ENOUGH OF ENOUGH!

Below is the letter I wrote to the celebrity driven NGO, ENOUGH about the extent to which they are undermining effective civil society advocacy in the DRC.

Dear ENOUGH:

I currently work as Team Leader on a US government funded project to strengthen civil society advocacy for better governance. Your most recent communique on "conflict minerals" and much of your rhetoric to-date is unbalanced and therefore irresponsible. Your communique of May 27th fails to mention the DRC government's role in enforcing the rule of law and its failure to do so is the single most contributing factor to the lawlessness of the east - NOT American companies' use of "conflict minerals" in their products.

While I applaud your efforts to encourage responsible investment on the part of US-based multinational corporations - that is YOUR agenda and as part of your agenda, you should be encouraging local Congolese civil society to complement your agenda by having an agenda of their own which is to HOLD THE CONGOLESE GOVERNMENT TO ACCOUNT!!! Their agenda in this regard must NOT be subordinate to yours. It is in fact paramount! Instead, you use your ability to call attention to your agenda with celebrities and prominent personalities in a way that reinforces a negative dynamic - the tendency of Congolese to continuously attribute all of their problems and failings to external actors. It undermines their ability to apply pressure on all internal actors who are complicit in their country's profound dysfunctionality. And trust me, there are many!!! Yes, western countries and former colonial powers should assume responsibility for the role they have played in Africa's underdevelopment - but alas SO SHOULD AFRICANS!!!