 At first glance, Bolivia and Uganda do not have much in common. Both countries are on different continents, with different languages, cultures and histories. Yet, at a closer look, the differences seem less obvious.
As Jorge Quiroga (former President of Bolivia) points out, Bolivia and Uganda were the two first countries to receive debt relief from the World Bank and the IMF (...more information). They are also pilot countries for the World Bank's Comprehensive Development Framework (...more information) and have prepared Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (...more information). Another striking similarity is that both countries are relatively small, landlocked, surrounded by large neighbor countries and in the need to attract foreign investment. The presentation concentrates on the two most important challenges that both countries are facing:
- Poverty reduction
- Institutional reforms
The money has to follow the poor. According to Jorge Quiroga, in order to be successful, poverty reduction strategies have to follow the principles of decentralization (driven through local governance), progressive assignment of resources and oversight by civil society (i.e. recognizing neighborhood groups, indigenous groups, community groups). Following these principles should allow reducing poverty "within one or two generations". Crucial for successful poverty reduction is the connection with trade reform. Alleviating poverty in the long run can only be sustainable if people are given the opportunity to participate in selling goods and exporting products in order to earn a living. Without trade reform in
connection with poverty reduction we are going to end up like
the Rocky Movies, having more and more rounds of debt reductions
(a total of five Rocky Movies have been produced so far).
The infection that causes the fever (corruption) is institutional weakness. In a lot of developing countries there is no lack of economic reform. However, while we need to check the gasoline and oil of cars we also have to check the engine (i.e. the institutional framework - laws, public institutions, organizations - of a country). Institutional reforms, e.g. the creation of an independent judiciary, central banks, customs, tax collection, highway agencies, etc., are crucial for successful economic reforms. Institutions have to be permanent. They should not be "on the table", when it comes to the transfer of power. A law of civil service governance with independent supervision, public declaration of assets (how much money a public official has when he comes into office and how much when he leaves) are important to guarantee transparency and a working assignment of development resources. | Video Presentation To view the entire video:
[28 kbps]
To choose different parts of the presentation: Introduction: Similarities between Bolivia and Uganda.
[28 kbps] Poverty Reduction: The money has to follow the poor.
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Poverty Reduction and Trade Reform: Connection with the Rocky Movies.
[28 kbps]
Institutional Reforms: The infection that causes the fever (corruption) is institutional weakness.
[28 kbps]
Conclusion: More similarities between Bolivia and Uganda. [28 kbps]
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| Bolivia | Uganda | | Population: | 8.5
million | 22.8
million | | Surface area: | 1.1
million
sq km | 241
thousand
sq km | | Population growth: | | 2.1% | 2.6% | | GNI per capita: | | 960 US$ | 280 US$ | | GDP: | 8
billion US$ | 5.7
billion US$ | | (...more indicators). | (...more indicators).
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