AGI signs headquarters agreement with Senegal
May 6, 2011The African Governance Institute (AGI) has signed an agreement with the Senegalese government to have its headquarters in Dakar.
The agreement was signed on Thursday between Senegal’s Foreign Minister Madicke Niang, and Adebayo Olukoshi, interim director of the African Institute of Governance.
The move is seen as an important step in making the institute become more effective and powerful.
Mr Olukoshi told WADR that they chose Senegal to host the headquarters of the AGI because it is one of the countries in the West African sub-region which has no “history of military rule or single party dictatorship.”
“From independence in 1960 Senegal has maintained relatively open multi-party system of governance,” added Olukoshi.
According to him, Senegal also has a vibrant civil society, a plural press which has consolidated in recent years, as well as the existence of other international organizations.
Minister Niang thanked the AGI for choosing Senegal to host its head office.
He said Senegal is pleased because “We are always ready to learn about governance.”
The AGI works on finding solutions to the many governance challenges facing Africa and helps states set up mechanisms that would promote governance.
The initiative for the creation of the AGI emerged in 2003 from discussions between the African Union Commission Chairman and the Regional Director for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The main idea was to create an AU-recognized center of excellence, responsible for conducting cutting-edge research on all forms of governance, and contributing to the advancement of developmental governance in Africa.
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