DOCSLIB.ORG

African Philanthropy

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
African Philanthropy FOREWORD The African Grant Makers Network (AGN) and the Southern Africa Trust are excited to publish this report which covers not just the legislative environment for philanthropy in Africa but begins in many ways to paint a complete picture of the space that philanthropy occupies. There are many birds in the sky as Tade Aina-a renowned scholar and philanthropy expert once remarked in an African Grant Makers Affinity Group (AGAG) Retreat in 2013. But how these birds are regulated or regulate themselves in the sky while flying still remains a very fuzzy and unclear terrain. How they are also affected by existing regulations, policies or systems also remains undocumented and at worst unknown. This report - looking at seven countries (Angola, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa) - gives a detailed picture. And as expected, the countries studied are different in terms of culture, history, politics, legal regimes, economic development, identity formation and traditions of philanthropy among others. Yet they all have a culture of giving and all possess resources that can be harnessed for sustainable development, particularly in the era of the post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. The report manages to profile these counties and contextualise philanthropy both in its practice and theorisation. Ultimately it is in how these countries conceptualise philanthropy that determines how they regulate it. The report sheds light on what regulatory regimes exist in these countries. It goes on to suggest reforms where there are gaps or outdated approaches. But perhaps more revealing is that there is no country that has a single legislation on philanthropy, rather philanthropy is regulated by many statutes - financial, monetary, taxation and administrative among others. Philanthropy cuts across the regulatory and policy regimes of these countries. This means that governments play a particularly active role in how philanthropy operates in these countries. This intrinsic linkage between philanthropy and governments has not till now been debated or brought out as an area of scrutiny. The report kick starts this debate and the interrogation of the negotiation of the space between governments and philanthropic bodies. For AGN and the Trust, this is an important area of focus going forward. There is no doubt that philanthropy will be expected to bail our ever failing governments - now and again, but to do so effectively, there is need to understand very well these intricate relationships which on the one had can be very catalytic but on the other can be very limiting as we see in many countries where the space for civil society and philanthropy is under stress. Increasingly also is the space between philanthropy and the international system. This report and others conducted by the Trust begin to conceptualise the link between philanthropy and international instruments, for example around the role philanthropy plays in either promoting or curbing illicit financial flows. This is an area that is increasingly getting attention not just from policy makers but also from regulators. This has a potential to either hamper philanthropic transactions or help boost local productive economies. Related to this is the increased question of remittances and how they are regulated. In the Zero Draft of the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the Post 2015 Development Agenda, there is an attempt to reform financial instruments and policies to facilitate movement of remittances. But given the current interchanges between conceptions of remittances and philanthropy, there is likelihood that increased regulation targeting remittances will affect philanthropic flows. Only Kenya and Ghana in the report seem to have regulated the remittances under their law. Other countries have not dedicated specific attention or legislation to remittances. The relation between civil society, the market and the state is discussed in the report. This is precisely because different ideological orientations of governments determine what space they give and how much they close for other actors. It is clear in the report that in creating an enabling environment for philanthropy, is far more than offering the civil libertarian rights to understanding the new and broader national strategic considerations such as fighting terrorism, money laundering, broadly captured as security concerns of the state. We live in an era where the promotion of human rights by groups is competing with the agenda of protecting human lives by the state. This makes it easy for the human rights agenda to be dominated and sacrificed for the protection of human lives orientation. Countries such as Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria would therefore raise the security considerations in their dealings with civil society and philanthropy. Understanding these developments helps philanthropy position itself in these countries. The report is therefore useful in that it does carve out these peculiarities. In countries with a strong leftist orientation such as South Africa, philanthropy can easily negotiate its space in line with current practices within the trade union movement for example and the vibrancy that normally characterises civil society. Overall however it is clear that all countries approach philanthropy and its friends from a supervisory, surveillance and compliance orientation, with punishment meted out in cases of non-compliance. The report however recommends a different approach, one that priorities innovation, transparency, accountability and mutual trust. Finally philanthropy exists in a governance context in all these countries. How these countries are governed has a ripple effect on philanthropy. This too is an area of interest for AGN and its members. This report would not have been possible without the support received from AGN and the Trust’s partners. In particular, we wish to thank the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for supporting the research and publication of this report. We further thank Brian Kagoro and his team for this sterling work. Halima Mohammed reviewed the draft report and we thank her for her expertise and time. Jozet Muller who managed this project deserves special mention. Among many of her tasks, she made sure this report and others saw the light of the day. Finally, we hope this report will start the needed conversations but also contribute immensely to the ever increasing body of literature on African philanthropy. Bhekinkosi Moyo Theo Sowa Executive Director Southern Africa Trust Executive Director, African Women Development Fund AGN Board Secretary AGN Chair Person African Grantmakers Network Page 3 “ Africa’s people share deep- rooted values of social solidarity, human dignity and inter-personal connectedness which correspond to western notions of philanthropy- the desire to promote the wellbeing of others or, put simply, ‘to love people’.” AGN Report, April 2013 African Grantmakers Network Page 4 Table of Contents FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 ACRONYNMS ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ....................................................................................................................................... 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................... 11 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 12 Study Objective and Scope .......................................................................................................................... 12 Policy Issues and Strategic Options ............................................................................................................. 13 Study methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Key Findings ................................................................................................................................................. 15 Key Lessons and Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 17 2. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 20 3. BACKGROUND: GLOBAL CONTEXT OF PHILANTHROPY ........................................................................... 23 A Brief History of Philanthropy .................................................................................................................... 23 Corporate Philanthropy in Africa ................................................................................................................. 24 Global and Regional Legislative Frameworks for Philanthropy in Africa ...................................................... 32 4. CONCEPTUAL ISSUES: DEFINING AFRICAN PHILANTHROPY .................................................................... 36 5. THE CONTEXT OF PHILANTHROPY IN AFRICA
Load more

Recommended publications
  • DEEPENING ROOTS Annual Report 2018 African Women’S Development Fund 1 2 Table of Contents
    DEEPENING ROOTS Annual Report 2018 African Women’s Development Fund 1 2 Table of contents CEO message 4 Introduction 7 Growth 8 Reflection 17 Learning 19 2018 Financial Report 24 Conclusion 25 3 CEO message Growth can be a strange phenomenon. All too At the heart of AWDF’s work is our celebration, support and often, people see the end result and express faith in African women’s capacity to chart our own paths. This surprise at a sudden expansion. 2018 was a year we demonstrated this commitment by creating even more year of growth at AWDF, but that growth was opportunities for African women to tell their own stories and build a reflection of years of experimentation and their individual and organisational leadership capacities. We learning in our approaches to fundraising and believe that African women hold the keys for transformative growth partnership; a flourishing of our continuous on this continent and our work stands as a testament to African thinking and linking with feminist, African and women’s collective power. It stands also as testament to the global philanthropy; and a deepening of our commitment and passion of AWDF team members, without whom ongoing strengthening of professional and none of our work would be possible – so massive thanks to the feminist processes within our organisation. In whole team. 2018 we gave over USD 6 million in grants to innovative grassroots, national and regional This year’s annual report demonstrates the importance of strong women’s rights organisations. AWDF continues leadership (feminist leadership that thrives in each individual - not to make important strides in the philanthropy as a result of positional power), effective internal systems and our sector, focusing on sharing our learning persistent effort to change the narratives about African women.
    [Show full text]
  • TANA FORUM REPORT No Retreat, No Surrender
    2017 TANA FORUM REPORT No Retreat, No Surrender 2017 TANA FORUM REPORT No Retreat, No Surrender Copyright © 2017 Tana Forum Secretariat at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reproduced as long as the Tana Forum Secretariat at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University is acknowledged as the source. Preface Dear friends of the Tana Forum, Since 2012, it has been a tradition to provide our participants and readers with in-depth knowledge on the theme of each year. The State of Peace and Security in Africa report, presented annually by the Tana Forum Chairperson, has become a significant contribution to the field of peace and security. This year’s trends will fuel your thoughts on the mixture of progress and obstacles facing the sector today: • Various security indices on armed conflicts (total number, spread/distribution and trend analysis) • The lack of progress of peace agreements • Atomised violence and low intensity conflicts • An overview of African interventions in peace and security • Containment and rollbacks of violence extremism, focusing on three case studies: Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State (IS) • Political protests and riots It is also important to highlight some of the most salient security challenges: 1. In 2016, the threats posed by violent extremist groups were neutralized or reduced, with the main epicentres of attacks in Africa including Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin area; al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kenya; and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), Ansar-Dine, Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s katibat (battalion) al-Murabitun and IS elements in Northern Mali and the Sahel region; and IS in Libya (Sirte and parts of Benghazi), Tunisia and Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Futures
    AFRICAN WOMEN: ECONOMIC FUTURES CONVENING REPORT September 13-15, 2018 Accra, Ghana Table of Contents PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................................ 3 WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS ............................................................................................................................... 4 FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBAL, REGIONAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC & SOCIAL TRENDS ................................ 4 REFLECTIONS ON TRENDS .......................................................................................................................................... 6 MAPPING OF ORGANISATIONAL AND SECTORAL ECONOMIC JUSTICE WORK ........................................................ 7 ORGANISATIONAL UPDATES....................................................................................................................................... 7 Group 1 .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Group 2 .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Group 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Group 4 .........................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • FEMINISTS ORGANISING – Strategy, Voice, Power Feminist Africa Is a Continental Gender Studies Journal Produced by the Community of Feminist Scholars
    Issue 22 | 2017 FEMINISTS ORGANISING – Strategy, Voice, Power Feminist Africa is a continental gender studies journal produced by the community of feminist scholars. It provides a platform for intellectual and activist research, dialogue and strategy. Feminist Africa attends to the complex and diverse dynamics of creativity and resistance that have emerged in postcolonial Africa, and the manner in which these are shaped by the shifting global, geopolitical configurations of power. It is currently based at the African Gender Institute in Cape Town. A full text version of this journal is available on the Feminist Africa website: http://agi.ac.za/journals Feminist Africa 22 Feminists Organising — Strategy, Voice, Power Issue 22: December 2017 First published in 2017 by the African Gender Institute All Africa House University of Cape Town Private Bag Rondebosch 7701 © in published edition: African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 2017 ISSN: 1726-4596 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise without permission in writing from the publisher. Published with the support of the African Women’s Development Fund. Typesetting, printing and cover design: COMPRESS.dsl | www.compress.dsl.com Cover photograph: Centre for Women and Adolescent Empowerment (CWAE), Yola, Nigeria. Photographs of murals: Jessica Horn Distribution: AGI staff Feminist Africa is a scholarly journal accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. ii | Feminist Africa 22 Editorial policy Editor Feminist Africa is guided by a profound Amina Mama commitment to transforming gender hierarchies in Africa, and seeks to redress Special Issue 22 editor injustice and inequality in its content Charmaine Pereira and design, and by its open-access and continentally-targeted distribution strategy.
    [Show full text]
  • FEMINISTS ORGANISING – Strategy, Voice, Power Feminist Africa Is a Continental Gender Studies Journal Produced by the Community of Feminist Scholars
    Issue 22 | 2017 FEMINISTS ORGANISING – Strategy, Voice, Power Feminist Africa is a continental gender studies journal produced by the community of feminist scholars. It provides a platform for intellectual and activist research, dialogue and strategy. Feminist Africa attends to the complex and diverse dynamics of creativity and resistance that have emerged in postcolonial Africa, and the manner in which these are shaped by the shifting global, geopolitical configurations of power. It is currently based at the African Gender Institute in Cape Town. A full text version of this journal is available on the Feminist Africa website: http://agi.ac.za/journals Feminist Africa 22 Feminists Organising — Strategy, Voice, Power Issue 22: December 2017 First published in 2017 by the African Gender Institute All Africa House University of Cape Town Private Bag Rondebosch 7701 © in published edition: African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 2017 ISSN: 1726-4596 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise without permission in writing from the publisher. Published with the support of the African Women’s Development Fund. Typesetting, printing and cover design: COMPRESS.dsl | www.compress.dsl.com Cover photograph: Centre for Women and Adolescent Empowerment (CWAE), Yola, Nigeria. Photographs of murals: Jessica Horn Distribution: AGI staff Feminist Africa is a scholarly journal accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. ii | Feminist Africa 22 Editorial policy Editor Feminist Africa is guided by a profound Amina Mama commitment to transforming gender hierarchies in Africa, and seeks to redress Special Issue 22 editor injustice and inequality in its content Charmaine Pereira and design, and by its open-access and continentally-targeted distribution strategy.
    [Show full text]
  • Pursuing Justice in Africa Cambridge Centre of African Studies Series
    edited by Jessica Johnson and George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane Competing Imaginaries and Contested Practices cambridgePursuing centre Justice of african instudies Africa series Pursuing Justice in Africa CAMBRIDGE CENTRE OF AFRICAN STUDIES SERIES Series editors: Derek R. Peterson, Harri Englund, and Christopher Warnes The University of Cambridge is home to one of the world’s leading cen- ters of African studies. It organizes conferences, runs a weekly seminar series, hosts a specialist library, coordinates advanced graduate studies, and facilitates research by Cambridge- and Africa-based academics. The Cambridge Centre of African Studies Series publishes work that ema- nates from this rich intellectual life. The series fosters dialogue across a broad range of disciplines in African studies and between scholars based in Africa and elsewhere. Derek R. Peterson, ed. Abolitionism and Imperialism in Britain, Africa, and the Atlantic Harri Englund, ed. Christianity and Public Culture in Africa Devon Curtis and Gwinyayi A. Dzinesa, eds. Peacebuilding, Power, and Politics in Africa Ruth J. Prince and Rebecca Marsland, eds. Making Public Health in Africa: Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives Emma Hunter, ed. Citizenship, Belonging, and Political Community in Africa: Dialogues between Past and Present Felicitas Becker, Joel Cabrita, and Marie Rodet, eds. Religion, Media, and Marginality in Modern Africa Jessica Johnson and George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane, eds. Pursuing Justice in Africa: Competing Imaginaries and Contested Practices Pursuing Justice in Africa Competing Imaginaries and Contested Practices Edited by Jessica Johnson and George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane Ohio University Press • Athens Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio 45701 ohioswallow.com © 2018 by Ohio University Press All rights reserved To obtain permission to quote, reprint, or otherwise reproduce or distribute material from Ohio University Press publications, please contact our rights and permissions department at (740) 593-1154 or (740) 593-4536 (fax).
    [Show full text]
  • CEO Forum Grand Finale
    AWDF Grand Finale CEO Forum Report BRINGING HOME THE SHEAVES October 4-6, 2018 Accra, Ghana TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Transformation 6 Feminist Leaders 15 Welcome 2 Sisterhood Circles 7 Self-Affirmations 18 Passport Sharing 3 Stories of Change 10 INTRODUCTION 1 eminist organisations have been at the forefront of women’s and girl’s rights advocacy and action across Africa and the Middle East. Often working in F challenging socio-economic and political contexts with limited organisational capacity and ever-increasing demands, women’s organisations help bridge the public service delivery gap, while redefining conventional ideas and practices on the rights and roles of women in society, the economy, and policymaking. How do these women’s organisations continue to push the envelope on impact while embarking on feminist movement building? How do they remain innovative and relevant in ever-changing women’s rights, development and professional landscapes? How do they stay accountable as they tackle Africa’s challenging socio-economic and political issues? To address the capacity building needs of African women’s organisations, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) spearheaded the creation of the CEO Forum. Designed by African feminists, the CEO Forum seeks to build individual and collective leadership and skills of senior, mid-level and emerging women leaders and executives. Participants benefit from networking, technical skills acquisition and professional capacity building, alongside in-person and virtual coaching over a specified timeframe. The coaching process involves practical exercises and feedback for the continuous evolution and growth of African feminist leaders. To date, 60 feminist leaders and activists have been coached.
    [Show full text]