Sheffer Leads Parliamentary Reform Project In Zambia

By Beverly Sanford

Release Date: October 29, 1999 This content is archived.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- John B. Sheffer, II, director of the Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth at UB, is leading a State University of New York team that is conducting a needs assessment for the National Assembly of the Republic of Zambia.

The SUNY delegation, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is assisting the Zambian Parliament in a comprehensive reform effort. In addition to Sheffer, the team includes James P. Ketterer of the University at Albany, Sister Auxilia Ponga of the government of Zambia and Henry C. Ngaba of Grant Thornton Consultants of Lusaka, Zambia.

Sheffer, director of the Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth since 1997, is also a professor of law and planning at UB. A former village mayor, he served 10 years in the New York State Assembly and five in the State Senate before joining the UB faculty. While in the Assembly in the mid-1990s, he spearheaded a reform effort with the publication of "Project 1990: The Challenge of Effective Legislative Management in the State of New York."

"Zambia is a relatively new multiparty democracy -- until the beginning of the 1990s, it was a one-party state," said Sheffer. "Its elected national legislature has only existed in its current form for eight years. The Zambian National Assembly is working with USAID to become a more effective and representative partner in Zambia's continued economic and political development.

"Our team is privileged to be a part of this initiative. We are here in a supporting role to assist the Zambian Parliament in the hard task of making democracy work."

The mission is Sheffer's second with USAID as a specialist in governance issues. He also served as a member of a group, along with Ketterer, that assessed the structure and needs of local governments in Lebanon in November 1998.

A nation of 9.7 million in south-central Africa, Zambia adopted its current constitution in 1991 and first elected its president and 150-member National Assembly that same year. Currently, the Assembly is pursuing a reform agenda on such issues as committee systems, constituent services and the legislative process.

The State University of New York Office of International Programs developed the Zambia initiative in conjunction with USAID. In addition to assistance with democratic governance, USAID supports programs in Zambian private-enterprise development, agriculture and health care.

The delegation will meet with the National Assembly and other stakeholders during a two-week stay in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, and will draft its findings and recommendations shortly after its return to the United States in early November.