Stunning Sunsets and Contrasts in West Africa

I recently led a qualitative assessment that highlighted the importance of stronger and consistent peer-to-peer technical assistance, supported by country and regional leadership.

The sunsets along the oceanfront in West Africa are stunning. The colors shift from white to orange to bronze with rays of light extending for miles across the sky and the surface of the ocean. It’s like walking into an art gallery with new, beautiful images every night. In one West African country that I recently visited, these beautiful, peaceful scenes were a reprieve from the economic and political challenges I learned about while leading a technical assessment to inform strategy and future programming.

Throughout the trip, I met many friendly and kind people who were caught up in an easy-to-manipulate system where only the upper echelon appeared to benefit while average citizens suffered, especially the poor and marginalized. On the surface, the system appeared to be strong and supportive of all citizens. It had key policies and laws in place. It had decent checks and balances between levels of government. It had a framework for a social safety net to help the most vulnerable.

In reality, a small group of influential and connected politicians and private sector players controlled almost everything from the national budget to the police force to all imports and exports while the average citizen struggled to keep food on the table. Many were forced to pay small “petty” bribes to pass through every gate in every system. The police constantly pulled over young motorcycle taxi drivers and kept the them waiting until they paid a “service fee” to pass through the checkpoint. Teachers charged students extra “fees” to access learning materials, services, and exams that should have been free. Reports of large-scale or “grand” corruption were growing although the team was unable to investigate.

There is often a counter narrative behind such petty bribery systems. We learned that police officers were not paid enough to support their families given rising inflation so they turned to small bribes to survive. As for teachers, it was difficult, if not impossible, to be added to the official teacher roster and receive a salary. Thus, many teachers lived off the unofficial “fees” collected from parents and students.

During my career in international development, I have witnessed in many countries that people living in such difficult environments develop informal support systems to cope with the challenges of everyday life. They help one another with food, funding, and moral support that is often connected to a particular neighborhood, religious affiliation, or social circle. These informal systems serve to mitigate the harm that seems to swarm around and engulf the more vulnerable like a sandstorm in the Sahara.

During the assessment, the team had great conversations with community members and leaders that was full of jokes, coping strategies, and survival stories. Market women had organized into a coalition and established a joint emergency fund. Taxi drivers formed unions to support one another and challenge the petty bribery system. Persons with disabilities endured together through collectives. These informal systems were born as survival techniques yet reflected the best of humanity. Like the sunsets in the capital, these informal support systems were shining rays of hope and promise to protect against what felt like an impending storm.

The picture in this country was in sharp contrast to another West African country where I conducted a similar assessment and subsequently provided training and project support. While there were definitely social and economic divisions, they were not as pronounced and manipulated as the other country. Although it varied across the country, many local leaders had been working to improve their responsiveness to citizens and strengthen basic service delivery. For example, many local governments held regular community meetings, listened to citizen priorities, and used locally-generated and national funding to invest in citizen-prioritized services such as separate toilets for girls in the local school, improved health services, or a new community water source. These investments not only improved the community, but they strengthened the democratic system. Local officials reported that their re-election depended on responding effectively to citizen priorities. Helping one another was also woven into the culture. Friends, neighbors, and communities supported one another during difficult times even if they disagreed on government policies or local investment priorities.

I came away with two significant lessons learned from these experiences. First, countries in West Africa, and around the world, would greatly benefit from a stronger system of peer-to-peer learning and technical assistance if supported by the positive influence of country leadership. Second, mutual support efforts at the community level are significant and fundamental to the health and well-being – and survival – of many people.

Strengthening and expanding these two approaches is especially important today given the importance of locally-led development and recent cuts to international funding. However, I would like to share a word of caution from an experienced colleague, mutual support works because communities innovate and manage on their own. Thus, strong outside influence (and funding) could have a negative impact on what is a localized, community-led practice.