Lagos:   With each passing day, concrete evidence crops up about the lack of resolution in prosecuting with vigour the national war against corruption. This is totally unacceptable. To repeat for the umpteenth time, the cancer of corruption is precisely why Nigeria remains time-warped in under-achievement,…

Cape Town: A special anticorruption unit, reporting directly to Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi, would be established to deepen the state's fight against the "cancer" of graft, the minister said yesterday. The new unit will represent a proactive, "hands-on" stance by the…

Dar es Salaam:  United States Ambassador Alfonso Lenhardt yesterday called on the Kikwete Government to step up the war against corruption, saying the citizens wished to see corrupt senior officials convicted and jailed.  He said there was need for more tangible action to raise the bar in the anti-corruption…

Lagos:  The Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference has now become the largest and strategic industry summit for Nigeria's oil industry which reveals government plans and updates from the major industry players. The recently concluded event in Abuja had turned to a perfect ground for controversial statements…

Durban:  The cabinet "had not considered" audits of politicians' lifestyles because of anti- corruption measures already in place, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

Kampala:  On behalf of the development partners, I wish to thank the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development for organizing this budget workshop.  We recognize that the 2010/11 budget is being developed in tandem with the National Development Plan. This provides an opportunity to focus…

London:  For decades, it has been seen as the world's lost continent. Now, a new study says that the view of Africa as a basket case is wrong.  As the continent prepares to welcome thousands of international football fans for the World Cup in June, it seems the image of an economically vibrant region…

New York:  Last month in New York, UNICEF and Fordham University, with the support of the European Commission, hosted a two-day policy forum and workshop entitled, 'Child-Friendly Budgets for 2010 and Beyond'.

Johannesburg:  During the debate on the president's State of the Nation address, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi referred to media coverage of the uneven quality in the health system, commenting that "the ruling party is the first to publicly acknowledge it and speak about it openly".

Lagos:  The growing awareness of communities to important aspects of governance such as budget implementation and development seems to be creating discomfort among the ruling class, particularly as the 2011 general elections nears.

New Delhi:  Union finance minister's Pranab Mukherjee's "inclusive" Budget 2010-11 does not include children, who are over 42% of the population. Out of every rupee spent in the Budget, he has allotted only 4.63 paise to children. The children's share in the next fiscal is only slightly higher than…

Harare:  In an attempt to increase citizens' involvement in local governance, six local government authorities have been identified for a pilot project designed to promote the public's participation in the budget-crafting process.

Windhoek:  Namibia's civil society wants to influence the budget as well as monitor it, instead of getting involved only after the document has been tabled.  Through the involvement of the civil society, the national budget is envisaged to become a citizens' budget where ordinary people have a grasp…

Johannesburg:  Many organisations exist solely to improve management, teaching and learning in schools. South Africa is no exception and billions of rands of non-government money are spent annually on this activity.

Gaborone:  On 8 February 2010, Finance Minister, Kenneth Matambo, delivered the 2010/11 Budget Speech to the National Assembly.  Simultaneously, he presented an Appropriation Bill which just passed the second reading. Barring the sky falling, it will pass the third reading and become a law. Thus,…

India has made yet another brave attempt at getting its public finances in order. The 13th Finance Commission and the Union Budget have laid out a road map to cut the fiscal deficit and public debt over the next five years. Both are needed to maintain economic stability and create more space for private…

Lagos:  President Olusegun Obasanjo has never failed to employ every opportunity to remind the nation of the great sacrifices he has made towards building and protecting Nigeria. He did so again a few weeks ago at the Seventh Trust yearly lecture organised by Daily Trust Newspapers. It was at a forum…

The Bureaucracy in the National Assembly is pushing for the establishment of a Legislative Institute to train staff members on the legislative process.  But the headship of of the policy Analysis and Research Project (PARP) which is the research wing of the Assembly is fighting to stall that agenda, …

Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), specialises on issues relating to capacity building support to Legislators, civil society organisations, CSOs/NGOs and the media on legislative proceedings based on many years of extensive…

Dar es Salaam:   Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete vowed a new election law would impose tighter controls on campaign financing and improve the standards of this year's polls. Kikwete, speaking late Sunday in his monthly televised address, said the new measures were crucial to ensuring the credibility…