Love is in the Air
Wonderful, it is raining is Pathein! We, Pathein citizens, have been waiting for the rain and suffered from extreme temperatures the last couple of months. On “World Environment…
First steps towards a more inclusive ALGAPL
During the second half of March 2019 VNG International staff travelled all the way to Puntland, the outer edge of the East African continent. The visit took place in light of the…
IGC survey on local government taxation capacity
This week we received the IGC report ‘Survey of local government taxation capacity, 2017’( S-33417-GHA-1) in Ghana. The report describes a comprehensive set of statistics on…
Supporting recovery and reconstruction in Beira after Cyclone Idai
Cyclone Idai caused massive destruction and displacement in and around Beira. The houses of half a million people were partially or completely destroyed, at least 110,000 people…
Esap3 contract signed!
On the 5th of April 2019, VNG International signed a contract with the World Bank for the third phase of the Ethiopia Social Accountability Program (ESAP). It is since 2011 that…
My first monitoring mission to St Maarten
Two weeks ago, the end of March, I visited the island of St Maarten for the very first time. Hurricane Irma struck St Maarten (as well as Saba and St Eustatius) in 2017. Irma…
Visibility event, “Journée de la Commune” (day of the municipalities), in Burundi
In the last week of March, I was in Burundi for an important visibility event. The association of municipalities in Burundi (ABELO) organised the yearly “Journée de la Commune” (…
The MAGICal rollercoaster
Last week, April 1st, I visited our office in Yangon, Myanmar. We just went through some turbulent times with one partner in the MAGIC programme. This is a short story about…
Enabling county governments for activity implementation
During previous activities local government staff have been taught various skills which they can apply during their jobs. However, due to the lack of financial resources it is…