary of COMESA supported the idea and promised that his organization would cooperate fully if such a programme was implemented. The final discussion of the workshop also allowed IDEP to underscore its role as a capacity building institution to which some of the training activities proposed in the recommendations could be entrusted.

IDEP Recruits more Staff

The ongoing expansion of the training and research programmes and activities at IDEP has made it necessary to hire additional staff in the area of economics. Therefore, efforts are in progress to recruit an economist who will join the Institute at the professional level.

Resignation of Research Assistant

Mr. Mouhamadou B. Diop, a Research Assistant resigned from IDEP services. We wish him every success in his new endeavours.

More Training for IDEP Accountants

With the emergence of new software packages for accounting and budgetary management and processes, it has become necessary for the Institute to update its data processing skills in this key management area. It is for this reason that the accounts team is being trained in the use of new software for data processing in financial management and control.

Auditing of IDEP Accounts

To ensure that good financial management practice is followed, IDEP invites external auditors each year to examine its annual accounts. One such examination of accounts has just taken place and has commended the Institute for its strict financial management procedures.

United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning – IDEP

BP 3186, Dakar (Senegal) Tel: (221) 823-1020, Fax: (221) 822-2964

Email: idep@unidep.org Internet: http://www.unidep.org