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Too Much Useless [Oil] Talk, Not Enough Development

Posted on January 9, 2008

[I’ve been working in overseas development programming since I went to Chile as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1964. Over the past five years I’ve had conversations along the line of the attached valedictory from a dozen or more committed, experienced, smart workers in the development vineyard.It’s no accident that as the frequency of misdirected, incompetently and insensitively implemented, US-sponsored “development strategies” has increased, international esteem for the United States, its policies, and (recently) its people, has continued to sink—at an accelerating rate since 2000.The letter below, written by a development worker who has been engaged with one small island republic off the coast of Africa for more than two decades was written as he left, having exhausted both patience and resources in a series of attempts to bootstrap development in the islands. These efforts involved both a variety of local agencies and organizations, and some of the most prestigious development experts in the world, including architects of the Millenium Development Goals. The letter from which this essay is excerpted was originally addressed to some of the international academic experts who had been recruited to work on development planning and priority setting for the islands.My friend has asked not to be identified.]Dear Friends  –It is TRAGIC how the foreign entities are so interested in the oil issue with endless funds and endless conferences/seminars/workshops; in this case, for the Oil Industry Transparency Initiative.Where is the Agriculture Industry Transparency Initiative? And the Fisheries Industry Transparency Initiative? And the Tourism Industry Transparency Initiative? These are three sectors where the country has far more hope of developing than oil, since there is none [oil, that is], and there is unlikely to be any for years to come, even with $100/barrel oil.The islands’ economy has been agriculture and fishing based since day one post-independence. ALL the revenues come from agriculture and fishing, with a tiny amount coming from tourism, but why isn’t the World Bank so interested in a Transparency Initiative focussed on these areas where so many millions of dollars/Euros have been invested with nothing to show for any of it? Why isn’t Ms. Harpy Raptor, and Webelo, so interested in having civil society look into the transparency in these three crucial sectors?The only oil revenues have been from four piddly signature bonuses for small exploration blocks in the far offshore areas. There are no new oil revenues on the horizons for years to come. But nobody gives a damn. More and more money, more and more consultants, more and more conferences, more and more workshops talking about oil, oil, oil. It’s pathetic!If I were from here I’d feel like strangling some of these foreigners who make a living out of telling us what to do with the oil we do not have, nor have any possibility of having for years to come. And nobody is interested in clearing up the messes in these other sectors which are much more logical for  a small island developing state. If the oil comes, 10 or 20 years from now, they are already better prepared than most countries for it. So let’s forget about oil and focus on reality.”It’s the economy, stupid!” as Bill Clinton’s election campaigns used to say. And the economy of these islands is not an “extractive industry.” This is not Angola, not Nigeria, not Equatorial Guinea, not Gabon. Yes, four and five years ago everybody was piling into the islands, sure this was the next big gusher. But that has been proven wrong since April 2006, when the international exploration company  gave their analysis of Block 1. Next the other company sold their 50% of Block 1 as another indication of them walking away from a major investment in signature bonus and test well costs, shared with the other company, because they are sure there is nothing commercial down there.Yet somehow the international organizations fail to take any notice of this and just carry on as if this were five years ago. Bring on more oil laws, bring on EITI, bring on more training, conferences.This is a desperately poor, small island developing state, where the only sources of income are agriculture, fishing and tourism. END OF STORY.The country’s agriculture is in total disarray. Ditto fishing. Tourism is out of control in the hands of foreigners with no local ability to control it. But there isn’t any World Bank or PWYP or International Alert or WEBELO or FONG interest in setting up committees to track the real revenues in these sectors, which far exceed any revenues from oil.Why is there no desire to audit agriculture from the World Bank? Or WEBELO? Likewise fisheries. Why doesn’t International Alert audit that industry and help them go after the EU for fishing treaty violations? Or making the EU publish what they catch, since they never declare honest catches and refuse to allow Sao Tomean monitors aboard EU boats, though it is a requirement of the treaty. Nope. All that, which is the bread and butter of this country is totally ignored. The issues have been studied, but none of the researchers are equipped to implement the recommendations. And who was? Donors have never appeared for the nitty gritty of local reality and future. But everybody is there for the non-existing oil, sadly.The EITI/POC mess is a classic case of foreign aid run amok. The World Bank has their own agenda, which appears to be set by one man alone. Nobody at the WB is probably interested. WEBELO, a tiny group of emigres, most of whom have Portuguese nationality, some of whom have not visited the islands for more than 15 years, somehow decided there was money to be tapped here, and leapt onto Publish What You Pay. In turn the World Bank, who fell for it hook, line, and sinker, then launched them into oil industry transparency issues, where they had formerly held no ground. The London-based International Alert, which is not involved in EITI issues in a single country in the world except here, also jumped on the bandwagon, and the World Bank and PWYP fell for that too. And here we are with a gigantic mess.At the same time, there appears to be gross mismanagement at the Oil Commission, who for all of 2007 have failed to put the POC and PRIO on their feet.They have budgets, they have work descriptions. They have done nothing to take the budgets to potential donors, as far as I understand.Rather, real development planners need to focus on the real local players [named]. Forget about resident, but transitory expats. It might be more fun to hang out with some of the foreigners. But they are birds of passage. None of them lives on the ground here or really has a clue what goes on behind the scenes. For that you have to focus and push the local decision makers and opinion leaders. If the issues are clearly and well described, islanders understand the process, and can charm money out of lots of people and if given good advice, do the necessary. But the process needs the patience of Job and constant hands-on.Time for somebody else to try. I’ll be leaving the island within thirty days. Good luck.

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