PAN African institute at 50: Youth employment is our major concern

- Prof. Emmanuel Kamdem, SG, Pan-African Institute for Dev’t

As the Pan-African Institute for Development (PAID) celebrates its golden jubilee, its Secretary-General explains to The Median what principal activities they are carrying out, what areas they have been working in since creation, what road they have covered this far, what challenges they face, amongst other things. He spoke to Douglas Achingale in Yaounde.  

Prof., what is PAID celebrating? Is it the maturity that comes with 50 years of existence or its achievements?

I think it is both. We are celebrating its maturity because 50 years for an organisation is something very important. And during these 50 years we have acquired some expertise, some experience that we are putting at the disposal of the African population for their development. There is also the possibility of us advising governments, the civil society and international organisations. Therefore we think that we are celebrating its maturity.

At the same time, we have achieved a lot. But we think it is imperative for us to go ahead and use this 50-year experience for the next 50 years to better improve the living quality of the African population through self-development. As you know, we really don’t need much from outside. If we can very well manage what we have on the continent, we can work in partnership with countries on other continents on a platform of equality. That is, we can work with our partners not as beggars but on the basis of equal profits. Therefore, this anniversary celebration is also about PAID’s achievements. 

                                                              Prof. Emmanuel Kamdem

But it is also a challenge. In the 1960s when African states were becoming independent, there were some challenges. The problem at the time was education; at that time there were very few higher education institutions on the continent. In Cameroon, for instance, there was only one university whereas there are about eight public and many more private universities today. There is thus the challenge of working in partnership with these universities because we have an added value on what the other classical universities are doing today. Besides, there were very few NGOs working for the development of Africa. Today, however, there are many NGOs working in the same area. Therefore, we have to face all the challenges in Africa.

How is this golden jubilee celebration organised?

We have activities in Cameroon but also in other regions of Africa as well as in Geneva where we have our headquarters. The main activities are taking place here in Cameroon because this is the only country that has two regional institutes; one in Douala and another in Buea. The ceremony was launched on 28 February with the laying of the foundation stone of the headquarters of PAID in Yaounde. We will also present the alumni of PAID, produce a movie on 50 years of the institute and publish a magazine on its activities during these 50 years.

At the regional level, we have open-door days in the different regional institutes. We are also organising many workshops, seminars and colloquiums. One takes place in Yaounde on the theme “Innovation and Development in Africa” and another in Geneva on “International Negotiations.” We have another one on the African Academy on Sustainable Development in order to be proactive. We want to revise the mistakes that were done in North Africa (the Arab spring) so that Africa can become united for its development – a development that will be concerted, decent and sustainable. Concerted because all stakeholders should be the ones thinking about development; decent means that it should respect human dignity; and sustainable means that it should take into account the future. The development should be not only for today but also for tomorrow – for the next generation.

Another important activity that we have is the African Innovation Week. This normally takes place in Addis Ababa during which we will present innovations in Africa, award prizes for the best ones and at the same time be able to disseminate information on what has happened around Africa. This is of great importance because nations will benefit from each other. For example, what has happened in Mauritius can be used in Cameroon or what has happened in Cameroon can be used in Morocco, and so on.

We are also writinr a handbook on sustainable, decent and concerted development. We know the meaning of Millennium Development Goals which are supposed to come in 2015, but everybody knows that the goals will not be achieved. Therefore, we think that after 2015 Africa should make its participation for a new thinking on development. As at now, all we have in this direction is only what the international community has decided with the three components of sustainable development, that is, environmental, economic and social. They have completely neglected the cultural.

But as Africans, we know that we cannot have development here that does not take into account the cultural, legal and political aspects; we need it in Africa. You know that in Europe, North America, etc., after elections the loser shakes the hand of the winner. But in Africa the winner becomes the enemy of the loser or vice versa. So it should also be part of our culture that competing does not mean that the one who wins or loses should be the enemy of the other.

Legally speaking, nobody is above the law in Europe. Take the case of the PM of Britain or the President of France: they pay their taxes as a matter of obligation, for it is not because they are heads of government that they should not do so. If they do not pay their taxes they would be asked to come and do so. But in Africa who can go and ask a Head of State to pay his tax? If they can pay, fine; but if they do not, no one would ask them to.

So the culture of everyone respecting the law should be part of the sustainable development we are talking about. You cannot develop sustainably if some people do not respect the law and no one says or does anything about it. That is what PAID is trying to do in Africa which other organisations do not do. These are some of the things that will appear in the handbook we want to write.

Another concern we have is youth employment. The seminar we are organising is to help in youth employment. We are very concerned about that. We cannot have a continent with abundant natural resources but whose youths are not working. It is not normal; it is even dangerous not only for the youths themselves but also for the population because the youths might easily be recruited in all those negative organisations around the world which I don’t want to mention here.  So youth employment for us is very, very important. We already have connections with the authorities of international organisations to approach this problem.

So all of this and much more are what we are organising for the 50th anniversary of PAID. And at the same time, seeing what we have done, we are projecting into the future – how to go with all of that into the new world, with all the challenges. And we are discussing with our new partners to see how they can help us. In the past, we used to have partners mainly from the North. But today we are trying to be in connection with other partners from African governments and Asia. We know Africa has a lot to learn from Asia. In the 1960s, Africa and Asia were at the same level of development, but today when we talk of G-20 countries, Asia alone has ten and the rest of the world the ten others. This means that we have to collaborate with and learn from them, not as colonizers but on the basis of a win-win partnership.

How did the idea of a Pan-African Institute for Development come about and what sort of development has it brought about in Cameroon and elsewhere in Africa?

The idea of a Pan-African Institute for Development was mooted in the 1960s during the independence of African states. A group of people amongst whom was Dr. Fernand Vincent came together in Geneva and analysed the need for such an institute that would bridge the gap between the highly qualified people of Africa and the grassroots. In the early 60s, there were no universities in Africa and so many Africans were graduating from universities in Europe. So we had very highly qualified people on the one hand and the grassroots on the other. Between these two classes of people there was no middle staff.

So those I mentioned earlier thought it necessary to train people who would act between the highly qualified people and the grassroots – a kind of middle staff to fill the gap. That was the beginning. Slowly PAID was created in Douala. Then the people saw that they did not cover Anglophone African countries, and so the branch in Buea was created for English-speaking African countries.

It was also realised that PAID in Douala for French-speaking African countries was not adapted for everyone and that at the same time the problems in the Sahel area were not the same as those in Douala or Central Africa. Therefore, it was decided that PAID should be created in the Sahel area based in Ouagadougou.

Later on, Anglophones complained that Buea was not adapted for the entire Africa. That is why another institute was created in Zambia for Southern and Eastern Africa.

Then Northern Africans said they are also Africans and so needed a regional institute in the North. That is how a regional institute for Northern Africa was created in 2010 based in Morocco and covering Northern African countries

Recently, Portuguese-speaking countries requested a regional institute. So it was decided during the meeting of the Governing Council to create PAID for Portuguese-speaking countries based in Bissau. And we welcome the decision of the government of Guinea Bissau which has granted diplomatic status to PAID in that country.

So that is how the idea came about. We now have six regional institutes plus an International Centre for Development that will be created in Yaounde, not only to produce development documents but at the same time to host the Executive Master’s and Ph.D. programmes for the development that PAID is also going to initiate. When this is complete, we would be covering the entire continent. Note that there are not many institutions covering the entire continent like PAID.

Can you give us the names of prominent Cameroonian and world personalities who have passed through PAID?

Yes, of course. I certainly do not know the names of all of them, so I will give you just the names of some. Currently, there are two members of the Cameroon government who passed through PAID. They are ZachariePerevet, minister of Employment and Vocational Training, and AdoumGaroua, minister of Sport and Physical Education. I am sure there are many others.

I also know that the president of the Economic and Social Council in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso is a former student of PAID as well as the director of ILO in Abuja, Nigeria. I think there are lots of them worldwide occupying very high political, economic and social positions.

All is certainly not rosy with PAID. What difficulties do you encounter as you strive to achieve your objectives?

You are right; all is not rosy with PAID. First of all, we need to have very highly qualified staff. And it is not easy to find high-level staff responding to the requirements of PAID. That is why we have decided to create the Ph.D. programme. We want to have home made products at that level. It is not easy.

Secondly, some years ago we had some difficulties due to the fact that the former officials did not take into account the fast pace at which PAID was going. For example, the financial situation was not good enough to respond to the needs of PAID. Fortunately, with the assistance of many countries amongst which is Cameroon, the institution is now in a position to overcome the challenges. But as I told you, we are coming up with the Executive Master’s and Ph.D. programmes. This means that to be very well respected we will work with other international universities and research centres. This means that we will request the services of professors and researchers from other universities who will come and settle in Buea or Burkina Faso or wherever we have PAID. It is a problem, but we hope that we are in a position to overcome all these challenges.

Thanks, Prof., for accepting to talk to The Median.

The pleasure is mine. It is a great thing that you men of the media are increasingly taking interest in PAID.