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All that glitters is too much gold: the IFC at 50

As the International Finance Corporation (IFC) marks its golden anniversary, the institution claims to serve "as a catalyst for innovative, market-based solutions for reducing poverty and addressing environmental and social challenges". The reality fails to justify such a glittering perspective. Problem projects in Ghana, Peru and Kyrgyzstan, criticisms over its recent performance standards, and serious weaknesses in its recent human rights impact assessment programme undermine the future credibility of an institution that is increasingly losing out to private finance. (Bretton Woods, 11 September 2006)

http://brettonwoodsproject.org/art.shtml?x=542312

(Added: Tue Sep 12 2006   Hits: 150)

Assessing the impact of PGRF on social services in selected African countries

To achieve significant poverty reduction in poor and indebted countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) introduced a new policy framework called the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) in 1999. The PRGF was supposed to usher in a new era of reduced international financial institution (IFI) conditionalities, but in reality this has not been the case. Some of the conditions attached to PRGF financing such as user fees for education and health services as well as privatisation of water and energy services have proved to be detrimental to social service delivery. After varying years of implementation across the countries under study (Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia) there has been little trickle-down of the macroeconomic stability and growth accruing from it to poverty reduction. The PRGF seems to be haunted by the same problems that haunted the old structural adjustment programs. (Afrodad, March 2006)

http://www.liberationafrique.org/IMG/pdf/PRGF_Synthesis.pdf

(Added: Mon Feb 05 2007   Hits: 59)

DFID and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Issues Paper (PDF)

The private sector is sometimes seen as the enemy of the poor. However, it plays an important role in the economic growth that is essential to reducing world poverty. This paper outlines our approach to corporate social responsibility. It is in four sections. Section One explains what corporate social responsibility is and examines what drives it. Section Two discusses the links between corporate social responsibility and poverty reduction. Section Three sets out what the UK Government, and specifically DFID, can do to promote corporate social responsibility that benefits the poor. Section Four tells you where to go for further information (PDF 148 KB).

http://www.eldis.org/static/DOC13366.htm

(Added: Fri Jan 30 2004   Modified: Tue Aug 15 2006   Hits: 485)

Dirty aid, dirty water: Take action for Sierra Leone

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Africa has been awarded a major aid contract by the UK government. The company has been contracted to advise the Sierra Leonean government on the privatisation of 24 state-owned companies, including the public water company in Freetown, the capital city. The water utility in Freetown needs urgent reform. But before any such reform can take place there must be a full and meaningful consultation process, which looks at all options, including that of keeping water in public hands. Based on PWC Africa's water privatisation track record and statements made by the company and its employees, PwC Africa appears to have an ideological attachment to water privatisation and therefore should not be relied upon to run a full, meaningful and even-handed consultation process. Email PwC Africa now and demand that they withdraw from this contract unless the UK government drops the water component.

http://www.wdm.org.uk/campaigns/aid/action/pwc.php

(Added: Wed Oct 18 2006   Hits: 280)

Energy Efficiency Guide for Industry in Asia

This Guide has been developed for Asian companies who want to improve energy efficiency through Cleaner Production and for stakeholders who want to help them. The Guide includes a methodology, case studies for more than 40 Asian companies in 5 industry sectors, technical information for 25 energy equipments, training materials, a contact and information database, and much more...

http://www.energyefficiencyasia.org/

(Added: Thu Jan 19 2006   Hits: 237)

Exploring the Links Between International Business and Poverty Reduction: A Case Study of Unilever in Indonesia

Oxfam GB, Novib (Oxfam Netherlands), Unilever and Unilever Indonesia (UI), have collaborated on a research project to increase their understanding of the impacts of business on the lives of poor people and to explore the potential links between international business and poverty reduction. The report explores how, and to what extent, the operations of Unilever Indonesia have an impact on poverty - both positive and negative - in Indonesia. It looks at the impact of UI's entire value chain, from its interactions with small-scale producers in the supply chain to those with low-income consumers.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/livelihoods/unilever.htm

(Added: Tue Oct 25 2005   Hits: 101)

Globaleq Ltd

This report looks at the international power company Globeleq. Globeleq was set up in 2002 by the UK government's Department for International Development (DFID) as part of its strategy of "promoting the private sector in the developing world". Yet the involvement of international power companies in the energy sectors of developing countries has been deeply problematic. The poor have often found themselves excluded from access to privatised electricity as prices have spiralled out of their reach. This report not only outlines Globeleq's rapid expansion into the energy markets of developing countries over the past four years, in the process it has transferred over US$1 billion of UK aid money to US power companies wishing to exit those markets. It also recommends action, including calling on the UK government to review its policy of using aid money to promote privatisation of public services in developing countries. (War on Want, September 2006)

http://www.waronwant.org/downloads/WoW%20Globeleq%20report.pdf

(Added: Mon Oct 02 2006   Hits: 152)

How can Corporate Social Responsibility Deliver in Africa? Insights from Kenya and Zambia (PDF)

By Mumo Kivuitu, Kavwanga Yambayamba and Tom Fox, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), 2005. The current belief is that poverty reduction and sustainable development will not be achieved through government action alone. Policy makers are increasingly acknowledging the potential contribution of the private sector to such policy objectives. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is sometimes used as shorthand for businesses' contribution to sustainable development. A number of core development issues are already central to the international CSR agenda. They include labour standards, human rights, education, health, child labour, conflict and environmental impacts. The paper looks at what this means at the national level, particularly in those countries in which sustainable development challenges appear most intractable. It also describes key aspects of the emerging CSR agenda in Kenya and Zambia.

http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdf/full/16006IIED.pdf

(Added: Wed Sep 28 2005   Hits: 95)

Implementing Sustainable Private Sector Development: Striving for Tangible Results for the Poor

Can market development deliver on its promise of large-scale, sustainable poverty reduction? The 2006 Reader focuses on private sector programs that open and stimulate markets to generate significant and expanding benefits for the poor. This strategy of "market system development" and the lessons learnt from it are distilled from a range of communities of practice, interpreted in the strategic context of the critical questions and challenges raised by the professionals in more than 85 organizations who contributed. (International Training Centre of the ILO, 2006)

http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/docs/497/PSDReader2006.pdf

(Added: Wed Oct 11 2006   Hits: 69)

In the public Interest: health, education, and water and sanitation for all

This report shows that developing countries will only achieve healthy and educated populations if their governments take responsibility for providing essential services. Civil society organisations and private companies can make important contributions, but they must be properly regulated and integrated into strong public systems, and not seen as substitutes for them. Only governments can reach the scale necessary to provide universal access to services that are free or heavily subsidised for poor people and geared to the needs of all citizens - including women and girls, minorities, and the very poorest. Rich country governments and international agencies such as the World Bank should be crucial partners in supporting public systems, but too often they block progress by failing to deliver debt relief and predictable aid that supports public systems. They also hinder development by pushing private sector solutions that do not benefit the poor. (Oxfam, September 2006)

http://www.oxfam.org/en/files/bp_public_interest/download

(Added: Mon Sep 04 2006   Hits: 183)

India's 40 million shopkeepers brace for Wal-Mart effect

India is fighting Wal-Mart's announced plans to begin operations here in 2007. For many, the so-called "Wal-Mart Effect" is more than just a matter of losing shops in historic downtowns. According to a study by AC Nielsen, India has more shops per capita than any other nation in the world, meaning that the advent of "big-box retail" could impact 40 million shop owners and employees. Analysts say retailers such as Wal-Mart are eyeing India's rising middle class, and a retail market that could be worth more than $600 billion in less than a decade. But activist have made the issue part of a nationwide strike that nearly shut down Calcutta's airport last week. (Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 18 December 2006)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1218/p01s04-wosc.html?s=hns

(Added: Tue Jan 09 2007   Hits: 84)

Lessons from a Failed Privatization Experience: The Case of the Philippines' Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System [PDF 205.63 KB]

With a national policy in place for prioritizing debt service, the Philippine government had failed to invest in building a water supply and distribution system that would provide safe, adequate and affordable potable water to its citizenry. The private sector - commonly perceived to be more efficient and less prone to political maneuverings than government - supposedly had answers to all these. This case study investigates the Philippines' Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS]. A publication of the Freedom from Debt Coalition (Philippines), January 2005.

http://www.jubileesouth.org/news/water%20monograph.pdf

(Added: Wed Jan 25 2006   Hits: 115)

Little pani, less panchayat

by P Sainath, Oct 2002. Little pani, less panchayat: In Orissa's `model' pani panchayats - which have never had an election of any kind - the control over water resources is moving swiftly into the hands of powerful landlords and contractors. It's privatisation of water through the backdoor and the jargon used is `community ownership' and `farmers' control'.

http://www.indiatogether.org/opinions/psainath/panipanchayat1.htm

(Added: Fri Nov 01 2002   Modified: Tue Aug 22 2006   Hits: 201)

Local Business, Local Peace: the Peacebuilding Potential of the Domestic Private Sector

This publication makes the case that the local business community in conflict-affected countries can and should play a role in building peace. Linking up with other peacebuilding actors, and taking advantage of their own resources and skills, business communities should address socio-economic, security, political and reconciliation dimensions of peacebuilding. (International Alert, 2006)

http://www.international-alert.org/publications/252.php

(Added: Sat Jul 29 2006   Modified: Mon Jul 31 2006   Hits: 81)

Local Business, Local Peace: the Peacebuilding Potential of the Domestic Private Sector

This publication highlights the domestic private sector's often overlooked peacebuilding potential. Developed and researched with partner organisations and business people from conflict-affected countries around the world, it presents more than 20 case studies where private sector actors have taken proactive steps to address violent conflict: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Colombia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel and Palestine, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Caucasus and Sri Lanka. In addition, the publication highlights businesses' efforts to support formal peace processes; to address issues in the economic sphere; to build bridges between divided communities and groups; to alleviate security concerns; as well as the special role of women entrepreneurs. (International Alert, July 2006)

http://www.international-alert.org/our_work/themes/LBLP.php

(Added: Mon Sep 11 2006   Hits: 189)

Nature for Sale: The Impacts of Privatizing Water and Biodiversity

Friends of the Earth International. The publication focuses on the privatization of water and biodiversity. By highlighting local experiences, we aim to raise awareness of the impacts of privatization on the resources that all of us, our children and generations of children to come need to be able to survive.

http://www.foei.org/en/publications/pdfs/privatization.pdf

(Added: Fri Jan 28 2005   Modified: Thu Mar 27 2008   Hits: 228)

Neither Public Nor Private: Unpacking the Johannesburg Water Corporatization Model

Local authorities across South Africa have undergone an enormous transformation in the postapartheid period. Ten years into democracy, most local authorities are contending with the difficulties of providing and improving the quality of water and sanitation services in areas that historically received service of abysmal quality, if any. The national policy guidelines driving local authorities uphold several important equity principles such as a free allocation of basic water services in a "developmental"-that is, inclusive and participatory-manner. Local authorities struggle to put these principles into practice, as the financial and human resource constraints they face often lead them to put efficiency objectives in the forefront, with the hope that the equity issues will be dealt with down the line. (UNRISD, 2006)

http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BF3C2/setLanguageCookie?OpenAgent&langcode=en&url=/80256B3C005BCCF9/search/79F48A7BDD5CA384C12571D100257095?OpenDocument

(Added: Wed Aug 30 2006   Hits: 73)

NIGERIA: Shoddy private health centres closed down

The Lagos State government has shut down 184 private hospitals, clinics and laboratories for failing to meet basic standards of hygiene and staff training in a move observers say is a much-needed push to improve the regulation of the state's healthcare system. (IRIN, 5 May 2008)

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77981

(Added: Mon May 05 2008   Hits: 5)

Pipe Dreams: The failure of the private sector to invest in water services in developing countries [pdf]

The last 15 years of donor policy has been based on the idea that the 'competition and efficiency' of privatisation provides the answer to the global water crisis. But this report calls this idea a pipe dream, demonstrating that water privatisation has failed to deliver even the investment promised, let alone sufficient investment to connect new communities in the kinds of numbers needed. What makes this even worse is that, while international donors have promoted the role of the private sector as investors in the water sector, at the same time they have substantially cut their own investment in this area. As a result, the net contribution of 15 years of privatisation has been to significantly reduce the funds available to poor countries for investment in water, by billions of dollars. The report finds that it vital that donors and governments are honest with people about the limits of water privatisation, and develop a new strategy for investing in public water systems to make good on their MDG promises. (World Development Movement, March 2006)

http://www.wdm.org.uk/resources/briefings/aid/pipedreamsfullreport.pdf

(Added: Mon Mar 27 2006   Hits: 260)

Privatisation of Security and Military Functions and the Demise of the Modern Nation-State in Africa

This report considers the privatisation of security (private military companies) and its effects on state authority; how this reinforces or challenges the notion of the state monopoly over all forms of organised violence. The paper argues that military functions should not be delegated to private agents because empowering private sources of authority to perform critical national security and military tasks forever compromises state power and sovereignty. It also commodifies security as a public good, structurally altering and removing it from the public domain of accountability, legitimacy, and control. (Michelle Small, ACCORD, 2006)

http://www.accord.org.za/op/occasional_paper_2_2006.pdf

(Added: Tue Aug 22 2006   Hits: 99)

Privatising Basic Utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa: The MDG Impact

This report from the UNDP's International Poverty Centre examines the impact of utility privatisation on Sub-Saharan African countries' efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals. It concludes that privatisation as a whole has reduced state's abilities to meet the MDGs. (IPC, Jan 2007)

http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCPolicyResearchBrief003.pdf

(Added: Mon Feb 05 2007   Modified: Mon Jul 02 2007   Hits: 70)

Privatization and Its Discontents - The Evolving Chinese Health Care System

This article from the New England Journal of Medicine looks at the impact of health care privatisation in China. It illustrates how privatisation has led to many Chinese having to forgo health care, and how privatisation hindered China's response to SARS. The article concludes by looking at what the Chinese government has done in recent years to mitigate the adverse impacts of privatisation.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/353/11/1165

(Added: Fri Mar 30 2007   Hits: 107)

Privatization in Latin America (PDF)

By John Nellis, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, Center for Global Development, Working Paper 31, August 2003. Abstract: Latin America, privatization started earlier and spread farther and morerapidly than in almost any other part of the world. More, and larger, firms weresold, and more proceeds were raised. Despite positive microeconomic results,privatization is highly and increasingly unpopular in the region. The core socialcriticism is that privatization contributes to growing poverty and inequality levelsin Latin America-and there is evidence to support the claim. But recent andrigorous studies contest or dilute the negative views, calculating thatprivatization has contributed only slightly to rising unemployment and inequality,and either reduces poverty or has no effect on it. Still, while privatization may bewinning the economic battle it is losing the political war: The benefits are spreadwidely, small for each affected consumer or taxpayer, and occur (or accrue) in themedium-term. In contrast, the costs are large for those concerned, who tend tobe visible, vocal, urban and organized, a potent political combination.

http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/2759

(Added: Tue Sep 02 2003   Modified: Tue Sep 12 2006   Hits: 162)

Profiting from poverty: Privatisation consultants, DFID and public services [PDF] 317 KB

Written by John Hilary (2004). This report, published by the War on Want Campaign, notes that the privatisation of public services has led to increased poverty in many developing countries.Yet, developing country governments continue to come under intense pressure to commit their public services to privatisation - often as a condition of receiving development assistance, loans or debt relief from international financial institutions and donor governments. This report illustrates how private sector consultancies have established themselves as indispensable partners in the international privatisation programme, and provides examples of the immense sums they earn from such contracts.

http://www.waronwant.org/download.php?id=254

(Added: Mon Aug 01 2005   Modified: Wed Apr 19 2006   Hits: 59)

Profiting from Poverty: The ADB, private sector and development in Asia (PDF 161 Kb)

Focus on the Global South, May 2001. A compilation of articles on the ADB, its policies and impacts.

http://www.focusweb.org/publications/Books/Profiting_from_poverty.htm

(Added: Fri Dec 19 2003   Modified: Thu Jun 16 2005   Hits: 192)

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