The Art of Planning - Columbia University Graduate School of ...

4
another partial financier in the construction of the 250mW micro
hydropower project in Jinga, Uganda. The AKDN is the world’s
largest private development agency and it has been an important
part of Ugandan and East African history since the 19 th century. 4
Today, Uganda is home to some of the Aga Khan’s most ambitious
business and development enterprises. Many institutions of higher
education, hotel and tourism projects, and power plants carry the
AKDN brand.
As an intern at the Clinton Global Initiative, I had the opportunity
to sit in on several of the plenaries and working sessions at the
organization’s annual meeting in September. Some of the world’s
wealthiest individuals made commitments to address particular
issues in one of four focus areas: Poverty Alleviation, Global Health, Environment, and
Education. Among these altruists were Shakira, Jessica Biel, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie.
In a gesture not common to most international development conferences, lesser known
activists like Dikembe Mutombo, Dr. Wangari Maathai, and Valentino Achak Deng shared
the spotlight with the notorious “A-list” roster. Dikembe Mutombo is more than the 7’2” NBA
Defensive Player of the Year. In 2001, the eponymous Dikembe Mutombo Foundation
began construction on a hospital and research center in his home country of Congo. 5
Kenyan Dr. Wangari Maathai received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, and is the first African
woman to hold this distinction. Her Green Belt Movement, commenced in 1977, provides
income and sustenance to millions of Kenyans through the planting of trees. 6 A survivor
of civil war atrocities and a Sudanese refugee, Valentino Achak Deng has created an
awareness and advocacy organization on behalf of the continuing conflict in the Sudan. 7
This is not meant to be an encyclopedic assessment of the personal stories of these
activists; it is my hope that this information will provoke further investigation into the work
being done by those who do not grace the covers of tabloids. These were the actors in
African development before it became fashionable, these are the activists who should be
celebrated and studied in our seminars and lecture halls.
Photographs by Nasozi Kakembo
Development remains a moot point openly discussed among Ugandans. They know
they are the solution to their own problems because they have survived the ravages of
colonialism and war, and are not resigned to sitting back and waiting for Western handouts.
As planning experts educated in the West, we ought to exhibit genuine deference to the
average Ugandan who works day in and day out to make their home a better place.
International efforts are failing continuously because they fail to understand the root cause
of many of the problems in Africa.
Many experts completely disregard the urban, social, and economic stability that prevailed
prior to colonialism. These “experts” assert technical diagnoses without analyzing precolonial
African history. Until members of the international development community
understand Africa’s rich past and acknowledge the reality and legitimacy of its current
assets, we will not only continue to wrongly and presumptuously perceive African
development as our burden, but our earnest efforts will continue to achieve only mediocre
success.
The victories I have highlighted are not exceptions to the rule in Africa, but part of a
widespread phenomenon. Current urban development in Uganda is precipitated by the
need to clean up for the CHOGM, but it is indicative of a more sustained homegrown
capability. Ugandans and Africans to the north, south and in the Sahara; to the east and
west of the Nile; and even in the Niger Delta are mobilized at all levels.
REFERENCES
1
www.chogm2007.ug
2
www.afdb.org
3
http://www.bujagali-energy.com/default.htm
4
http://www.akdn.org/hh/highness.html
5
www.dmf.org
6
Greenbeltmovement.org
7
www.valentinoarchakdeng.org/founders and staff
URBAN