Malawi was the only sub-Saharan African country examined in these case studies. The Malawian presenter recommended follow-up programmes for monitoring political party manifestos vs their actual delivery in government, with independent budget analyses. Independent civil society budget research for evidence-based advocacy and continued strong advocacy around political and socio-economic developments in the country are also required. In conclusion, the author asserts that the greatest danger facing democracy is the exclusion of the people from real power. Citizens cannot wait passively for the government to educate them. They need to be active and critical: at a local level, organised community groups, with the help of civil society organisations, should engage in controlling local government decision making.
Governance and participation in health
Over the past few years, a flood of new work has emerged challenging the validity of the traditional measurements of corruption and arguing for new and improved tools for national policy makers, civil society and donors alike. This guide suggests ways of measuring corruption promoting a multiple data sourcing approach and a focus on actionable measurements. It is aimed at national stakeholders, donors and international actors involved in corruption measurement and anti-corruption programming. This guide is based on more than thirty interviews with individuals from dozens of countries who are working on corruption and governance reforms. It explains the strengths and limitations of different measurement approaches, and provides practical guidance on how to use the indicators and data generated by corruption measurement tools to identify entry points for anti-corruption programming.
This paper analyses the impact of corruption on the extent of trust in political institutions using data from surveys conducted in eighteen sub-Saharan African countries. The authors test the ‘efficient grease’ hypothesis that corruption can strengthen citizens’ trust since bribe paying and clientelism open the door to otherwise scarce and inaccessible services and subsidies, and that this increases institutional trust. The findings do not support this theoretical argument. The impact of corruption on institutional trust is never positive whatever the evaluation of public service quality. The study shows that the perceived level of corruption has a strong adverse effect on citizens’ trust in political institutions and that the scope of its negative effect increases with the quality of public services, while, in contrast, the negative effect of experienced corruption decreases with the ease of access to public services. These findings call for more detailed and expanded studies.
In many countries, international NGOs have replaced traditional western donors and absentee states' influence by providing services that are traditionally the responsibility of the home governments. The growing trend is for international NGOs wield increasing power and resources in fragile states or so-called ‘failed states’. Western countries prefer to route donor funds through international NGOs rather than national governments, which are perceived as corrupt, bureaucratic or incompetent. The amount of aid flowing through NGOs in Africa rather than governments has more than tripled.
Shah’s book presents the latest thinking of leading development scholars on operationalising a framework of governance to empower citizens to demand accountability from their governments. Focusing on the question of how to institutionalise performance-based accountability, especially in countries that lack good accountability systems, the essays in the book describe how institutions of accountability may be strengthened to combat corruption. In general, the essays in the book highlight the causes of corruption and the use of both internal and external accountability institutions and mechanisms to fight it. It provides advice on how to tailor anticorruption programs to individual country circumstances and how to sequence reform efforts to ensure sustainability. They offer insights into ways policy makers can initiate governance reforms that introduce performance-based accountability in the public sector.
Volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations around the world celebrated International Volunteer Day on 5 December in order to increase recognition of the contribution of volunteerism to peace and development. International Volunteer Day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 17 December 1985. Since then volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations have joined with governments, NGOs, UN agencies and other partners to celebrate volunteerism and lay the ground for future activities. Yet volunteerism remains under-recognised and under-utilised as a resource for development, lamented the UN Secretary-General in his message this year. He urged all to continue to make every effort to raise awareness, measure impact and recognise that their efforts are making a positive difference.
The poor have not been consulted about the current global financial crisis. So far, all gatherings have been of the rich, from the World Economic Forum to the G8 Summit. At some point in the future, poor countries will merely be requested to endorse the decisions already taken by rich countries and to pick up the remaining crumbs. Ironically, the five powers that decide on war and peace within the UN Security Council are also the five biggest arms dealers of the planet (China, USA, Russian Federation, France and the UK). Rich countries are also the sole decision-makers in the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and International Monetary Fund) that take money from poor and indebted countries. It’s time for poor countries to be given an opportunity to take part in these crucial decisions.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which spends billions on global health, is taking a direct route to ensuring global health coverage for all. NewsHour with Jim Lehrer in the United States received a Gates Foundation grant of US$3.5 million to help its correspondents produce 40 to 50 reports over three years on malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, measles, neglected diseases and other global health issues. It came with ‘no strings’, reported the managing producer of NewsHour, which is seen on 315 PBS stations, noting that, if her reporters found a story critical of the Foundation’s work and Mr Gates objected, she’d let him defend it, of course, but was still determined to proceed with the story.
Health experts and activists have heavily criticised African governments for failing to collaborate with civil society organisations (CSOs) on health research and health policy development. Governments tend to perceive CSOs as a threat because they are independent, often critical of government and see their role as holding politicians accountable, health activists said during the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Ministerial Forum for Health Research in Bamako, Mali. As a result, many governments ignore calls for public participation. Without inclusion of CSOs, African governments' efforts to create sustainable health systems would fail. With increased partnerships between researchers, governments and CSOs, the health agenda could be taken forward more efficiently and in a more equitable way.
This article discusses the exemplary leadership women have displayed in organisations they lead in Tanzania, such as women-led organisations like the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP), Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA), Women in Legal Aid Committee (WILAC), Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Medical Women Association of Tanzania (MEWATA), Equal Opportunities Trust Fund (EOTF), Wanawake na Maendeleo (WAMA) and the Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA). All these organisations have well-established constitutions-legally-binding documents that guide their operations, permanent premises, dynamic organisational structures and transparency in their operations as well as clean certificates of books of accounts. The organisations’ activities are generally recognised by the government, general public and the international community.