This issue of The Soul Beat includes summaries of programme experiences, strategic thinking documents, materials, and trainings which highlight how communication can contribute to good governance in Africa. The newsletter is organised around the broad themes of the role of civil society, media and governance, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) and governance.
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THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY
1. Monitoring Government Policies: A Toolkit for Civil Society Organisations in Africa
This toolkit explores ways of working for change by monitoring government policies. It is designed to help African civil society organisations analyse and monitor government policy implementation. It aims to help foster a conversation in society on policies and how well those policies work. High-quality research, accompanied by strong campaigning and lobbying, is, according to this document, a key way for local organisations to hold their governments to account.
2. Building Organizational Networks for Good Governance and Advocacy (BONGA) - Tanzania
This four-year capacity-building programme is designed for Tanzanian advocacy and media organisations focusing on anti-corruption and good governance. Launched in 2005 and supported by the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), BONGA, a Kiswahili word meaning "to speak out!" aims to increase public participation in governance through advocacy and journalism training.
Contact pact@pacttz.org
3. Fix Nigeria Initiative (FNI) - Nigeria
This is an anti-corruption campaign which was initiated to support the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies in their efforts to fight and eliminate corruption in Nigeria. The initiative aims to involve civil society organisations (CSOs) and the private sector to become active agents in the fight against corruption. FNI is therefore working with youth, the media, faith-based organisations, trade unions, and the private sector and is conducting advocacy training, encouraging anti-corruption clubs, developing media campaigns, increasing capacity in anti-corruption reporting, and developing an Integrity Charter.
Contact info@fixnigeriainitiative.org
4. HakiElimu Community Governance Programme - Tanzania
The Community Governance programme of HakiElimu, a Tanzanian non-profit organisation established in 2001, was designed to enable communities, including parents, teachers, and students, to transform schools and influence decision-making by facilitating participation in school and community governance. It also aimed to contribute towards creating and sustaining a national movement for social and educational change by stimulating broad public engagement, information sharing, dialogue, membership development, and networking throughout Tanzania.
Contact info@hakielimu.org
5. Civil Society and Advocacy Manual (Advocacy Expert Series)
This manual on advocacy and civil society is part of the 6-part Advocacy Expert Series which was developed by the Tanzania Advocacy Partnership Programme (TAPP) programme, an advocacy capacity strengthening programme for Tanzanian civil society run by Pact Tanzania. The manual outlines how civil society and individual citizens can be involved in political processes and looks at ways for civil society to work in partnership with government to create policies and laws.
MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE
6. Africa Good Governance Programme on the Radio Waves - Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda
A project of the World Bank Institute (WBI) launched in 2006, the programme is designed to support local government capacity building and community empowerment via radio. The distance learning programme was transmitted by First Voice International via digital satellite radio technology on the Africa Learning Channel to municipalities in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The objective of the project was to support local government capacity building and community empowerment through transmission of key information related to anti-corruption, civic participation, and fiscal decentralisation.
Contact wbiurban@worldbank.org OR firstvoiceint@firstvoiceint.org OR info@firstvoiceint.org
7. Rural Radio and the Promotion of People-Centred Development in Africa
by Linje Manyozo
This paper is part of the author's ongoing research on rural radio in Southern Africa. It explores the nature and levels of villagers' participation in facilitated dialogues on local development, using radio as a rural information and communication technology (ICT). Focusing on two models of Radio Listening Clubs (RLCs) organised by the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation's (MBC) Development Broadcasting Unit (DBU) and Dzimwe Community Radio, the paper establishes how rural radio broadcasting shapes local discourses on local development planning, implementation, and evaluation.
8. The Kenyan 2007 Elections and Their Aftermath: The Role of Media and Communication
by Jamal Abdi and James Deane
This policy briefing from the BBC World Trust Service analyses the role of the media in the Kenyan [January 2008] post-election violence. It is designed to enable an understanding of what has happened in Kenya in the belief that these issues have important policy implications and consequences in many countries. It situates its analysis within debates on democratic governance and poverty in order to contribute to a process of extracting lessons from the crisis. The briefing examines political polarity in the media and its function as a political tool. It discusses the inciting of violence and the role of the local language or vernacular media, as well as the media's role in calming the violence.
9. Participation by Community Radios in Civic Education and Electoral Coverage: The Experience of the Community Radios in Mozambique's 2003 Local Elections
A Code of Conduct for Electoral Coverage was developed by community radios as part of the Media Development Project in Mozambique which was initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Development Project (UNDP). During the 2003 local elections, the project carried out a study on the application of the Code. This publication summarises the findings of this study. According to the authors, besides showing the strength of community radio as an instrument of social construction (and control), and thus a priority for the contending forces in local elections, the study suggests that the Code was well-timed and useful as community radio stations were often caught between opposing parties standing for election.
10. Accessing Information: The Key to an Open Society
by Ben Irwin
According to this paper, in Southern Africa, most countries have not legislated for the protection of the right to access information from both the state and the private sector. Yet there are encouraging developments, with South Africa’s progressive Promotion of Access to Information Act adopted in 2000, Malawi's Access to Information Act and Mozambique's 2005 Draft Law on Access to Official Sources of Information. This paper highlights the salient points of these three pieces of legislation and provides an analysis of their strengths and shortcomings, as compared to best international practice.
11. Transparency and Silence: A Survey of Access to Information Laws and Practices in 14 Countries
by Helen Darbishire and Thomas Carson
This report details the results of a study undertaken by the Open Society Justice Initiative and its partners to discover how government offices and agencies in 14 countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, respond to specific requests for information. The purpose of the study was to explore the strategy of, and trends in, one specific aspect of transparency: the passage of laws on freedom of information (FOI), or public access to government information and records.
12. Story, Story - Voices from the Market - Nigeria
Launched as part of Voices, a national public education broadcasting project for Nigeria, this radio drama uses true-to-life characters to encourage debate amongst its listeners about local and global issues including poverty, governance, rights, and HIV/AIDS. It also focuses on specific development issues that inform the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as the empowerment of women, education, and environmental sustainability.
Contact Rosie Parkyn Rosie.Parkyn@bbc.co.uk
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VOTE IN THE COMMUNITY RADIO POLL:
In which area of development is community radio in Africa most effectively being used?:
Agriculture
Conflict
Economic Development
Education
Governance
Health
Other
To Vote and send Comments go to the Community Radio theme site and see the Top Right side of the page.
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ICTS AND GOVERNANCE
13. Governance in Africa: The Role for Information and Communication Technologies
by Olugbenga Adesida
This paper explores the challenges of good governance in Africa and focuses on the role that ICTs can play in improving governance. It discusses issues and obstacles affecting the adoption of ICTs, offers examples of how ICTs can be used and are being used to improve governance, and gives some guiding principles and policies for African countries.
14. ICT, Local Government Capacity Building, and Civic Engagement: An Evaluation of the Sample Initiative in Ghana
by Wisdom J. Tettey
This paper evaluates how a regional network, called LRNet, in Ghana contributed to political decentralisation by enhancing the capacity of the local government to perform its functions, promoting transparency, and serving as a mechanism of civic engagement in political processes. The researcher found that network failures, limited connectivity and use, and unbalanced power dynamics hampered the efficient implementation of LRNet. This case study concludes that efficiency of ICT use for democratic governance is contingent on external conditions, personnel attitudes, and resource capabilities of the organisation.
15. E-Governance in Africa: From Theory to Action: A Handbook on ICTs for Local Governance
by Gianluca Misuraca
This book presents the context, theory, and current thinking on the interaction between ICTs and local governance, particularly in Africa. According to the publication, integrating ICTs into governance processes can greatly enhance the delivery of public services to all citizens. It argues that ICT integration will not only improve the performance of governance systems, it will also transform relationships amongst stakeholders, thereby influencing policy-making processes and regulatory frameworks.
TRAINING and AWARDS
16. Good Local Governance 2008 (Oct 3-14 2008) Arusha, Tanzania
According to the organisers of this workshop, MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MSTCDC), good local governance is an elastic and versatile concept. This course aims to provide a set of tools and techniques for promoting good governance at the local level. It offers conceptual and theoretical explanations for the growing criticism of governments' abilities to run state affairs and makes a case for promoting an effective interface between civil society organisations (CSOs) and local government authorities.
17. Good Governance General Course (July 14-25 2008) Pretoria, South Africa
This course on good governance, run by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, places emphasis on the links between human rights, public administration, and effective and responsible service delivery. It aims to advance good governance and foster informed and supportive links between people in management positions within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The course covers a range of issues under the themes of human rights, public administration, and information technology.
18. Mashariki Innovations Local Governance Awards Programme (MILGAP)
Deadline: May 31 2008
This biennial, sub-regional (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) awards programme seeks to promote excellence in public service delivery through recognising and rewarding what the organisers consider to be innovative projects in local governance. The award is organised around the following broad themes: participatory governance; social services, gender, and inclusion; infrastructure, communication, and transport; poverty reduction and economic development; and environmental sustainability and ecology.
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For previous issues related to this topic see:
The Soul Beat 99 - Communication for Conflict Prevention and Resolution
The Soul Beat 78 - Communication for Good Governance
Click here to view archived editions of The Soul Beat Newsletter.
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