TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 87
tears of humiliation, and eventually brought the abuse to
the attention of HQ; treating all people with the respect
they deserve, no matter what their station in life. Today, I
have no tolerance for injustice and abuse.
So, if you come across people who sabotage your
vision and mission, even subtly, it is crucial to focus on
the goal and concentrate mainly on those sailing in the
same direction as you. The RBA Director, Ms Ahunna
Eziakonwa, has been a great inspiration to me. Her
passion for Africa, her leadership, the challenges she
throws at us, her invested partnership in the success of
the RRs and the work we do, is simply legendary and for
that I am deeply grateful.
A PROMISING PARADIGM
Since I joined, a major shift that I have noticed is the
central role governments are progressively playing in
driving their own agenda. The partnership framework
has also changed quite a bit, with bilateral donors not
only being seen in fiscal terms but also as interested
parties in the development discourse.
The strategy for the Sahel and the whole discourse
on stabilization is evolving as a promising paradigm
and a viable precursor to bridging peace and ushering
in sustainable development. To continue on a positive
path, we need to move a notch higher in our Country
Office typologies by providing a balance between cutting
edge policy advisory services and #NextGen programming capacity. Questions we will need to answer will
include issues such as how we support governments to
improve capacity for contract negotiations of natural
resources, to strengthen taxation systems for better
internal revenue mobilization, to build innovative
pension schemes and social security systems and much
more.n
U N I T E D N AT I O N S D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E
NIGER AND THE UN REFORM AGENDA
When I first heard about the reform, I perceived it as
a very positive change. Being the everlasting optimist
that I am and having started off as one of the first CCA
(Common Country Assessment/UNDAF (United Nations
Development Assistance Framework) Trainers in 1989,
I firmly believed in and still believe in UN Reform. Its
success is hugely dependent though, on the attitude and
will of individuals, and this has been the most challenging
part of successfully implementing the Reform Agenda.
UNDP has over the years, played a significant role in
Niger’s development trajectory, providing policy and
technical advice to the government to put in place a strong
economic framework, a decentralized political system, and
a national platform for high level peace dialogue following
the Tuareg rebellion. More recently, UNDP has been the
Government’s key partner in the areas of environment
and climate change, digital transformation, COVID-19
management, a historic election the first ever peaceful
transition from one civilian government to the next, and
the stabilization of the Lake Chad Basin and Liptako
Gourma Triangle.
In my role as Resident Representative, the importance
of strategy, focus, consistency, trustworthiness, resilience,
and courage, is something I have passionately latched on
to. The most important thing though is to keep checking
that you neither outrun nor slow down the pack. Team
spirit is crucial particularly in the UNCT.
TO BUILD BACK BETTER.
However, as difficult as the situation may be, COVID-19
has nevertheless presented the greatest opportunity for
the UN in Niger to work together and achieve unprecedented results. UNDP was able to provide much support
to the RC and the UNCT (procurement, digital services,
and health personnel, such as a Medevac Coordinator
and an internal Communications Lead).
It was, on the other hand, an emotionally challenging
time and one of great uncertainty which wreaked havoc
on staff morale necessitating weekly check-ins, schedule
adjustments, financial flexibility, and programme reorientation. Today in Niger, in addition to the challenges
of the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing insecurity,
climate change, chronic food insufficiency, high levels
of illiteracy, vulnerability, the capacity of public institutions to deliver services especially in the health and
education sectors and the mobilization of internal
revenues (currently at about 17%) are some of the
important areas to tackle to help build back better.
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