Bal Samelan (Children’s Fair)
Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India, December 26-27, 2005

CUTS Centre for Human Development (CUTS-CHD), in association with Save the Children, UK, organised a Bal Samelan (Children’s Fair) under the ‘Rural Girl Empowerment Project’ to mark the International Child Exploitation Opposition Day and International Child Rights Day, at Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India, on December 26-27, 2005.

The children, small groups, debated on various subjects, such as violence against girl child: causes and solutions; restrictive elements in the development of child; views and perceptions of society with respect to the girl child; and special rights of girl child etc. In addition, children also presented various cultural programmes on child rights: violence against girl child; expectations of children from the society; child marriage, a social curse; and abortion of foetus as a social crime etc

The main objective of the programme was to create awareness in the community regarding child rights and to provide the children with a platform to display their skills.

Contact Person: Shashi Prabha

A Seminar on ‘National Consumers’ Day’
Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India, December 24, 2005

CUTS Centre for Human Development (CUTS-CHD), in association with District Supply Office organised a seminar on ‘National Consumers’ Day’, at Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India, on December 24, 2005.

The aim of the seminar was to inform and sensitise the consumers to be aware of their rights, so that they can fight against the social crimes like adulteration, counterfeiting and spurious products. Other issues linked to consumer protection, such as the need to revamp current consumer protection laws were also discussed.

Speaking on the occasion, District Collector Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Chief Guest said that it was the basic right of every consumer to live a secure and healthy life and for this they should be protected against products, production processes and services, which are hazardous to health or life. The consumers should be given the facts about a product and to be protected from misleading advertising and labelling. CUTS-CHD Coordinator, Dhanna Singh Rawat said that the consumers should be given a choice to select from a range of products and services, offered at competitive prices with assurances of satisfactory quality and effective redressal mechanism to receive a fair settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services.

Contact Person: Shashi Prabha

Indah: Indonesia
Indonesia has a national sugar policy that encompasses international policies, such as the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). The country’s support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has led to a massive restructuring of the sugar sector in the last 10 years, which has led to dramatic impacts on consumers and producers.

Sugar is a very important sector of the economy. It is vital as an energy source for the population, and plays an equally marked role in trade.

Indonesia is a net sugar importer. Production is concentrated around the island of Java. Prior to reforms, production was concentrated around small scale Government-owned factories, although there was private sector production as well. Before the reforms there were around 1000 factories processing sugar, and between 1981-1998 the Busan Urusan Logistic Nasional (BULOG) controlled sugar prices. Because production was concentrated in Java, sugar prices there were much lower than those in the other islands, and as a result, consumers in the other islands felt cheated.

When the Rupiah declined sharply, the sugar industry collapsed due to over- dependency on this commodity. The Indonesian Government started an IMF-sponsored structural adjustment programme (SAP), which involved a restructuring of the sugar sector away from public ownership, and towards private sector production. Over a number of stages, the number of sugar processors was reduced from 1000 to 10, with roughly half of the remaining 10 being state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

In Indonesia, the demand for sugar on average increased to 3.2 million tonnes per year during the reforms period. In 1996, production was about 2.1 million tonnes and it decreased to 1.5-1.7 million tonnes in 1998-2002. As a result, annual imports have been higher after 1998, which have been facilitated by increased openness to sugar imports. There were shortages in July-September 1998, and June-July 2000. In the year 1997- 1998, the price of sugar doubled. There has also been a problem of smuggling of the commodity.

What impact has this had on consumer and producer prices? Now that production is concentrated in a few hands, this has given the processors greater control over the prices paid to producers and consumers. Producers struggle to receive a price that is economically viable for them and these low producer prices have generally not led to lower prices for consumers as the importers, processors and retailers have captured the price differential. Also, the reforms have failed to deal with the grievances of the consumers and producers outside of Java.

BULOG still operates, but has failed to remedy these problems and support efficiency gains of sugar processors, two-thirds of which have significant inefficiencies.

Sophia: Canada
It may be observed that the typical commodity market is like an hourglass with numerous farmers at the bottom of the supply chain and many consumers at the top. The narrow middle section represents the importers, processors and marketers, small numbers of which frequently control the supply chain and extract most of the revenues.

Those who control the market have the ability to set prices and standards that farmers must adopt. Three scenarios have been highlighted below:

• Corporate role/power leads to international delegation;
• Companies set internal standards; and
• Information asymmetry results in little transparency in the international commodity market.

The market in many cases is characterised by vertical and horizontal integration. Horizontal integration is when a small numbers of firms control a particular sector, e.g., marketing, and this has been a common phenomenon for quite some time. What is more of a recent but growing phenomenon is vertical integration when one firm controls a large chunk of the supply chain and owns farms, provides inputs to farmers, transports the produce and markets it as well. One example of such a firm is the US firm Cargill.

We therefore, need competition rules to regulate trade internationally, and make sure that the benefits of the supply chain are spread more evenly. Canada is one example of public regulation that has played this role, where a wheat board controls the supply chain and is a non-profit organisation (NGO), the debts of which are underwritten by the Canadian Government. However, the Government has only had to intervene financially on a few occasions and the system has generally worked well.

When we look at the situation in developing countries, these problems become more sensitive, as food security becomes a serious issue. It is very important in this regard to give developing countries the policy space to craft their own development plans on agricultural cultivation, production and marketing, and to develop a regulatory system that pays attention to the interests of all parts of/in the supply chain.

The agricultural sector has to be dealt with quite carefully with respect to market concentration, as many areas of the supply chain, for example processing, are capital intensive and benefit from a degree of market concentration.

Issues From the Floor:
It is important to look again very carefully at the structure of economies in developing countries. For example, Kenya has only 8 percent of arable land. Services account for 60 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore, should the emphasis not lie in services, as in many cases, developing countries may never be self-sufficient in agricultural production? Also, given the structure of their economies, their comparative and competitive advantage may lie in other sectors. Perhaps, it is time not to concentrate too much on the agriculture debate at the expense of other issues. Many people in Kenya oppose the import of sugar, however, the country cannot produce enough to satisfy demand, and export restrictions merely work to increase prices for consumers.

In many instances, developing countries have a problem of supply bottlenecks that are due to poor infrastructure development and maintenance. In this light, even if developing countries are granted market access, they would find it difficult to export their products, or what is even more disappointing, they may not have any products to export.

The key question should be whether we want trade, then competition or competition, then trade. Often, countries do not set up the right regulatory framework and therefore, it is of no surprise that trade doesn’t achieve the objectives that it sets out for producers and consumers.

It is important for developing countries to craft their own national development plan where emphasis is placed on economic development, and then, trade policy should be crafted according to this strategy. Trade policy should not be formulated before the development plan.

It is very hard to identify key points in the supply chain where competition legislation can be utilised to tackle these problems, and we need to think more creatively about how we can identify specific areas where competition policy can play a role. This is also quite a sensitive area, as in some cases, tackling the difficulties producers face in receiving suitable prices might lead to price rises for consumers, and this impact has to be weighed against the benefits to producers.

If we look at the way economies develop, there is a movement away from agricultural production towards manufacturing and services, with the agricultural sector playing a reducing role in national income and employment as development progresses. We have to be careful that in tackling these complex supply chain problems, we don’t advocate policies that set back the development process, and that, agriculture is encouraged to become more efficient so that it can support the rest of the economy more effectively. I am concerned that the proposals for sensitive and special products in the agriculture negotiations are going to promote the survival of inefficient farmers, whereas, an increased openness to import these products would help the agricultural sector to orient itself towards more efficient production.

In response to the last statement, the problem many developing countries face is that, in order for farmers to move away from so-called inefficient sectors and encourage the development of sectors outside agriculture, sufficient opportunities are needed outside of agriculture into which they can move. However, many developing countries don’t have the resources, institutions and infrastructure to develop these alternative sectors efficiently. Also, the progressive liberalisation agenda being pushed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international institutions is making it increasingly difficult for many developing countries, to maintain the policy space, to develop these alternative livelihoods and forms of employment.

Does Trade Lead to Poverty Reduction: Voices From the Grassroots
Hong Kong, December 15, 2005

Contrary to the populist belief and perception that trade leads to poverty reduction, this meeting organised by CUTS Centre for Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE) set the record the straight. Eminent panellists drew similar conclusions that the linkages between trade and poverty reduction are not yet clear or evident. There may be a few examples to prove that this link exists but these cases are stray and do not constitute a decent sample size in order for any substantial generalisation.

Kamal Malhotra, Senior Adviser, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that trade liberalisation does not always lead to poverty reduction and trade can only be one of the means to reducing poverty. To look at trade as an end in itself to poverty reduction would be a very micro approach to issues surrounding poverty. He quoted the example of Vietnam, which is not member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and yet has been growing steadily over the past few years. Countries ought to dismantle trade barriers as they grow instead of reducing trade barriers as a pre-request to growth.

Dr. Venkatesh Sheshamani reiterated the fact that the links between trade and poverty reduction are tenuous and empirical evidence also proves this. Poverty reduction is closely linked with human development and a far more holistic approach is needed. To assume that trade leads to poverty reduction needs to be examined in the light of various other cyclical factors of poverty, such as literacy, access to resources, health care etc., which are very complex issues.

Jean Pierre Lehman was of the opinion that relaxing domestic regulations play a very important role in reaping the benefits of trade. He quoted the example of India, which has not taken adequate benefits accruing from trade due to its inflexible domestic regulations, which were in place in the past.

Anil K Singh of Network of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (NEED), an entrepreneur from India stated that the need of the hour was a bottom-up approach, one where community members mobilise themselves in the form of self-help groups (SHG). Though there were benefits from the trickle down effect of trade, assistance in the form of trade facilitation would be welcome.

Otto Genee, Policy Coherence Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands, a member from the Dutch Government who came in place of Agnes Van Ardenne, Minister for Development Cooperation, The Netherlands, placed the onus of poverty reduction on the local governments of countries. He stressed on the importance of domestic policies in promoting better wages, working conditions and standard of living, as these were internal issues that needed to be worked out between the people and the local government. Though international trade plays a role in so far as exports are concerned, the tentacles of the WTO are expanding its influence into domestic issues as well. Therefore, it is imperative for governments to keep in mind the linkages and strive towards domestic policies that are pro-poor and in favour of the marginalised.

South-South Cooperation for Development must withstand the Emerging Political Pressures
Hong Kong December 15, 2005

On the fringes of the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial, CUTS International, Jaipur, organised a high level session to promote South-South cooperation. The session brought together representatives from the government, the private sector and the civil society organisations (CSOs) to explore future prospects and strategies for promoting South-South cooperation.

Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International pointed out the increasing importance of South-South cooperation on trade and highlighted the fact that currently about 35 percent of least developing countries (LDCs) exports are to fellow LDCs.

He also stated, “the challenge of continuing this cooperation even with the competitive pressure that it generates amongst developing countries needs to be faced head-on and requires strong political commitment to find solutions.”

The challenge of deepening South-South cooperation was put into the context of the ongoing Hong Kong Ministerial by Toufiq Ali, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the WTO. Arriving fresh from deliberations at the Ministerial, he updated attendees on the attempts by developed countries to split the LDC group over the issue of duty-free and quota free access to their markets.

The US, along with other developed countries, is currently resisting efforts to offer textile and sugar producing LDCs the duty-free and quota free access to their markets.

Representing the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Johannesburg, Mills Soko, emphasised the need for the South-South cooperation agenda to be more focused in developing concrete projects to stimulate cooperation. He highlighted cooperation amongst India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) in the aerospace industry as an example to emulate.

Capacity Building Workshop under the Farmers’ Rights Programme (Phase-II)
December 13, 2005, Dehradun

CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre (CUTS-CRC), in association with the Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), organised a capacity building workshop under the Farmer’s Rights Programme (Phase-II), at Dehradun, Uttaranchal, on December 13, 2005.

The objective was to enhance capacity of farmers, who must have their say on the question of sharing the natural resources preserved by them for over hundreds of years.

Vijay Kumar Dhoundiyal, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Uttaranchal; S M A Kazmi, Special Correspondent, Indian Express; Dr Ghayur Alam, Director, Centre for Sustainable Development, Dehradun; Kunwar Prasun of ‘Beej Bachao Andolan’ (save seed movement) from Tehri Garhwal were present in the workshop and expressed their views. Around 50 participants from all over Uttaranchal participated in the workshop.

For further details please contact:
Debottam Chakraborty
Email: calcutta@cuts.org, cutscal@vsnl.com

Synergising LDC and Developing Country Priorities
Hong Kong, China, December 13, 2005

CUTS-ARC, in collaboration with civil society partners, organised a panel discussion on ‘Synergising LDC and Developing Country Priorities’ in Hong Kong on the sidelines of the Sixth WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting on December 13, 2005. The event was a part of ICTSD’s Hong Kong Trade and Development Symposium.

The objective of the discussion was to promote cooperation between the developing and least developed countries (LDCs) in the WTO system by identifying areas of common interests and priorities in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations.

A group of 11 Members of Parliament (MPs) from a cross section of political parties formally launched the Parliamentarians’ Economic Policy (PAR-FORE) in a meeting hosted by Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) at New Delhi.

CUTS Secretary General, Pradeep S Mehta welcomed all the participants and informed them that the Forum has received assents from 45 MPs, who wish to create a non-partisan forum to address the economic policy issues which can help India move forward. The PAR-FORE is set up as a result of a collective initiative taken up by five MPs representing different political parties. Since the very beginning, CUTS has been at the forefront of facilitating the entire process.

In this inaugural meeting, the PAR-FORE discussed two crucial issues: (i) Regulatory Autonomy and Accountability; and (ii) WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference: What is at Stake for India. For this, CUTS had prepared and distributed ‘Issue Notes’ (a two-page paper on a single issue related to trade and economic equity) in advance on both the issues with the objective of providing a brief to the Parliamentarians. A typical ‘Issue Note’ contains an overview of the subject along with identification of critical issues that have implications on policy formulation.

After the first issue, Regulatory Autonomy and Accountability, was discussed at length, the participants felt the need for a closer attention to it. The MPs expressed concern about the need to address the gaps in the regulatory framework in India. Further, the practice of appointing retired bureaucrats in regulatory bodies was also debated, a trend the MPs wanted to stop it.

On the Hong Kong Ministerial of WTO, MPs opined that all matters must be discussed in depth after the Ministerial is over. Other than the substantive issues, the Forum also discussed the matters related to the process evolution.

The participants endorsed that the PAR-FORE offers a fit platform for MPs to share views and ideas on economic policy issues on an informal basis, which would help in inculcating better understanding, and subsequently, in reaching a consensus on contentious issues.

A suggestion was, therefore, made to CUTS to continue preparing detailed analysis on various bills, which are to be presented in the Parliament, and organise such meetings to discuss them. It was felt that such a discussion would help MPs in understanding the bills better and hence facilitate their effective participation in the debates.

Some of the MPs who attended the launch meeting were: Yashwant Sinha, Dinesh Trivedi, N K Premchandran (All of them are initiators of PAR-FORE); Sharad Joshi, R. Sambasiva Rao; Khabiruddin Ahmed; Ram Singh Kaswan; Sartaj Singh and Annasahib Patil. All of them come from different political parties. Many of the MPs, who endorsed the participation, could not turn up because of winter session of Parliament.

It was decided that CUTS would draw up calendar for the year 2006 and organise meetings of the PAR-FORE at Delhi on Wednesdays during the Parliamentary session.

AIDS Awareness Programme
Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India, December 01-15, 2005

CUTS-CHD, in association with CARE India and District Health Department, Chittorgarh, organised ‘AIDS Awareness Programme’ at Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India, during December 01-15, 2005.

The programme aimed at social mobilisation in order to promote awareness on HIV/AIDS among the youth and the community.

Information-based Advocacy, Networking, and
Capacity Building on NEPAD in Zambia
Lusaka, Zambia, November 29-30, 2005

The workshop organised by CUTS-ARC, Lusaka, in association with Participatory Ecological Land-Use Management (PELUM), Zambia was held under the partnership project entitled: ‘Information-based Advocacy, Networking, and Capacity Building on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in Zambia’, supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) at Lusaka, Zambia, on November 29-30, 2005.

The workshop aimed at integrating NEPAD agriculture programmes into the National Development Plan, and build capacity among development actors from both civil society and the government to have a comprehensive understanding of the programmes.

Consumer Awareness on Rational Use of Drugs
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, November 26, 2005

CUTS-CART organised the campaign involving students form different schools, as a part of the Consumer Awareness Generation Programme under the project, ‘Rational Use of Drugs (RUD)’, supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Office of the Drug Controller General of India, at Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on November 26, 2005.

Deepak Saxena of CUTS International and Rajeshwari Kalia, Principal, Government Girls Senior Secondary School were the resource persons of the event. Under the campaign, different sessions of debates on RUD were conducted including a documentary film. More than 150 students participated in the campaign.

Strategic Review of WTO provided Trade Related Technical Assistance Activities
Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2005

The Inception workshop of the ‘Strategic Review of WTO provided Trade Related Technical Assistance Activities’ was organised by CUTS at Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2005.

The strategic review will look at WTO’s comparative advantage in offering trade-related technical assistance vis-à-vis other agencies, the relevance of WTO’s programme to the members and the participants, and efficiency and management of WTO-provided technical assistance. Implementation and methodology were discussed and finalised in the Inception workshop attended by the project partners; Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO, Argentina) and Canada-based North-South Institute; and members of the project’s Steering Committee.

Bal Samelan (Children’s Fair)
Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India, November 19-20, 2005

CUTS Centre for Human Development (CUTS-CHD), in association with Save the Children, UK, organised a Bal Samelan (Children’ Fair) on the theme, ‘Our Initiative against Violence on Girl’ to mark the International Child Exploitation Opposition Day and International Child Rights Day at Banrea District, Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India, on November 19-20, 2005.

In the inaugural session, Kamla Mali, the Village Pradhan (head of village council) of the Banera Panchayat Samiti (village council) said, “Any kind of injustice, atrocity, maltreatment or discrimination against girls is a not only a sin, but also a social curse. If no effective steps are taken to counter injustice, atrocities and discrimination committed against the girls, then the country will have to pay a very heavy price for it, and the girls of this country will never forgive us”. She further said that the girls should, like the boys, also be given equal opportunities of education, care and development.

Srinivas Tripathi, Tahsildaar of Banera, expressing his views, said that it is the moral duty of the society and the government to protect and foster the child rights in all circumstances. While addressing the event, Development officer of Banera, J P Shrimali said that various government projects and programmes are being conducted in order to protect the rights of the children and their development, but the benefits of these programmes and projects will reach them only when the society becomes aware and sensitive.

Dhanna Singh Rawat, Coordinator of CHD, in his speech, said that in order to eliminating all forms of discrimination against the girl child and at the same time promoting gender equality and equal access to services, including basic education, an forceful social movement is necessary.

In the second session, children, small groups, debated on various subjects, such as violence against girl child: causes and solutions; restrictive elements in the development of child; views and perceptions of society with respect to the girl child; and special rights of girl child etc. In addition, children also presented various cultural programmes on child rights; violence against girl child; expectations of children from the society; child marriage, a social curse; and abortion of foetus as a social crime etc.

In the two-day programme, attendees included various CUTS’ staff belonging to Child Panchayats and more than 135 children and social workers participated in the programme.

For further details please contact:
Dhanna Singh Rawat
Email: chd@cuts.org

CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS-CART), in association with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) organised a programme on ‘Standardisation of Products and Consumers’ Awareness,’ at Alwar, Rajasthan, India, on November 16, 2005.

Welcoming the resource persons and participants, CUTS representative Dharmendra Chaturvedi briefed the CUTS’ activities being performed in the field of consumer awareness. He explained the consumer rights provided in the Consumer Protection Act 1986, and how consumers should use their rights at various levels of redressal mechanisms. He also outlined the responsibilities of the consumers while purchasing goods or availing services.

Addressing the conference, Director of BIS Amitabh Mukherji, said that BIS provides standards on products after ensuring their quality and variety. He also explained to the rural consumes the procedure to be adopted for the standardisation of products. Mukherji cautioned the consumers against the duplicate products.

Elaborating the BIS procedure, Mukherji said that while providing ISI mark on the products, Bureau mainly focuses on the quality of the products. He further added that the manufacturers deceive the consumer by using wrong ISI Mark. Hence, pamphlets were distributed to inform the consumers in order to ensure and verify right ISI Mark and Registration No. on the products, which is invariably indicated. He also suggested that consumers should bring the duplicate cases to the notice of the BIS, so that legal action could be taken.

Participants also raised many queries related to ISI Mark on products such as adulteration in food products, consumer rights and complaints, etc., which BIS Officer and representatives of CUTS replied to their queries. More than 50 representatives participated in the programme.

For further details please contact:
Dharmendra Chaturvedi
Email: cart@cuts.org

The project on Rational Use of Drugs is simultaneously being implemented in nine states of India. The project aims to make consumers aware about their rights and responsibilities regarding proper use of medicines through consumer awareness programmes. As part of the awareness programmes, public interfaces were organised in four districts of each of the nine states. In West Bengal, two such programmes were organised at Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, on November 11, 2005 and Palsa Pally, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, on November 21, 2005 respectively. The programmes included screening the short documentary film on rational use of drugs and engaged the audience in an interactive session presided over by a resource person. The objective was to create awareness at the rural level.

For further details please contact:
Rupa Mazumdar
Email: cutscrc@vsnl.com, calcutta@cuts.org

CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre (CUTS-CRC), in association with the Department of Commerce and Industries, Government of West Bengal organised an orientation workshop on World Trade Organisation (WTO) issues, with the top-level officials from Government of West Bengal. The half-a-day programme was organised at the boardroom of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) on November 11, 2005. S Kishore, Executive Director, WBIDC gave the welcome address to the participants while Bipul Chatterjee, Director, CUTS-CITEE explained in detail the probable strategies to defend the stake of West Bengal in the new era of economic reforms. Pradeep Kumar Chakraborty, Joint Secretary, Cottage & Small Scale Industries Department, Utpal Kumar Biswas from Department of Science & Technology attended the workshop.

For further details please contact:
Dalia Dey
Email: cutscrc@vsnl.com, calcutta@cuts.org

Circle-level Orientation of CUTS-FES Power Sector Reforms (Churu) Phase II
Churu, Rajasthan, India, November 09, 2005

As a part of the activities of the Phase II of CUTS-FES Project on 'Involvement of Consumers in Power Sector Reforms’, a series of seven orientation workshops will be organised in 12 identified circles of Rajasthan, India, from June 18, 2005 to May 20, 2006. The seventh workshop, in the series, was organised in Churu, Rajasthan, India, on November 09, 2005.

The objective of the programme was to facilitate an active involvement of the consumers in power sector reforms.

Kepa Zambia, Civil Society Trade Network of Zambia (CSTNZ) and Consumer Unity Society Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC) jointly organized a one day workshop titled: Non State Actors workshop on a common position for Hong Kong in Lusaka 3rd November 2005. The objectives of the workshop were; to provide a proactive forum to brainstorm, lobby and advocate for a more pro focused National Position paper. To create an opportunity to discuss the draft Non State Actors (NSA) national priority paper and make recommendations to the Zambian delegation for the 6th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Hong Kong Ministerial, and to flag on priority issues to be considered by the Zambian Government at the 6th WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.

When presenting the Draft Position Paper University of Zambia Lecture Mr. Dale Mudenda said that, it is evident that without sufficient assistance in form of aid, technical assistance and debt relief, Least Developed Countries (LDCs) will be unable to cope with the emerging challenges of globalization. Thus these should make part of the pillars of successfully developing the LDCs and integrate them into the Multilateral Trading System.

Speaking at the workshop Mr. Stephen Muyakwa coordinator of CSTNZ, said that there is need to address the issue of the Standards. As this has affected Zambia’s capacity to penetrate Markets of Developed Countries (DCs). He further said that LDCs should be involved in setting of standards, and DC should not change standards without consultations with all parties involved.

The workshop called on the Zambian Government not to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) in its current form. Following further discussions it was established that Zambia should undertake Impact Assessment Studies before responding to requests and giving offers when trading in services. In conclusion the workshop called for transparency in the decision making process.

For further details please contact:
Vladimir
Email: lusaka@cuts.org

Kepa Zambia, Civil Society Trade Network of Zambia (CSTNZ) Consumer Unity and Trust Society-Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC) and Panos jointly organized a one day Media Training workshop on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 2nd November 2005 in Lusaka. The training workshop was being held with the objectives of creating awareness amongst journalists about WTO, to enable journalists understand WTO agreements and their implication for Zambia, to encourage media reporting on trade and WTO issues and their implication on Zambia.

The workshop discussed a number of issues ranging from international trade and WTO, the Zambian perspective, WTO negotiations and LDCs, Cotton Trade and WTO rulings: implications for Zambia. Journalistic issues: reporting trade from a human angle.

It was outlined during the workshop through a presentation made by Zindikilane Dhaka of Organization Development and Community Management Trust (ODCMT) that Zambian cotton farmers have been disadvantaged under the Multilateral Trading System. The reason for this is: the declining of cotton prices on the international market. He said that there is absence of a proper pricing mechanism to address the shortfall.

Speaking at the same workshop Jack Jones Zulu of Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) called on the media in Zambia to build capacity for effective engagement in Trade and Development at all levels. He further said that Zambia should take advantage of its membership in the WTO to negotiate for trade rules that would respond to the needs of its domestic economy.

For further details please contact:
Vladimir
Email: lusaka@cuts.org

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is an initiative launched by four African heads of state to promote the development of Africa within the framework of a new partnership between the African continent and the other parts of the world. At the first summit meeting of the African Union, held in Durban in July 2002, the African heads of state and government agreed on a formal declaration to realise the initiative.

As part of the process towards attaining NEPAD objectives, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Zambia, in collaboration with Consumer Unity and Trust Society-Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and technical support from United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) held a NEPAD Action Plan workshop from 26-28 October 2005. The objective of the workshop was to review and adopt the Zambia NEPAD Action Plan (ZNAP).

The workshop dialogued on key issues under Infrastructure (Energy, Transport, Information Communication Technologies, Water and Sanitation, Science and Technology) Agriculture and Tourism, Mining and Investment, Education, Health and HIV/AIDS, Gender and Youths.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) resident representative in Zambia during his address to the workshop urged Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) to continue efforts aimed at maintaining political stability. And to foster efforts towards strengthening continued sub-regional integration. He further commended Zambia for being the 24th country to have acceded to the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). He further highlighted thatt the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and NEPAD are inseparable.

Speaking during the same workshop the G8 representative indicated that the share of Sub-Sahara global trade has been reduced to halve. This necessitates efforts aimed at building Africa’s capacity to trade. The G8 representative informed the workshop that the G8 are committed to work with the Zambian government.

Zambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Honorable Ronnie Shikapwasha M.P officially opened the workshop. He said that while Zambia has market access in the area of trade under Canadian Initiative, Everything But Arms (EBA) the African growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). NEPAD on the other hand is comprehensive and its effective implementation will lead to the attainment of the MDGs.

The workshop reached a number of agreements; it called for the establishment of the NEPAD implementation committee, and the strengthening of the National Secretariat to include all stakeholders. The Secretariat is being currently housed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The workshop urged the government to incorporate the ZNAP into the fifth National Development Plan (FNDP).

There was absence of the private sector participation at the workshop as it is widely held that the private sector is significant in the implementation of NEPAD projects. The absence brought about a shortfall in identifying projects under various sectors for implementation through NEPAD.

For further details please contact:
Vladimir
Email: lusaka@cuts.org

Final Consultation on South-South Economic Cooperation:
Exploring Mekong-Ganga Relationship
Bangkok, Thailand
October 26-27, 2005

CUTS-CITEE, in association with Centre for Ecological Economics (CEE), organised the Final Consultation of the Project ‘South-South Economic Cooperation: Exploring Mekong-Ganga Relationship’, at Bangkok, Thailand, on October 26-27, 2005. Supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the project aims at exploring and analysing trade and investment relationship between India and four countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), viz., Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam.

The meeting brought together business bodies, policy makers, media, research institutions, civil society organisations (CSOs) and representatives of international and intergovernmental organisations to discuss the findings of the project research and deliberate on issues for better economic cooperation between India and GMS countries.

For further details please contact:
Pooja Sharma
Email: citee@cuts.org

CUTS Centre for Action, Research & Training (CUTS-CART) and CUTS Centre for Human Resource Development (CUTS-CHD), in collaboration with South Asia Social Accountability Network (SASANet) of the Word Bank (WB), has taken up a new project, ‘Participatory Expenditure Tracking and Survey on Midi-day meal Scheme’ in Rajasthan- focusing Chittorgarh district. The project Launch Meeting and orientation of surveyors was organised on October 21, 2005 at hotel Padmini, Chittorgarh.

In the inaugural session, , Ashutosh Gupta, District Collector, Chittorgarh addressed the meeting as the chief guest. Key-note addresses were delivered by district education officer (DEO) chief executive officer, Zila Parishad, Chittorgarh, Pradhan, panchyat samiti, Chittorgarh; J V R Murthy WB representative, George Cheriyan, CUTS Assistant Director, K.C. Sharma and Dhanna Singh Rawat, Project Coordinators.

The other distinguished participants were: block development officers (BDOs), panchayat samiti/gram panchayat representatives, teachers, non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives, surveyors and other social Activists. More than 100 representative from all over the district participated in the Launch Meeting.

In the second session of the workshop, 28 surveyors (2 from each block) from all the 14 blocks of Chittorgarh district participated in the orientation programme. The survey will be conducted in 221 Government/Non-Government Primary Schools covering all the 14 blocks of Chittorgarh district.

Objective of the Launch Meeting:
• To analyse total budget planned and sanctioned by Central/State Government for ‘Mid-day meal Scheme’ with a view to ensure its proper utilisation;
• To study problems to be faced during its implementation and to measure its contribution towards achieving education for all, ensuring food security and addressing malnutrition among children, especially of poorest/marginalised sections and girl child’
• To assess how far the existence of formal mechanism of public accountability is guaranteeing accountability on the ground;
• To work towards building transparency and actual accountability in the public expenditure process;
• To know the perception of the common people and executing agencies from state level to gram panchayat/School level about the implementation of the scheme;
• To empower the target groups through awareness building on, and demystification of, the public expenditure process and to ultimately build-up an informed and ‘critical-minded’ society that can make transformation in the public expenditure process, and in specific to contribute towards the improvement of the Mid-day meal Scheme in the state; and
• To enhance, through this process, the capacity of the implementing organisation and other stakeholders in the Public Expenditure Tracking.

Reproductive and Child Health Nutrition and AIDS Programme
Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India
October 15, 2005

CUTS Centre for Human Development (CUTS-CHD), in association with CARE, India is implementing Reproductive and Child Health Nutrition and AIDS Programme (RACHNA), during October 15, 2005 to March 31, 2006. The Project Launch meeting was organised at Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India, on October 15, 2005.

The objectives of the project are to improve the quality and coverage of maternal and child health services in Mandalgarh and Surwana block of Bhilwara district and engage and strengthen the local government bodies for community engagement process.

For further details please contact:
Dhanna Singh Rawat
Email: chd@cuts.org

World Mental Health Day
Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India
October 15, 2005

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, a meeting was organised in the premises of CUTS-CHD, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India, on October 15, 2005.

The meeting was held to discuss the ways to reduce the number of increasingly growing patients of mental illness because of tension and stress in the society and to disseminate the right information to mentally ill people about their rights and related laws.

For further details please contact:
Dhanna Singh Rawat
Email: chd@cuts.org

Circle-level Orientation of CUTS-FES Power Sector Reforms (Jodhpur) Phase II
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
October 15, 2005

As a part of the activities of the Phase II of CUTS-FES Project on 'Involvement of Consumers in Power Sector Reforms’, daylong orientation workshops will be organised in 12 identified circles of Rajasthan, India, from June 18, 2005 to May 20, 2006. The sixth workshop, in the series, was organised in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, on October 15, 2005.

The major objective of the workshop was to facilitate an active involvement of the consumers in power sector reforms.

For further details please contact:
Deepak Saxena
Email: cart@cuts.org

Involvement of Consumers in the Power Sector Reforms in Rajasthan
Fifth Circle-level Training Workshop
Jalore, Rajasthan, India, September 10, 2005

The fifth circle-level training workshop under the second phase of the CUTS-FES programme was organised at Jalore, Rajasthan, on September 10, 2005. Nearly 110 participants, coming from almost all blocks of Jalore district took part in the event.

The resource persons were R S Choudhary, Chief Engineer of Jodhpur Discom, O P Mangal, Executive Engineer of Jodhpur Discom. Shashi Kanwar and Mohan Parashar, were the other speakers from technical side.

Apart from the above, Deepak Saxena of CUTS Centre for Consumer Action Research and Training (CUTS-CART), networker Mahendra Ojha and Murarilal Sharma were also the speakers. Sessions on capacity building and awareness in power sector reforms, power tariff settings, role of consumer organisations were also conducted.
The event got a good media coverage.

For further details please contact:
Deepak Saxena
Email: cart@cuts.org

• Underlying legislations need to be reviewed and modernised as per the changed circumstances;
• The legislations creating regulatory agencies should clearly lay down the objectives and boundaries of government’s policy;
• Objectives of regulation should be clearly spelt out in the enabling legislation and regulatory agencies should work within the framework spelt out in the legislation;
• Distinction between ‘policy’ and ‘non-policy’ issues need to be clearly spelt out;
• Regulators should be involved in the evolution of the policy;
• The manner and process through which government issues policy directives to regulator should be clearly spelt out in the regulatory law;
• Proper consultation/public hearing should be organised prior to issuing of policy directives to regulators. A gist of the discussions between the ministry and the regulator should be made public;
• Appropriate mechanism should be in place to ensure that the policy directives remain consistent with the overall objectives of the Act.

• Regulatory agencies are to be made autonomous by legislation. Therefore, the line ministry will have no occasion to intervene in their functioning
• Given the fact that regulatory agencies are instrumental in realising the policy objectives stated by the government, the line-ministry should defend and back the regulator’s decisions before the legislature whenever required;
• Having provision in the law for government superseding the regulatory agencies is not desirable. In case of force majeure and/or for security reasons, the government is anyway competent to do so;
• There should be regular consultations between the line-ministry and the regulator; the RBI-Ministry of Finance interface model should be replicated wherever feasible
• A Parliamentary Committee on Regulation and Competition should be established as the reporting authority to the Parliament for all regulatory agencies. The Committee’s domain should be confined to systemic issues only and not the individual decisions and orders of regulators. In case of operational matters, the regulator is anyway accountable to the Appellate Tribunal and the Judiciary (High Courts and the Supreme Court);
• Regulatory agency should submit an activity and outcome report to the legislature through the proposed Parliamentary Committee on Regulation and Competition;
• Constituting multi-sectoral regulators, such as one for energy and another for transport, would reduce the possibility of regulatory capture by the line-ministry.

• Regulatory mandate should be clearly specified in the Act itself;
• Regulatory agencies have to be provided with the power commensurate with the mandate given to them;
• Each regulatory objective should be examined and an assessment made about the powers the regulator would require to attain stated objectives. Doing so would ensure that regulatory powers do not fall short to attain the given mandate, effectively.

• A Committee comprising of eminent people should be constituted to select regulators for various regulatory agencies at central and state level;
• Proper manpower planning should be done to ensure that selection of regulator is made in advance of a position falling vacant;
• To identify the right person, applications should be invited against pre-determined selection criteria;
• Regulators should be given a fixed tenure of 5 years with a maximum age limit of 60 years for appointment;
• Restrictive provisions that deter people from business/non-government sector to move to regulatory bodies should be removed. Subject experts should be encouraged to joint regulatory bodies on deputation;
• The prevailing practice of sinecure needs to be discouraged. The bottom line is to encourage experts and young professionals to join such positions;
• Offer enough compensation to attract young professionals to join regulatory bodies;
• Former regulators should not be allowed to join a position of profit, for a time of one year;
• Department of Personnel, Government of India, should be designated as the Administrative Agency for regulatory bodies, responsible for functions such as, release of appointment letter to regulators, approving budget, and other administrative matters;
• Prior to induction, regulators and their staff should be provided with a short-term training.

• Protection against arbitrary removal by the government is necessary;
• Member of a regulatory agency should be removed only in case of a proven guilt or inability established in a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. The proposed Committee on Regulation and Competition should order to initiate such probe, whenever necessary.

• Establish a common appellate tribunal with regional benches for a broad set of regulators, for instance one for infrastructure sector and another for financial sector;
• The law should provide for an appeal against a regulator’s decision before the Common Appellate Tribunal first and then to the Supreme Court. The appeal should be made on points of law only.
• The power to deal with disputes should be with the regulator, not the Tribunal. 

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Regulation & Competition should be the reporting authority to the Parliament for regulatory agencies; it should not depend on the CAG’s staff rather have own staff with suitable expertise;
• The proposed Parliamentary Committee can call regulators for an explanation, in case of systemic issues;
• Create a Consumer Advocacy Fund to build the capacity of consumer/civil society groups so that they can raise consumer concerns more effectively and to facilitate review of regulator’s performance by an important stakeholder group;
• Performance of a regulator should be evaluated through a peer/external review system against the given mandate;
• Political parties and government should give their feedback to the regulator on issues where feedback has been sought from stakeholders. Besides, they should participate in the open discussions/hearings conducted by the regulator.

• Regulatory agencies should be allowed to generate resources on their own through fee, cess, etc wherever possible, and be allowed to spend the same as well;
• The financial requirements proposed by regulator should be linked with their work plan for a certain time period (say next 3 years) and approved by the proposed Administrative Agency i.e. Department of Personnel;
• Regulators should be given the liberty to hire required staff on contract and appoint consultants, in a transparent manner.

CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment in partnership with Research & Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) organised the National Consultation of the Project titled “South-South Economic Cooperation: Exploring Mekong-Ganga Relationship” on 1st September 2005 at India Habitat Centre [Silver Oak II] New Delhi.

The objective of the National Consultation was to facilitate cross-fertilisation of experiences and lessons learnt on economic (trade and investment) cooperation between India and select Mekong countries in order to develop appropriate policy responses and also to discuss project-related activities and methodology for the implementation. Representatives from academia, business chambers, government and inter-governmental organizations and civil society were present.

In addition, the meeting also aimed to strengthen the capacity of Indo-China countries on issues of South-South trade and investment cooperation by providing necessary know-how and do-how to policy-makers, business community, civil society and other stakeholders.

10.00-10:30: Registration
10.30-11.00: Inaugural Session

• The meeting started with welcome remarks by Nagesh Kumar [Director General, RIS].

  • After a time bound research RIS has discovered that India is in the middle, playing a key role in helping in bridging the gap between the two set of countries in ASEAN (old members and new members) e.g.: in human resource development, infrastructure development and sharing economic development and integration experiences/expertise.
• According to S.D Muni [former Ambassador of India in Lao PDR] the India country report is very comprehensive and focused on critical areas. He made the following observations:

  • The old name of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, “Swarnabuymi” was not appropriate since it created a Thai dominance impression. Lao and Cambodia did not agree with the name. Mr. Muni indicated that while smaller countries of the region were conscious of the dominance of Thailand and Vietnam, at the same time India was considered as an economic cushion.
  • SWAP trade is a very good idea. The issue of soft credit is very important in this regard. It should be kept in mind if India wants to compete with China.
  • The issue of certain commodities, crucial for smaller nations while not having such an impact over the big Indian markets, also needs to be taken care of.
  • More persuasion and cajoling by institutions like RIS needs to be done since Indian businessmen are still reluctant to explore new markets.
  • India should take a regional approach for investment and production rather than looking at small sizes of markets in these countries. In addition to trade and investment, education remains an important market and area of cooperation.
  • The entertainment industry remains an option for entry (movies, music, Rama artefacts, archaeology, museum etc). Past historical linkage and cultural similarity need to be cultivated to foster economic relations. Cultural diplomacy can be used to buttress economic activities.

11.15-12.15: First Session: Trade and investment, and Finance

• K.J Joseph [RIS and CDS] discussed the relevance between India and Mekong countries. He observed that the similarities extend to historical, cultural and strategic as well as political aspects. The developing economies are very differently endowed as compared to developed countries.
• S.K Verma [ministry of External Affairs, GOI] discussed the two platforms (I) multilateral and (II) bilateral. He said that ASEAN (IRIA), GOI is very active and supportive. GOI has opened entrepreneurship development centres in all four Mekong countries and the one in Lao is already up and running. GOI has also extended substantial aid as well as loan in view of absence of finance in these nations. The following observations were made
  • Importance of private sector participation.
  • Exports to India need sustainability of economic relations.
  • Four areas of cooperation are envisaged in the MGC, trade is not mentioned explicitly, however, they create the framework for trade to prosper.
  • The tariff and non-tariff barriers/problems to trade expansion need to be looked at, Indian in addition to those of CLV countries. Indian tariff regime being very high is one of the reasons why Vietnam cannot export to India while their exports to other CLV countries are substantial. Unless the tariffs are reduced, the trading volume between India and CLV countries cannot increase.
• A.N Ram [former secretary, Ministry of external affairs, GOI] discussed the role of policy-makers in addressing the issues and possible actions to be taken.
  • He said that perceptions on both sides remain that business with each other is difficult due to problems like infrastructure, languages etc. To break this kind of mind-set private sector has to play a major role.

12.15-13.15: Second Session: Infrastructure and energy

• K.L Thapar [Asian Institute of Transport Development, New Delhi] observed that there are infrastructure barriers in terms of transportation as well as some natural barriers like the rivers.
  o Mr. Thapar also added that there have been some initiatives in infrastructure development; however, they have not been integrated and being highly fragmented they may not be sustainable in the long term.
• Prabir De [Associate Fellow, RIS] focused on the infrastructure development between these countries from the angle of trade. He observed:
  • Low infrastructure sophistication level impedes trade (non-availability, difficulties and high cost)
  • Development of Asian Highway would be a good prospect for India as well as for CLV countries.

14.00-15.00: Third Session: Other areas of cooperation: Agriculture, S&T and HRD, SME’s, health and pharma, Tourism, etc.

• Baladas Goshal [JNU, New Delhi] said that Trade and Investment is not an end of this initiative. India’s “Look East Policy” is to play a major role in the ASEAN affairs. Trade and Investment should complement other initiatives towards this goal.
• He mentioned that China is already playing a major role in many areas. If India has to make a presence, it should find niche areas to distinguish it and enhance its position. He added that one such area is education, which has always been very important for diplomacy. In this regard it should be noted that scholarship is not a long-term measure instead schools and training Centres should be established locally in those country.
• He discussed the area of culture and observed that there is a knowledge gap between India and the Mekong countries which needs to be bridged. He suggested that India should build up a system through which India can offer a lot of capacity building to these countries.
• He suggested that cultural tourism be promoted.
• K.P.V Nair [Asia Centre, Kolkata] maintained that lack of awareness is a big problem in both CLV countries as well as India. There have been already a lot of initiatives and programmes but we have been unable to get them running.
• He said that it is a failure on India’s part since India tends to be reactive, rather than pro-active.
• He also said that to develop trade and cultural tourism between India and other Mekong countries first we have to concentrate on the direct air link between these countries.
• Sailendra Narain [former Chairman SIDBI, and Chairman, Centre for SME Growth and Development finance, Mumbai] said that before reaching out to Mekong countries, we should develop the SMEs sector in India and re-look at the SMEs policy framework of all the countries and advocate changes at national level, then aim for sub-regional and inter-regional level to create an enabling environment. The following observations were made:
• Many reputed institutions were established in Mekong countries with goodwill but were unable to deliver the best outputs. Thus India must not create any new institutions but review the current set-ups and take necessary action for further implement and improvement.
• The financial markets have to be created and the domestic banking sectors need to be reinforced. The entire financial system of the entire Mekong region needs to be refurbished. There is a need for good venture capital, especially in some key sectors, such as Information Technology (IT).
• Rather than finance, it is very important that enterprises get adequate business development services (BDS), in terms of informatics. India should not offer support and assistance just for the sake of doing it but develop awareness, and needs to be generated. Demands have to come first before support is brought forward.
• SME’s can play a major role in Economic Cooperation between India and the CLV countries and to process in this regard India has to develop a better network.
• Ambassador Shashank [former Secretary, Minister of External Affairs, GOI] said that while India has to develop more trade and investment between these countries but interest levels in business community are very low. He added that before the cooperation takes place India needs to develop the infrastructure in Northeast India.

15.00: Closing:

• Mr. Nagesh Kumar [Director General, RIS]
• Dr. Prasad P. Ranade [Research Director, CUTS-CITEE]

Suggestions and comments:

1. Present Status of Indian Government regarding the direct air link between India and the CLV countries.
2. Proposal for direct airlines between India and the CLV countries made by Vietnam airlines but no response from Indian government.
3. Trade infrastructure in Mekong countries are quite fractured therefore FICCI and CII might not be the right institution since these organizations are associations of big businesses.
4. Data presented regarding the trade relation between India and CLV countries was relatively old, changes are happening very quickly in Vietnam, even in the policy framework, therefore data needs to be updated.
5. India did not compete well with other countries in playing a major role in assisting and cooperating with Indochina countries.
6. About the key priorities for further cooperation. India should look at the economic partnership with CLV countries and should have concrete plans for developing this partnership.
7. Various messages should be sent to the government so that this can turn into realities.

Answers from the Dais:

B. Ghosal: Looking at the experiences of East Asian countries, the government can facilitate and encourage (with incentive policy) businessmen to invest and do business in these countries, especially the SMEs. Instead of proposing ambitious plan, focus should be on identifying certain areas and pushing them.

S.K Verma: In India tariffs are high. India government is considering revisions and very soon they will be close to ASEAN level. Direct flight agreement is almost concluded, under discussion. Very soon there will be positive approach. However, efforts have to be mutual.

K. J. Joseph: Indian tariffs are going down. However, despite high level of tariffs, Indian imports have increased 5.2 times since 1992. Additionally, tariff is just one impediment; this study goes beyond that issue to address other NTBs as well.

A.N Ram: There are perceptions on both sides that it is difficult to do business with each other due to several problems/barriers like infrastructure, languages etc. India has to break away from this mindset. Private sectors should play a major role.