AN APPEAL FOR THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

 

The African Development Foundation (ADF) is an independent federal agency, created by Congress in 1980 to support community-based, self-help initiatives that alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development in Africa. Operational since 1984, ADF is authorized to make small (under $250,000) grants, loans, and loan guarantees to African entities for developmental purposes. ADF has funded over 1300 activities in 34 African countries.

ADF’s unique mission requires it to give priority to community self-help projects in Africa with the maximum feasible participation of the poor. In accordance with its mission, the Foundation has directly funded community-based groups to help them diagnose and solve their own problems as well as implement initiatives aimed at grassroots empowerment and sustainable economic growth.

The ADF Bargaining Unit, represented by AFGE Local 3403, is concerned that the African Development Foundation’s Congressional mandate is being jeopardized by:

·        Non-compliance with Federal statutes that protect Labor Rights and recognize Collective Bargaining

·        Management-induced Reduction in Force and Reorganization

·        Ever-changing priorities and constant reorganization

·        Lack of Transparency in Contracting Out and Hiring

·        Contracting Out of essential Employee functions

These practices have led to restricted and unbalanced programming that does not target ADF’s mandated population. Because ADF is a small agency, it has escaped scrutiny of its labor/management relations. Precisely because it is a small agency, it cannot afford to utilize taxpayers’ dollars in any but the most cost-effective manner.

Our partners in the field, as well as the Bargaining Unit we represent, are committed to ADF’s mandate of furthering sustainable development through the promotion of self-help initiatives. Now, more than ever, grassroots and community-driven solutions are needed to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS, poverty, and social inequity on the African continent.

We ask all those who care about ADF's mandate to assist us in impressing upon the Congress the Foundation’s essential role in U.S. foreign assistance. We maintain that only through adherence to the principles of transparency, fiscal soundness, and effective management, can ADF remain an effective vehicle of community-based sustainable development in Africa.

 

For additional information, contact AFGE 3403, ADF Bargaining Unit VP

email: omega4ram@earthlink.net