Walter North
Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator
Bureau of Africa
United States Agency for International Development
March 22, 2007
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
Good afternoon. I would like to thank Chairman Payne and Ranking Member Smith for calling this hearing on Guinea - a country where the United States has strong and multi-faceted interests. I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss our foreign assistance strategy in Guinea and more specifically, the programs being implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
I would like to start by discussing the challenges and conclude by focusing on the opportunities that lend themselves to improvement through development assistance. Guinea is about the size of the state of Oregon and has a population of 5.5 million people. Surrounded by five countries that have been beset by civil wars, it still plays host to a sizeable number of refugees who have left Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, and even Senegal's southern Casamance region for the relative calm and security of Guinea's border regions. Despite these "imported" pressures, Guinea until recently has enjoyed internal stability. Its continued stability is important to support the peace and rebuilding efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Since independence in 1958, Guinea has confronted consistent poverty. The quality of life for the average Guinean is considered among the lowest in the world, 160 out of 177 on the United Nations Development Programme human development index. Most families live in impoverished conditions and public services are not provided at a level commensurate with Guinea's natural wealth. Due to poor governance, weak economic policies, and poor infrastructures, troubling social conditions persist despite that fact that the country has a rich mix of natural resources, including over 25% of the world's known reserves of bauxite, along with diamonds, gold, iron ore, and other metals.
For some time, we've expected a political transition in Guinea while remaining uncertain as to how the events will unfold. With this in mind, in spring of 2005, USAID undertook an assessment of USAID/Guinea's program with the view to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, what impact we were achieving, and how the program could be revised to target the sources of vulnerability of Guinea's precarious political situation. The conclusion was that developing a viable strategy for Guinea meant targeting the sources of vulnerability - a lack of democratic processes and institutions, widespread corruption, and a large cohort of unemployed youth. In order to have an impact, we determined that USAID's programs must adopt a multi-sectoral approach to democratic reform, given democracy's central role in supporting economic opportunity and increasing social sector services. After the assessment, we strategically re-focused USAID-funded activities on a conflict minimization strategy to strengthen good governance across all sectors with a focus on transparency, anti-corruption and citizen participation.
There are certain obstacles to progress in Guinea that we simply can't change. Therefore, it is imperative that we strategically focus resources on the opportunities for positive impact. The Administration's FY 2008 request for Guinea is based on a well-coordinated U.S. Government focus on Guinea's upcoming political transition. The request is a 42% increase in governing justly and democratically from FY 2006 levels. The requested increase in FY 2008 funds will support local government and decentralization programs to enable local governments to govern effectively, transparently and democratically, and improve service delivery. U.S. assistance will aim to increase citizen awareness and strengthen civil society to participate more actively in governance and public affairs, taking advantage of the burgeoning civil society movement.
Legislative elections are currently scheduled for June 2007, although that date may slip. To ensure that the mechanisms to guarantee transparency and fairness are in place, USAID assistance in FY 2008 can also strengthen the government in the immediate aftermath of these elections. Activities would include multi-stakeholder dialogues; institutional development assistance for executive, legislative, judicial, and independent institutions; and funding for civil society groups to conduct consensus-building forums and uphold democratic processes related to the transition.
The U.S. mission will continue to promote anti-corruption and good governance in other sectors, such as security, education, health, and natural resource management. This integrated approach is designed to achieve the maximum impact from U.S. Government assistance and supports our goal of transformational diplomacy - Guinea's eventual transition from a "developing country" to a "transforming country" under the Strategic Framework for Foreign Assistance.
The recent nationwide strike, violent protests, state of siege, and curfew put acute stress on Guinea's delivery systems for health, food and protection. As health centers and transport systems start up again, and international donors re-energize their operations, we are assessing the impact these events have had on civilians and ways that we may be able to assist. At the same time, we are cognizant that we need to be prepared for future crises and anticipate ways that we can mitigate humanitarian consequences in the future.
There is recognition, I believe, that this is only the beginning of Guinea's political transition. The United States stands ready to support the Guinean people as they express their desire for a representative government that reflects their needs and aspirations.
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