Useful Resources

This toolkit contains tools and resources relating to different categories of participatory governance practices, including for (1) public information, for citizens to access relevant information about government policies, decisions and actions; (2) education and deliberation; (3) public dialogue for communication between citizens and state; (4) design and implementation of public policies and plans that respond effectively to citizens’ priorities and needs; (5) public budgets and expenditures to help citizens understand and influence decisions about the allocation of public resources, monitor public spending and hold government actors accountable for their management of public financial resources (6) monitoring and evaluating the accessibility, quality and efficiency of public services and (7) monitoring and overseeing public action and seeking retribution for injustices or misdeeds.

Health Financing Africa host a cartoon showing a satirical response to the global development agendas. This cartoon draws on the "Sape" movement (The Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People) in Brazzaville and Kinshasa. Universal Health Coverage figures into the new Sustainable Development Goals and, with a wink, Michel Muvudi (Democratic Republic of the Congo) warns us not to be overly optimistic about the impact of such international objectives at the country level.

In this online interview with Edward Paice, Director of Africa Research Institute, Zhong Jianhua, China’s Special Representative on African Affairs, responds to common criticisms of China’s policy and conduct in Africa. He rejects any analogy between China-Africa trade patterns and those of the colonial era but agrees that Africa must regard China as a competitor pursuing its own interests. Ambassador Zhong observes many similarities between the policy choices facing African governments in the 2000s and those confronted by China during the 1980s and 1990s. He emphasises that China itself is still a developing country – and one which has a great deal to learn about Africa. He insists that it is China’s responsibility to help African nations compete in the global economy. While acknowledging the imperative shared by all developing economies to maximise agricultural potential, attract capital, create a more skilled workforce and industrialise, he concludes that “finally the chance has come” to Africa.

Artist Bunmi Oloruntoba and editor Emmanuel Iduma collaborate with reporters and creative writers to furnish “the contexts often missing when African stories are reported.” Every two weeks, 3bute [pronounced “tribute”] publishes a three-page comic from a different African country in which readers tag the images like a wiki page with links to videos, articles, slide shows, twitter posts, music tracks, and other media. The resulting comic is dotted with icons that appear as you touch or move your mouse over its surface. The interactive features blink and pop as you shift from panel to panel in the site’s effort to undermine “the single, one-dimensional story of poverty, sickness, conflict” that far too often disparages the continent. 3bute uses new technology to explore the contours of African modernity through “multifaceted stories”. This review includes excerpts of 3bute comics, worth reading while the 3bute website is temporarily being reconstructed.