In August 2009, Maxwell Nkole, the head of Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Task Force, was removed from his position a week after his unsuccessful prosecution of the country’s former President, Frederick Chiluba, and his refusal to drop an appeal at the insistence of the government. This troubling instance of governmental meddling captures both the progress and failings of the continent. Fifty years after independence, democracy has replaced dictatorships as the dominant mode of governance, and political stability and peaceful transfers of power have replaced the coup d’états and civil wars as the only means of regime change. In addition, courts have begun to function with some measure of independence.
As Africa celebrates its Golden Jubilee, it is particularly timely to consider role of law and legal institutions in the continent’s economic development. The goal of this panel is to discuss: (1) the prioritization of the rule of law and the legal reforms necessary for economic growth, (2) the impact of corruption on economic development, and (3) the implementation and enforcement of legal norms. Your knowledge and perspective will be critical to our dialogue as we examine how best to move our continent forward.
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DR. ROGER S. LEEDS Chairman, Emerging Markets Private Equity Association and Professor, John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies Dr. Roger S. Leeds is Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University, Director of the School’s Center for International Business and Public Policy, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association. He also is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, and he has previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Leeds’ teaching and research focus on international financial markets, private equity and venture capital investing in emerging markets and financial sector development. Prior to joining the SAIS faculty in 1999, Dr. Leeds served as Managing Director and Co-Head of the Emerging Markets practice at Patricof & Co., a New York-based venture capital firm and merchant bank; he was Partner at KPMG (the Barents Group), where he headed their global privatization advisory services; he was a senior staff member at the International Finance Corporation; and and an associate at Salomon Brothers in New York. His international career began 35 years ago in Brazil, where he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. ‘Dr. Leeds has guest lectured at numerous universities around the world, and he has authored a book entitled Financing Small Enterprises in Developing Countries and more than 30 published articles. He has been a guest commentator on various radio and television programs, including CNN, Bloomberg News, CBS News, CNBC and National Public Radio. Dr. Leeds is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and he has served on numerous boards. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, and his M.A. and PhD from SAIS.
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H. KWASI PREMPEH Professor, Seton Hall Law School Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh is Professor of Law at Seton Hall University Law School, Newark, New Jersey, where he teaches courses and seminars in constitutional law, corporate law, comparative constitutional design and international economic law. Professor Prempeh’s current scholarship focuses on constitutional design and the challenges of constitutionalism and democratization in Africa. Prior to entering the legal academy, Professor Prempeh practiced law in Washington, D.C. for a number of years, first with O’Melveny & Myers LLP and later with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Between 2001 and 2003, he served as Director of Legal Policy and Governance at Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), a private think-tank organization based in Accra, Ghana. He is a founding member of the board of CDD and a co-editor-in-chief of the Center’s Democracy Watch quarterly. Professor Prempeh received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as Note Editor of the Yale Law Journal and a teaching fellow. He obtained his undergraduate education at the University of Ghana, and has a Master in Business Administration from Baylor University, Texas.
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NUHU RIBADU Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development, and Former Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria Nuhu Ribadu is a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development. His work at the Center, which began in April 2009, is to draw lessons from his experience for combating corruption worldwide and to provide fresh thinking on the role of international institutions in this fight. Before joining CGD, Mr. Ribadu was Head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from 2003 to 2007. He served on several economic and anti-corruption commissions and was a key member of Nigeria’s economic management team that drove wide-ranging public sector reforms. Mr. Ribadu was awarded with the World Bank’s Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service in recognition of his efforts. Prior to leading the EFCC, Nuhu spent 18 years in the Nigerian Police Force. A lawyer by training, Mr. Ribadu received his Bachelors and Masters in Law from Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. He is also a Senior Fellow at St. Anthony’s College at Oxford University in the UK.
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ROSSIE E. TURMAN, III Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP & Affiliates Rossie E. Turman III is a corporate attorney who concentrates in finance, principally representing investment banks, commercial banks and other financial institutions as lenders; and corporations, strategic investors and buyout funds as borrowers. Mr. Turman primarily advises clients in connection with syndicated loans, out-of-court and Chapter 11 re-organizations, acquisition financings, leveraged buyouts, bridge loans, asset-backed loans, subscription facilities, hedge fund financings, project financings, and other types of com- plex and traditional transactions.
Mr. Turman has provided pro bono services for economic development activities, including representations for Abyssinian Development Corporation and the United Way in various transactions, and through his volunteer affiliations with Lawyers Alliance and the Community Law Office of Legal Aid. Mr. Turman also is very active in training and mentoring new associates in the firm. Additionally, Mr. Turman currently serves as vice chairperson of the board of trustees of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, N.Y.
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JACQUELINE MUNA MUSIITWA, ESQ. Professor, Hoja Law Firm, and Founder and Executive Director, Transitional Trade Jacqueline Musiitwa, Esq. founded and acts as managing partner of Hoja Law Group, a boutique law firm in New York and London which represents government ministries, political campaigns, start ups, non-profits and small and medium size businesses in areas of political, corporate and intellectual property law. Hoja Law Group’s client base is located in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia. Additionally, Hoja Law Group is specialized in assisting investors doing business in and/or investing in Africa. Ms. Musiitwa began her career at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where she practiced in the area of corporate law. She is a 2008 Empire State Counsel, which is an award awarded to attorneys that provide considerable time and effort to pro bono legal services.Ms. Musiitwa is the Founder of Transitional Trade, a non-profit whose mission it is to promote social trade, investment and entrepreneurship in post-conflict countries and transitional communities. She has participated in the rebranding of several countries, advising African companies as well as mentoring many African entrepreneurs. Additionally, in the promotion of investment and good economic an corporate governance in Africa, Jacqueline is the Senior Associate with the African European Affairs Consulting group, which advises clients investing and doing business in Africa. Lastly, she has been an adjunct professor of International Law at Central Michigan University, Sociopolitics and Economics of Africa at Drexel University and Business Law at Briarcliffe College. Ms. Musiitwa attended Davidson College where she received a BA in Political Science and International Studies. She earned a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne where she was a member of the Melbourne Journal of International Law. Lastly, She attended The Hague Academy of International Law. She is licensed to practice law in New York and Australia and she speaks several African languages, French and Spanish. |
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Panel Moderator ANDREW MWENDA CEO & Managing Editor, The Independent Andrew M. Mwenda is the founding Managing Editor and CEO of The Independent, East Africa’s leading current affairs newsmagazine. Currently a Post Graduate Fellow in African Studies at Yale University, he was named by Foreign Policy among the Top 100 Global Thinkers in 2009. A 2007 John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University and a 2009 Archbishop Tutu Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Said School of Business, Mwenda Master of Science degree in Development Studies from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Makerere University in Uganda. In 2008, Mwenda was nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and won the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists “in tribute to his commitment to a free press in Uganda and the whole world.” He has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and written for international news media like The International Herald Tribune, New York Times and Foreign Policy and produced documentaries for BBC World television and radio. |