[WSIS CS-Plenary] Digital Solidarity Fund in risk of disappearing: action required]

Thu Apr 16 11:09:03 BST 2009

Hi all

Let us hope that the FSN will not be another Darfour. One cannot understand
the dilly dallying in auditing the accounts of the structure. Was FSN a give
away to wade off an undesirable? Reading tha analysis of the situation
presented so far, makes me to believe so.

Aaron

On 4/16/09, NANA Delphine <delynana2002 at yahoo.fr> wrote:
>
> [Please note that by using 'REPLY', your response goes to the entire list.
> Kindly use individual addresses for responses intended for specific people]
>
> Click http://wsis.funredes.org/plenary/ to access automatic translation of
> this message!
> _______________________________________
>
>
>
>    Chers Tous,
>
> Je remercie le collègue Daniel Pimienta d'avoir porté le sujet à votre
> attention .  Nous avons essayé d'échanger sur le sujet dans un cadre
> restreint, dans l'espoir de voir le processus avancé tel qu'il avait été
> décidé à la réunion de Bamako, réunion à laquelle nous avons participé tous
> les deux en tant que société civile d'Amérique Latine et africaine.
> Néanmoins, la Société Civile Africaine pour la Société de l'Information (
> ACSIS), membre fondateur du FSN est très préoccupée  . Nous avons signé, il
> ya quelque temps un MoU avec le FSN relatif au principe de 1% de solidarité
> numérique; dans certains pays d'afrique, ce principe a déjà  été voté au
> Parlement, d'autres pays d'afrique  sont  en pleine négociation pour
> instaurer ce même principe . Il serait triste de voir le FSN qui a impulsé
> une telle dynamique mourir
> Nous restons très solidaires à toutes  les initiatives qui oeuvreraient
> pour sauver le FSN
>
> Sincère collaboration
>
> *Delphine NANA MEKOUNTE*
>
>    - Membre Fondateur et Présidente  ACSIS (African Civil Society for the
>    Information Society) Network on ICT4D www.acsis-africa.org
>    - Directrice Générale du CEFEPROD, Organisation dotée du Statut
>    Consultatif Spécial auprès  du Conseil Economique et Social des Nations
>    Unies  (ECOSOC.) www.cefeprod.org
>    - Member Champions Network-UN-GAID www.un-gaid.org
>    - BP. 8376. Tél. (+ 237) 99 99 86 16
>
>  *        **YAOUNDE-CAMEROUN** *
>
>
>
>
>
> --- En date de : *Mer 15.4.09, Lohento <lohento at oridev.org>* a écrit :
>
> De: Lohento <lohento at oridev.org>
> Objet: [Africa_Net] [Fwd: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Digital Solidarity Fund in risk
> of disappearing: action required]
> À: "africa_net" <africa_net at reseauafricanet.org>
> Date: Mercredi 15 Avril 2009, 8h06
>
> Voir ci-dessous - Vers la disparition du fonds de solidarité numérique?
> Apparemment l'audit qui devait être réalisé pour mai n'a pas encore
> été
> effectué et certains craignent qu'on n'aboutisse finalement à la mort
> de
> cette institution qui, quel que soit ce qui peut en être dit, est le
> résultat international le plus concret du SMSI pour les pays en
> développement.
>
> Ken L
> -------- Message original --------
> Sujet : 	[WSIS
>
>
>
>  CS-Plenary] Digital Solidarity Fund in risk of
> disappearing: action required
> Date : 	Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:41:03 -0400
> De : 	Daniel Pimienta <pimienta at funredes.org>
> Répondre à : 	Virtual WSIS CS Plenary Group Space <plenary at wsis-cs.org>
> Pour : 	plenary at wsis-cs.org, discuss at un-gaid.org
>
> _______________________________________
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> I shall report on the critical situation of the Digital Solidarity
> Fund (DSF) in my quality of Latin America & Caribbbean civil society
> member of the Board. I wish to report in the WSIS civil society
> plenary list as well as in G at ID discussion list, in the hope to
> trigger some positive dynamics in both communities (and I am also
> informing the DSF Board of that initiative).
>
> The last couple of months have been of acute crisis after a change in
> the DSF Presidency and coordinated complains from the new DSF
> President and the
>
>
>  President
>  of Senegal (speaking as "historical
> father") on General Secretary management: basically they do not trust
> the 1% principle could be effective and wish a centering and hosting
> of the DSF on Africa, as an ICT4D project management organization.
>
> On November 25th a stormy General Assembly was held in Lyon (France)
> and was unable to reach consensus on further steps. An extraordinary
> Assembly was then scheduled in Bamako, January 27th, 2009. More
> confused than stormy this Assembly decided that a strategical and
> finance independant audit shall be organized and its results
> presented to a last extraordinary Assembly to be scheduled prior to
> May 27th. This last Assembly would finally decide on the proposition
> of the President of Senegal to take over the management of the DSF
> (he was also given the responsibility to contract this audit and
> manage the interim period).
>
> The investment made
>
>  so
>  far has
>  reached some 6 millions of euros (a
> substantial part coming from developing countries) and one of the
> argument for not letting go the situation was the responsibility to
> protect that invested capital (which is no more in cash but hopefully
> some part has transformed into people and project experiences and
> institutional moves). Furthermore, it appears that the cashflow would
> allow to stand until the next Assembly but no more.
>
> The situation as of today is that the audit has apparently not been
> launched and the risk is extremely high, due to the shortness of
> cashflow, that the DSF will just fade out without any decision taken
> and no audit results presented. This could be the worst scenario for
> one of the most concrete products the WSIS process has tried to
> launch and a shameful situation for our ICT4D community in regard to
> the lost investment...
>
> In that context, I want to
>  call
>  upon
>  global civil
>  society to put
> pressure on stakeholders in order to try to save whatever is possible
> from the disaster. I am wondering, given the particular situation, if
> the best approach would not be to try to convince a UN related structure to
> take over the DSF, conduct an audit which appears a mandatory
> requirement (if only for accountability of public money invested!)
> and assess the situation, trying to preserve, as far as possible, the
> initial principles (multistakeholder global fund to overcome the
> digital divide based on innovative sources).
>
> ITU, G at ID or UNDP (which has been out of that field for some years
> now) are possible options. I am not sure that any of them is eager to
> take over a project in such a difficult situation; what I am quite
> sure is that it is my duty as a civil society involved actor to
> alert, inform and contribute to the search for a solution (I shall
>
> also
>  remember as
>  a possible
>  contribution that Agence de la
> Francophonie had offered during the DSF Board debates to take
> responsibility to contract an audit of the DSF... although it was
> decided to do it another way).
>
> Daniel Pimienta
> Networks & Development Foundation
> http://funredes.org
> Member of APC Network
> As LA&C civil society member of the DSF Board
>
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-- 
Aaron Agien Nyangkwe
Journalist-OutCome Mapper
Special Assistant The President
ASAFE
P.O.Box 5213
Douala-Cameroon

Tel. 237 3337 55 31, 3337 50 22
Fax. 237 3342 29 70
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