Wosh, two years have passed by since my last post. And funny enough, past then I had just returned from the West African Beauty Sierra Leone - and guess, where I am now. Indeed, back in Sweet Salone.
Well, this is not completely true though. Right now I am actually on the other side of Africa - in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, attending a network meeting and getting a training in how to act as governance advisor in the African context.
But maybe I should start from the beginning:
As you know anyway (as I only told it a thousand times to each and everyone of you), I finally left Eschborn, Frankfurt and GIZ Headquarters behind and took on a new post in Monrovia, Liberia. This tiny West African state is sharing borders with Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea and gained depressing popularity for suffering from one of the most brutal conflicts in human history. You might have heard about Charles Taylor, the rebel leader, who exploited the country's natural resources (mainly gold, diamonds and iron ore) in order to fuel his long-lasting fighting for power. Being also responsible for the bloody civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone, Charles Taylor is currenly waiting in The Hague for eventually being sentenced by the international community for the various atrocities and violations of international human rights applied in his name.
Liberia is a post-conflict state (sometimes also called fragile state as it is perceived to be more vulnerable to new conflicts as other, more stable, states), still recovering from 14 years of war and in strong need for increased social and economic development.
GIZ is running different projects in Liberia - one of them focusing on what is called "Resource Governance" - meaning the responsible and development-oriented handling of the country's natural resources. And this is exactly what I will work with.
As mentioned above, Liberia does have an endowment of various minerals (and quite recently, they even found off-shore oil just in front of the West African coastline) which bear high potential to contribute to increased government revebues and national income. However, so far this did not work out so well. There is great mistrust between state and society, public service delivery is more than insufficient, mismanagement somehow became a daily routine and institutions lack capacity for proper initiating change processes.
The project hence supports efforts made regarding
a) transparent payment and revenue flows (click here for learning more about the EITI process in Liberia),
b) the development of extractives sector strategies,
c) the establishment of local development plans and
d) taking up on opportunities for peer-exchange on the regional (Mano River Union) level (click here for more details on the MRU) by providing financial means and advisory services.
Sounds interesting? Believe me, it IS interesting. I am quite excited to really dig into the issue (which indeed is nerdy, but I don't mind).
However, although I left Germany two weeks ago, I did not quite manage to actually enter Liberia but got stuck in Sierra Leone. Why that? well, on Oct 12, the first "nationally owned" elections after the war took place. There have been elections in 2005, but they were organised by the UN, striving to install a system in the country which allows for peace, stability, economic growth and social development.
Past then, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf - a Liberian by birth and former World Bank and UNDP employee, won the elections and became president - as the first woman in Africa and until today, she is the only female leader. And in 2011 she was running for presidency once again - as well as 15 others. However, the first round of election broke it down to only three candidates: Johnson-Sirleaf herself, her main opponent Winston Tubman, nephew of one of the previous presidents, and Prince Johnson, a senator from Nimba County who gained doubtful popularity for being heavily involved in a brutal Côup d'Etát against pre-Taylor dictator Samuel Doe. As you can see, Liberia's recent history is certainly not an easy thing to swallow.
As none of the three was able to reach the required percentage of votes, there will be run-offs between the Johnson-Sirleaf and Tubman, as they had the greatest share of votes so far. Prince Johnson - ranked third - has now announced to encourage his supporters to vote for Johnson-Sirleaf and this might have been the deciding momentum in this election. Prince Johnson as kingmaker? Seems likely!
And yes, as soon as the elections are over and results published, I am allowed to go. Eventually. Right now I am hoping for mid of November. Until then, I continue my life as stranded traveller, using the office space at the GIZ Office Freetown and just work as usual.
But to be honest - I am getting impatient and want to finally see where I am going to live and work during the upcoming year(s). And I want to meet my colleague there. And I want to move into my room (in a shared apartment) which is waiting for me. Funny enough, I already know one of my future flatmate (yes, indeed, she is with GIZ as well) and I will even meet the other one here in Mozambique as she is on holidays. So I am all prepared and just need to get the GO and go.
Right, Mozambique....and why I am here: Well, this is pretty easy. I attended a network meeting where GIZ colleagues from all over Subsaharan Africa working in any kind of Governance projects meet, exchange experiences, talk about thematic issues and discuss the way forward. This meeting ended on Saturday and on Sunday a training on Governance Advisory in Africa started on Sunday and will continue until Tuesday night.
My flight back leaves on Wednesdy later afternoon and after (pretty horrible) 28 hours of travel, I will finally find myself back in Freetown on Thursday afternoon. Relaxing, haha!
But honestly, I am doing good! Heavy workload does not allow to start doubting the decision to leave Germany and makes the first weeks easier, my colleagues in Sierra Leone (it is a regional project which is implemented in both countries) are superb and Maputo is beautiful.
Certainly, there is this weird feeling from time to time, this makes you remember that you left family and friends behind and that you won't see as often as before, but this is just normal.
Sometimes decisions have to be made and I am still convinced that I made the right one. Starting a new life is an adventure and I cannot wait to leave the world of expensive hotel rooms behind and settle myself in the exciting environment of Monrovia.
And last but not at least, I officially declare this blog reloaded - and I hope very, very much that it will serve as a means of communication with you, you and you!
Take good care of yourself and miss you all!
