atwaambe gtf programme zambia review report a synthesis of case studies - zambia chrispin r. matenga...

Atwaambe GTF Programme ZambiaReview Report

A Synthesis of Case Studies - Zambia

Chrispin R. MatengaDepartment of Development Studies

The University of Zambia27th July 2012

Outline of Presentation

1. Introduction(a) Mwananchi Theory of Change(b) Methodology(b) Limitations

2. Emerging Lessons:

(a) Marginality• Persons with disabilities (PWDs)• Women• Youth• Children

Outline Cont’

(b) Traditional leaders(c) Media(d) Civil society(e) Elected Representatives(f) Use of Research based Evidence

3.ConclusionsWhat works and what doesn’t work?

Introduction Cont’

• The Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) Mwananchi Programme is an initiative of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and is funded by DFID (now UK Aid).

• The Programme aims at enhancing the ability and capacity of citizens, media, CSOs, elected representatives and traditional leaders to make use of evidence based approaches in engaging with state actors and institutions to promote transparent, responsive, accountable and effective governance.


a) Mwananchi Theory of Change• The Mwananchi theory of change defines the

desired outcome as linking voice and accountability, as in enabling citizens to have a voice and have this voice as the agent of transformation of institutions towards better government accountability and responsiveness to citizen interests.


• In order to achieve this outcome in the African context, it is assumed that the roles of the key interlocutors of the citizen-state relations (media, civil society, elected representatives and traditional leaders) need to be sharpened.

• The interlocutors need to work with each other better and maximise the benefits of synergy emanating from their comparative advantages as regards policy making and citizen engagement, whilst at the same time improving their use of evidence in order to influence policies.


• The Mwananchi programme seeks to interrogate what happens between citizens having a voice and that voice leading to better or greater government accountability, which ultimately would result into better policies or their implementation and also more impact on poverty.

• The idea behind the pilot case studies is to promote more of those things in between voice and accountability that result into more government accountability.


• The idea is to find out what works or does not work when deliberate efforts (interventions) are made in form of building coalitions of different interlocutors; capacity support around these interlocutors; and the use of evidence in seeking to transform citizens voice into political accountability.

Introduction Cont’Interlocutor Title of project & main Intervention Activity

Christian Information Network Education for the deaf - Advocating for sign language and e-learning for the deaf in high school and tertiary education institutions

Citizens Forum Disabled Community-Centred Education Initiative – Advocating for an education system that takes into account the needs of people with disability

2410 Integrating youth interests in Community-level decision-making – Advocating for the participation and incorporation of youths interests/issues in community-level structures/processes

Petauke Explorers Community Radio Station Women participation in governance issues for sustainable development – championing women participation in governance and their socio-economic empowerment

Yatsani Community Radio Station Youth Express Radio programme – championing youth empowerment

Kasempa Community Radio Station Disabled people’s participation in governance – championing the participation of the disable people in governance and their empowerment

Radio Maranatha Building coalitions for the betterment of the Hearing Impaired – championing for the educational needs of the deaf people

FODEP Deepening decentralisation at local level

Media Network on Child Rights & Development Child Reporting Bureau

Zambian Council for Social Development Civic Engagement/Deepening awareness in gender policy

INTRODUCTION CONT’

• This review report is a synthesis of case studies based on testimonies across the project sites and from a wide range of sources.

• These include: - Marginalized groups (children, youths, women and people living with disabilities);

Ordinary community members;


- Civil society organisations;- Community radio stations;- Traditional leaders;- Elected representatives (MPs & Councillors);- Government officers.


• The lessons from these case studies are drawn from case study project implementation in the last two to three years.

METHODOLOGY

• Case study method- each project was a unit of study separate from other projects- review of literature emerging from projects- personal interviews- focus group discussions (FGDs)- field visit observations

LIMITATIONS

• Limited field time for interviews• Language barrier (for Kasempa, Nyimba and

Petauke)• Not all stakeholders interviewed• Limited time-frame from which to observe changes;

- Some projects were under implementation for about two years while others were less than a year when the fieldwork for this report was done.

EMERGING LESSONS

a) Marginality• Marginality is about exclusion• Marginalised groups are those who are

excluded from basic rights and entitlements• The Zambian Atwaambe Projects are all

working with marginalised groups: Persons with disabilities (PWDs); Children with Special Education Needs; Women; Youth; & children

Children with Special Education Needs

Interlocutors:• Christian Information Network (CIN)• Citizens Forum (CF)• Forum for Democratic Process

(FODEP)• Radio Maranatha• Radio Kasempa

Children with Special Education Needs Cont’

• The general understanding of marginality in the context of children with special education needs:

- Abilities and capacities of children with disabilities are often

overlooked and underestimated;


- their needs are accorded low priority within communities and families and by government.


• This low priority is demonstrated by: - inadequate special education

schools at all levels in the country; - extremely low national budgetary

allocation- Low levels of family support due to

stigimatisation and ignorance


Actions by interlocutors :• Three Atwaambe projects have a special focus

on advocating for access to education by children with disabilities:– Kasempa Community Radio and FODEP in

Kasempa;– Radio Maranatha and CIN in Kabwe; – Citizens Forum in Nyimba.


• CIN: awareness raising through media meetings; Radio programmes; and addressing parliamentary committees.

• CIN takes the deaf and dumb pupils before a parliamentary committee and other fora. As the saying goes:

“ Nothing about us without us”.


• Radio Maranatha: through phone-in radio programmes, including those that involve the participation of children with disabilities; and stakeholder meetings.

• Kasempa Radio: through radio programmes; stakeholder meetings.


• CF: awareness raising and education campaigns through community meetings; and a television documentary; community census of disabled children and adults.


Key Results of Interlocutor Actions:• Increased enrolment of children with hearing

impairment at Kasempa Basic School & Broadway Basic School in Kabwe from about 7 to 13 and 32 to 50 respectively

• A special classroom for pupils with special education needs has been initiated at Kabwe High School


• The CDC is currently working on establishing a differentiated curriculum for both blind and the deaf learners.

• Government is introducing e-learning in learning institutions.

• Education policy and Bill currently under review with inputs from CIN and other partners.


• There is some increased interaction among different stakeholders including policy makers, elected leaders, traditional leaders, civil society, private organisations and government officers around the issue of education for children with disabilities.

Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)

Interlocutors

•Citizens Forum (CF)•Forum for Democratic Process

(FODEP)•Radio Kasempa


• The general understanding of marginality in the context of PWDs:– strong prejudices by communities.– stigma and lack self-respect within the

communities.– discouraged from making a contribution of

opinion in public fora.


Actions by interlocutors :• Three Atwaambe projects a special focus on

advocating for the cause of PWDs:– Kasempa Community Radio;– FODEP in Kasempa;– Citizens Forum in Nyimba.


• Kasempa Radio: through radio programmes; stakeholder meetings.

• FODEP: awareness raising and education campaigns through community meetings and radio programmes.

• CF: awareness raising and education campaigns through community meetings; and a television documentary; community census of disabled children and adults.


Key Results of Interlocutor Actions:• Increased awareness among the communities &

elected leaders on challenges facing PWDs. • Communities are mobilising themselves to find

solutions to their marginalisation. For example:- in Kasempa, organisations for PWDs

have been established and have acquired an office for free from a

government building.


- PWDs in Kasempa have known theprocedures of accessing land from both

the traditional leaders and the local council

- PWDs in Kasempa are now aware of how Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is utilised

- In Kasempa, PWDs participated in the management of nation elections of Sept. 2011


- In Nyimba district, communities and their traditional leaders have been

mobilised.- However, the community in

Nyimba expressed disatisfaction that nothing was going- on for them after

mobilisation.

Women

• The general understanding of marginality in the context of women:- strong prejudices by society- seen as part of the husband’s property,

farm labourers or domestic servants, rather than being equal partners- limited family bargaining power, influence, freedom or autonomy

Women Cont’

Interlocutors• Petauke Explorers radio in Petauke district• Zambia Council for Social Development in

Chongwe district

Women Cont’

Actions by interlocutors:• Petauke Explorers radio: through radio

programmes; stakeholder meetings• ZCSD: through stakeholder meetings;

community meetings; radio programmes• Petauke Explorers has provided mass

communications on topics related to political participation, land ownership rights, property inheritance rights, gender policy and culture

Women Cont’

• ZCSD’s Atwaambe project is aiming at deepening understanding of gender policy and implementation of its provisions and advocating for provision of social services to women such as education and health

Women Cont’

Key Results of interlocutor actions:• Increased awareness among the communities

& traditional leaders on challenges facing women

• Communities are mobilising themselves to find solutions to women’s marginalisation.

Women Cont’

• Social norms have begun to change • Women in Petauke district have begun to

develop new capacities, acquire resources, and respond to a wide array of opportunities

• Women are now able to apply to the traditional authorities and own personal land and are also able to retain family land in instances where the husband dies.

Women Cont’

• In politics, political parties were accused of preferring men to women

• However, in both Petauke and Chongwe districts there are women MPs although no female Councillors

Youth

• The general understanding of marginality in the context of youth:- lack of youth participation in decision making- high unemployment- lack of social amenities- hence, youth experience exclusion from public life, mounting frustration, and low self-esteem, which is currently a source of numerous social ills in the country

Youth Cont’

Actions by interlocutors:• Two Atwaambe projects have a special focus

on youth issues:- 2410 in Lusaka- Radio Yatsani also in Lusaka

Youth Cont’

• 2410: through youth mobilisation; awareness raising and education campaigns; ‘meet your councillor’ indabas

• Radio Yatsani: through radio programmes

Youth Cont’

Key Results of interlocutor actions:• Increased awareness among youths, elected

leaders (particularly Councillors) & government leaders on the challenges facing youths.

• Behavioural change by councillors- youths interacting with councillors

• In one ward (Chaisa ward in Lusaka) a youth elected to position of Ward Development Committee (WDC) Secretary

Youth Cont’

• Chaisa WDC compelled to purchase a property to put up a Youth Center in response to youth demands

• In the case of Radio Yatsani, Government responded to youths’ demands on radio programme by holding ‘youth indabas’

• Some youths have been connected to entrepreneurs through the Radio Yatsani’s Atwaambe radio programme

Children

• The general understanding of marginality in the context of children:- lack of children’s participation in decision making- lack of social amenities- denial of the right to education resulting from child labour and early marriage- hence, children experience exclusion from public life, mounting frustration, and low self-esteem, which is currently a source of numerous social ills in the country

Children Cont’

Actions by interlocutor:• Only one Atwaambe project is focusing on children:

- Media Network on Child Rights and Development (MNCRD) in Petauke district- through Child Reporting Bureau, child news agents recruited & trained within Petauke district collect news on child rights abuses & report on Petauke Explorers radio and Radio PASME

Children Cont’

Key Results of interlocutor Actions:• Child news Agents more aware of children’s

rights• Child news agents acquire journalistic skills• Project under implementation for a very short

time to observe changes in the larger community if any.

Role of Civil Society Organisations

• Civil society organisations (CSOs) are generally thought to be closer to the intended beneficiaries of development policies.

• Due to this proximity, therefore, these organisations can be seen as a medium through which the marginalized groups can express their voice.

• Many CSOs represent marginalized groups who have no space to influence policy.

Civil Society Organisations Cont’

• They are generally credited to represent the poor marginalized groups such as women, children, youths, and persons with disabilities

• CSOs have therefore a potentially important role to play in creating space for voice and catalysing changes in accountability between service providers, policy makers and communities


• Currently legislation that regulates the CSOs is the Non-Governmental Organisation Act No. 16 of 2009

• Among other things, the NGO Act requires civil society organizations to declare and reveal their sources of funding, NGO officers to declare their assets, and the civil society organisations to register with the Registrar of Societies every five years


• The Mwananchi Governance Transparency Fund (GTF) sought to involve civil society organisations that were likely to have strong and demonstrable links with the marginalized groups such as persons with disabilities, women, children and youth in implementing its governance projects in Zambia.

• Six non-traditional type civil society organisations were selected, namely, Christian Information Network (CIN), 2410, Citizens Forum, Forum for Democratic Process (FODEP), Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) and Media Network for Children’s Rights and Development (MNCRD).


• The Atwaambe governance projects being spearheaded by civil society organisations in Zambia have been under implementation for between one and two years now.

• Three of them – CIN, 2410, and Citizens Forum - have been implementing their projects for close to two years, while the other three –ZCSD, FODEP and MNCRD are just about a year.


• Therefore, the picture on the effectiveness of role of these organisations in enhancing voice and accountability for the marginalised groups they work with could be said to still be partial

• However, field data in the project areas does give indications of the role civil society organisations are playing


• In all the cases considered in this study, CSOs have shown that they are striving to give voice to the different marginalised groups they are working with by providing opportunities for the to these groups to communicate with governance institutions and elected representatives

• Good examples on this are CIN, FODEP and 2410. CIN has provided platform for persons with special education needs to communicate with parliament through parliamentary committees in Lusaka


• FODEP has provided platform for persons with disabilities to participate in the CDF committee in Kasempa

• 2410 has provided platform for youths to communicate with local government councillors in Lusaka


• Through negotiation with relevant coalition partners, CSOs have sought to ensure that their positions and those of their constituencies find their way into policy or legal texts

• CSOs have also demonstrated good use of testimonies from specific marginalised groups and have proved to be powerful tools for advocacy around a specific governance issue.

ROLE OF TRADITIONAL LEADERS

Introduction• Traditional leaders have continued to play an

important role in governance in Zambia’s rural areas both before and after independency.

• Traditional leadership is formally recognised through the Chiefs Act (1965) and the Zambian Constitution. It comprises of the Paramount Chiefs, Senior Chiefs, Chiefs, Sub-Chiefs, Indunas and Headmen.

TRADITIONAL LEADERS

• The Chiefs Act (1965) places a significant responsibility on chiefs to maintain public order in their area of influence.

- a chief is required “to preserve the public peace in his area and to take reasonable measures to quell any riot, affray or similar disorder

which may occur in that area”.

TRADITIONAL LEADERS

• The Development of Villages and Registration Act (1971) empowers Chiefs to register villages and inhabitants their-in.

• New PF government has even created a Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs.

• New PF government has expressed the need to reform laws regarding traditional leaders in order to give them powers to exercise their duties as required by government.

TRADITIONAL LEADERS

• In this regard, the government intends to provide technical staff to advise traditional leaders on various developmental issues.

TRADITIONAL LEADERS

Chiefs and Atwaambe Projects• Traditional leadership is participating in

Atwaambe projects in three districts (Petauke, Nyimba & Kasempa)

• Chiefs , Indunas & Headmen playing a significant role in:- mobilisation of their communities- spearheading campaigns for attitudinal

changes among their subjects

TRADITIONAL LEADERS

• Kasempa and Nyimba: stigma still reigns as some parents hide their disabled children

• Nyimba district: all the 4 chiefs and their headmen have registered and made lists of all the disabled persons in their chiefdoms

• Kasempa District: Senior Chief Kasempa is also trying to do the same.

TRADITIONAL LEADERS

• Petauke district: Senior Chief Kalindawalo and Chief Nyampande active in trying to empower women:- Widows no longer lose their husband’s

land (a decree by Kalindawalo)- Women permitted to apply and own land- local certificates of title to land are given- Women incorporated in decision-making

structures (model village concept)

TRADITIONAL LEADERS

• However, Atwaambe projects have not reached all the Chiefdoms within the districts.

• Therefore, efforts must be made to go to the most remote parts of the districts away from the “boma”.

• Kasempa and Nyimba districts Atwaambe projects have a lot to learn from Petauke project in working with Traditional leaders.

• Traditional leaders are indeed an important link in governance in Zambia’s rural areas.

Media

Introduction• Community radio has become an important vehicle

for popular views in Zambia, although it is still relatively new.

• The airwaves were liberalised only after political liberalisation of the early 1990s.

• Currently, the media sector is given legal recognition through the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) (Amendment) Act of 2010.

Media

• Section 24(2) of the IBA (Amendment) Act spells out the functions of a community broadcaster, while Section 24(3) spells out the functions of a religious broadcaster.

• In spite of the this legislation, the media sector is heavily controlled by the Government as the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has not yet been put in place.

Media

• Government officials have on a number of occasions used this fluid regulatory environment to threaten community and religious radio stations deemed critical of government with closure. Examples abound:

- January 2011- Lyambai in Mongu was actually closed

- May 2007- Sky FM was threatened

Media

• This section draws on case studies of radio series produced by four (4) community radio stations: Yatsani; Petauke Explorers; Maranatha; and Kasempa.

• These media have provided fora through which local communities have been voicing out specific issues of concern in their day to day lives in the project sites.

Media

Emerging Issues• All the Atwaambe radio programmes have

followed a similar approach involving collaboration between the radio staff (producers), the community members and various stakeholders, including government officials, traditional leaders, elected representative (MPs and Councillors), civil society and church leaders.

Media

• Of noteworthy is the component of phone-in which allows debate by the public on the topic under discussion.

• The specific format of the radio programmes is helping local people in the project sites to express their opinions and ultimately be more involved in their own communities.

• The community radio programmes by the four radio stations have acted as a vehicle for the local people to become their own ‘storytellers’.

Media

• At least three (3) out of the four (4) radio stations do their programmes both in the most spoken local language and English, while one station does the programmes in English but exercises flexibility where both the panelists and the callers can express themselves in the local languages they are familiar with.

Media

• Use of local language enables the people to engage in the programme discussion, and, therefore, tell their story and have their voices heard.

• However, one question that begs an answer is: whose voices are being heard in these radio programmes?

• Testimonies have alluded to a tendency to concentrate around the ‘boma’ area where the not-so poor live.

Media

• In the meantime, radio staff say they are limited by inadequate resources to cover far-flung areas to record community voices.

• Therefore, the core poor, the most socially marginalised who are found in the remotest of the programme sites are likely to be clouded out.

Recommendations on the Media

• There is need to undertake an independent formal listener survey as a feedback system in order to ascertain independent views from the general local communities about the efficacy of the programmes.

• There is need for radio staffs to go beyond the vicinity of the ‘boma’ to capture the voices of those who are geographically isolated.

Recommendations on the Media

• There is need building capacities in the skills for the broadcasters. Particularly in employing use of research-based evidence in the policy debates they control.

• There is need to consider the long-term sustainability of the radio programmes, given that sponsorship will be for a limited period of time. It is recommended that a community radio support fund be established.

USE OF RESEARCH-BASED EVIDENCE

• The significance of research based evidence use in community radio policy debates cannot be over-emphasised.

• Research can provide evidence that can provoke policy makers and other duty bearers into action.

• Among most of the six civil society organisations implementing the Atwaambe initiative across the country, there was poor understanding of research-based evidence, hence, the debates on most of the respective governance issues, on balance, lacked research based evidence or any evidence for that matter.


• The clearest use of evidence among the grantee civil society organisations was observed in the policy debate by CIN.

• The organisation has demonstrated the ability to use research-based evidence in influencing policy around the education for the hearing impaired policy processes and engaging citizens.


• The poor use of evidence can be explained bt the following factors:- the lack of skills in use of research based evidence by the project implementers;- the governance issue under debate; - the level at which the debate itself is happening; and the lack of demand for evidence in the debates by policy-makers and other duty bearers. - Even where there was some form of efforts to get information for advocacy by most of the organisations, it was not clear as to who the ‘evidence’ (information) was directed and with what intended impact.

CONCLUSIONS

What works, and what doesn’t?• The Atwaambe case studies do show that

there are case where same types of interventions have worked in some areas, but not in others.

• A number of enabling factors explain this variation:- an active or inactive civil society in the area

CONCLUSIONS

- good publicity of a governance issue through independent media- Quality and accessibility of information- Building effective partnerships and coalitions among stakeholders including elected leaders, traditional leaders, media etc.- citizen activism in a given area e.g. women in Petauke; PWDs in Kasempa; Youth in Lusaka

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