11 Feb 2009: ISS Today: The Per Diem Syndrome
11 February 2009: ISS Today: The Per-Diem Syndrome
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Payment made to individuals to cover costs incurred in attending a conference, meeting or workshop away from their country of residence – commonly known as per diems - are become increasingly controversial. The payment of per diems has in the last couple of years become habitual for attendees of conferences and workshops continent-wide and amounts to hundreds of dollars made available daily to participants. This practice, initially adopted as a courtesy to participants travelling over a distance, has developed into what can only be termed ‘the Per Diem Syndrome’, plaguing Africa today.
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The terminology serves to illustrate the fact that per diems have, for some, been turned into salary augmenting ventures. Some would indeed argue that Africans in leadership positions who attend these conferences really have no need for this top-up in salary, and that the money could be better put to use in our poor countries. These hundreds of dollars could for example be used to pay school fees and/or medical costs for a good percentage of poor people. However, politicians and government officials aren’t the only guilty parties in this money-making venture.
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Both local and international Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) further this practice by using per diems as an incentive to secure the participation of our dignified leaders in their various activities. Shameful as it is, many delegates will not attend an event to share their knowledge on a subject matter unless assured that they would receive per diem as compensation. CSOs, which mostly operate towards furthering noble causes such as adequate healthcare and education for all, waste tremendous amounts of money towards entertaining the per diem syndrome - amounts that, yet again, could contribute towards feeding a number of starving children, clothing others, and buying school material for dozens more. Rather, this money is invested into inviting a dignified person to come and speak at a conference – sometimes to discuss the cause of the poor, needy and suffering African.
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Sadly, CSO donor parties exacerbate this distasteful practice, as they encourage spending of large amounts of money donated to provide a better livelihood to the poor people of our continent. This pressure under which CSOs are put to spend the donated money allows for excesses like providing excessive per diems for conference participants. Nowhere is it stated that the money be spent towards the cause the donor represents - as long as it can be accounted for as being part of a conference or other workshop themed, of course, at ending the plight of the suffering African.
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This syndrome, it can be argued, is destructive to the qualitative agenda and institutional framework that are being put in place to ensure good governance and the respect for democratic principles. As members of civil society, as consultants, as administrative staff, as political leadership and as the donor community, we need to address this troubling issue. If people are committed to ending famine, poverty, illiteracy and all the numerous afflictions from which the continent suffer, then they must begin to represent this commitment beyond statements and speeches at workshops and conferences. It is their responsibility, before accepting bonuses for attendance at far-away events, to re-think the use of these funds and come up with different ways in which they may be spent towards reaching the goals they believe in and have set for themselves.
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Nadia Ahmadou, Junior Researcher, African Security Analysis Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)
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