GERDDES AFRIQUE : Groupe d'Études et de Recherches sur la Démocratie et le Développement Economique et Social - Groupe d'Études et de Recherches sur la Démocratie et le Développement Economique et Social

    The GERDDES-AFRIQUE, a COInG Panafrican, founded to the beginning of the year 1990 by multi-field African intellectuals, was given for ambition to promote the democracy and the good governance in order to accelerate the development of the Continent. Its seat is located in Republic of Benign where it profits from a headquarters agreement with the government. It counts several dismemberments in the African countries of which most active currently are the GERDDES of the Benign one, of Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, the Africa Center and Mauritania.

    During four last years, the GERDDES AFRICA led many inherent activities to its main aim.

A brief summary of the aforesaid activities is presented in the lines which follow.

II. PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

The period 2004-2008 was marked by several major projects and programs:

1. Electoral program

The GERDDES AFRICA was very active on the ground of the electoral activities to Benign and in West Africa in general, through sensitizing, the training of the actors of the electoral play as well as monitoring and the observation of the elections, only or of coordination with CEDEAO or other organizations.

It is the case for example of:

- The presidential election of April 2005 in Togo

- The presidential election in Gabon in December 2005

- Presidential and legislative elections of April 2007 in Nigeria,

- The presidential election of Mars 2006 with the Benign one,

- The legislative election of Mars 2007 with the Benign one,

- The municipal election of April 2008 with the Benign one.

Moreover, it is necessary to insist on the great interest granted by the GERDDES AFRICA to the electoral events which proceeded in other countries of Africa and elsewhere and which was translated through the many official statements and press conferences.

Lastly, it should be noted that the GERDDES contributes its experiment and its share to the development of a computerized permanent electoral roll (LEPI) to Benign, within the framework of the dialogue of ONG Beninese for the LEPI.

2- Program GERDDES FM 89.5

The GERDDES also stressed the Community radio program which, in spite of some financial problems, functions normally. This radio is the instrument par excellence of the formation and the sensitizing of the communities at the base on the democratic ideals and the good governance. The programs diffused in French and in five local languages are centered on the democratic civic education and, the rights and duties of the citizen, the good governance and decentralization.

3- The reform program constitutional

The GERDDES AFRICA conceived, develops, defends and promotes the idea of constitutional reforms in conformity with realities, manners and the means of African. For this purpose, the “project of development of a constitutional Vade mecum” was worked out and submitted to the partners for financing (ACBF and CORDESIA).

4- Program of reform of the sector of safety in Africa

In April 2005, the GERDDES AFRICA organized with the support of the GFN-SSR, an international seminar on the reform of the sector of safety in Africa which gathered several experts from Africa and from Europe.

III PARTICIPATION HAS MEETINGS (SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES)

The GERDDES AFRICA, through its members, organized or was invited on several occasions to take share with meetings and seminars at the levels national and international; several members were designated to make presentations on various topics.

Under the national activities an accent must be put on:

- The mobilization of the GERDDES AFRICA against the constitutional revision and for alternation with Benign in Mars 2006,

- The participation in the manifestations of the league for the defense of the Human rights with Benign and of Amnesty International Benign,

- The participation in the conferences and periodic seminars of Pulpit UNESCO of Rights of the Person and the Democracy,

- The participation in the meetings of dialogue of the Beninese civil society for the development computerized permanent electoral roll (LEPI),

- Political and social mediation like formation of political parties (PRD and MSUP) Under the international activities, it is necessary to retain mainly:

- The participation in the meetings and the activities relating to the NEPAD and of the TICAD

- The participation in the general meeting of the francophonie held in Canada (Caraquet) in 2008 and with several conferences relating to the governorship and the democracy, of which that of Cotonou organized in partnership with the institute of Human rights (IDH) on “the constitutional practices and policies in Africa: the dynamic recent ones”. During this meeting, the Founder president developed the topic: “African Constitutions and good governance”,

- The participation in the political dialogue and of advanced research organized by the Council for the Development of Research in Social sciences in Africa (CORDESIA) during which the founder president developed the topic: “Policies of succession in the African Western democracies”, Cotonou, 24 September 25, 2007,

- The participation in the 2nd forum on the reinforcement of the capacities organized by African Capacity Foundation Building in 2007 in Maputo during which the founder president developed the topic “Reinforcement of the capacity in the African countries leaving the conflicts (internal) strategy, learned lessons and guides intervention”.

IV . COMMUNICATE AND PRESS CONFERENCES OF THE GERDDES AFRICA

Faithful to its practice and in the line line of its African Programme of Early Alarm and Prevention of Conflicts (RANGAP-C), the GERDDES-AFRIQUE delivered and diffused widely, in the press, on its Web site and its list of distribution of emails, of the hundreds of press releases to give its opinion on the world topicality and especially to invite the various actors with behaviors of peace and dialogues, in order to avoid conflicts.

With the number of these official statements, one can for example quote:

- To communicate of press on the situation in Guinea following the recent consecutive military coup d'etat to the death of Lansana Conté (December 2008)

- Contribution of the GERDDES AFRICA so that the Rwandan experiment is not repeated in Congo (DRC) (November 4, 2008)

- Open letter of the GERDDES AFRICA to the Heads of States of CEDEAO on the international financial crisis (November 2008)

- Press release on the food crisis and the activities of the International penal court (CPI) (July 2008)

- Official statement and open letter with the President of Niger about the detention of Foamed KAKA (October 2007)

- Official statement about the situation in Zimbabwe (Mars 2007)

- Official statement to denounce “the assassination” of Saddam Hussein (January 2007)

- Official statement about the American military interventions in Somalia (January 2007)

- Official statement on the implementation in Ivory Coast of the resolution n° 1721 of the Safety advice of the United Nations (November 2006)

- Etc

Press conferences were also organized about the situations in Chad, in Zimbabwe, in Kenya, with Benign and Senegal.

V- ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL GERDDES

The Benign GERDDES, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Africa Center and Mauritania are currently most active. They carry out their activities in an autonomous way and take part in the promotion of the democracy and the good governance in their respective countries.

1 Benign GERDDES

President: Me Wenceslas of SOUZA

- Formation, monitoring and observation of the elections presidential, legislative and local elections of 2006-2007

- Initiative of micro regional finance

- Civic and democratic training in student's medium

2 GERDDES Ivory Coast

President: Honore GUIE

- Participation in the observation of the elections in Nigeria (2007)

- Participation in the observation of the elections in Burkina-Faso (2006-2007)

- Participation in the observation of the elections in Benign (2008)

- Participation in the computerized revision of the electoral register and the process of identification of the voters (2008-2009)

- Participation in various seminars in West Africa.

3 GERDDES Burkina Faso

President: Alidou OUEDRAOGO

- Activities of formation, monitoring and participation in the observation of the elections of 2005 to 2008,

- Social and political mediation and programs education with the good governance (2005-2009)

4 GERDDES Centers Africa

President: Aristide SOKAMBI

- Social mediation and policy enter the political parties and the rebel movements,

- Program education with the fight against impunity,

- Inclusive seminar workshop and dialogues with the network of associations of the human rights

- Preparation with the management and the monitoring of the elections of 2010

5 GERDDES Mauritania

President: Maroufa DIABIRA

- Activities of social and political mediation and national reconciliation,

- Monitoring of the legislative and presidential elections.

VI OTHER ACTIVITIES

1 Within the framework of the debate relating to the revision of the Beninese constitution, the GERDDES AFRICA subjected in May 2008 at all the Institutions of the Republic, its proposals in order to obtain a constitution in conformity with realities and the means of the Benign one,

2 The GERDDES AFRICA initiated in 2005 a campaign for an alternation right and credible and against electoral violences post in Togo,

3 The GERDDES AFRICA brought its humanitarian aid to the Togolese refugees to Benign (2005),

4 A gift of works was made with the library Supreme court of Benign in 2008,

5 The information center of the GERDDES AFRICA, available to its seat in Porto-Novo (Akpro - Missérété), made it possible to serve an audience large and varied students and researchers,

6 The GERDDES AFRICA made the promotion of a micro shutter finances to finance micro the projects and to fight against poverty with Benign and in the countries sheltering the GERDDES Nationaux. The program is always being studied for its viability vis-a-vis competition of the governmental program of micro finance.

VII. PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

1 Project of seminar on the use of the TIC in the elections in Africa

2 Creation project with the seat of the GERDDES AFRICA in Porto-Novo, a regional school of the campaign organizers for center and West Africa with for objective reinforcement of the capacities under regional out of electoral matter and improvement of the monitoring of the elections. The Beninese government as well as the organizations under regional were solicited; the mobilization of the resources is in hand and should continue in 2009.

VIII . DIFFICULTIES AND PROSPECTS

The assessment of the four last years activities appears satisfactory taking into consideration the number and variety of the undertaken activities. However persistent difficulties prevent these actions from producing full effect.

Indeed, the major difficulty is related to the mobilization of the financial resources, kind to seek programs and projects perennial, able to generate themselves, the means of their operation and their evolution in the medium and long term.

The programme of reinforcement of the electoral capacities appreciated well generally, sorrow to find financings local. The appropriation awaited of controlling should be used as lever with the mobilization of the foreign resources.

Moreover, the dialogue between the civil society and the public authorities and political are not yet a tangible reality in a context where the civil society is often recovered by these actors to be used as development or guarantee with their actions.

Under the prospects, the GERDDES AFRICA, ambitionne to become a foundation whose crucial role will be to help of ONG young people to emerge and to mobilize the resources.