empowering citizens towards transformative development in malawi: addressing the tough governance...
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A critical look at the policy and practice trends over the past 50 years of an independent Malawi and 20 years of a democratic Malawi, it is clear that Malawi has lacked an effective developmental and democratic social contract between the state and citizens. This paper argues that at this moment and going forward there is an urgent need to find a ‘growth-enhancing’ and ‘democracy-deepening’ path to change that can stand the test of the frequent regime changes, which keeps Malawi on a vicious cycle of poverty and dependency. In order to find this path, there is need to cultivate the politics of taking responsibility, transparency, and accountability, drawing these from a continued renewal of societal values at all levels. These societal values would be developed within a construct of collective action with rules of the game that work for all actors regardless of their official labels or positions. Using evidence from research, the paper provides very practical ways of doing this. This for example includes how initiatives such as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), which are currently implemented mainly out of political correctness rather than transformative change, can be turned into opportunities to reconstruct state-citizen social contracts that are ‘growth enhancing’ and ‘democracy-deepening’ from the bottom up. Development is firstly political and then technical and not the other way round. Therefore, the tough questions that exit in how politics informs development and change need to be addressed for transformative change to take place.TRANSCRIPT
Empowering citizens towards transformative development in Malawi: addressing the tough governance questions
Dr Fletcher Tembo – Director, Mwananchi Social Accountability and Learning; Research Associate,
Overseas Development Institute
9th October 2014
Outline of presentation • Surprise • About Mwananchi• Political settlement and development in Malawi • Challenge of development • Empowering citizens as a solution• Analytical Framework • Way forward
Surprise!A local civil society organisation (CSO) working with a radio station unearths corrupt practices involving the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Instead of supporting the idea of engaging the MP so that he can account for the misappropriation, traditional leaders stop the CSO from doing so. They say, the MP is from the ruling party and they cannot confront him to account for the money. The CSO and the local club then also remain silent
About Mwananchi• Governance Transparency Fund - DFID’s Fund created to
“do much more at the grassroots end of political governance”
• ODI worked in six African countries (Malawi, Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Zambia) from 2009 - 2013
• Branded as ‘Mwananchi’ which means ‘ordinary citizen’ but countries have local names as well e.g. Leh Wi Tok in Sierra Leone; ‘Liu Lathu’ in Malawi
Issue-based programming
Paramount Chief in East Gonja District (Ghana) – at a Palace meeting
Citizens in the palace (Ghana)
Nyasatimes, Malawi News Agency Article, June, 7 2014
Ordinary citizens are also complicit “I would like to point out one weakness which is in people once they elect someone into office, they start to worship that person and giving him names like saviour which is not on. We have had good leaders, but the way they are treated changes them,” said Chilima
Political Settlement – the big challenge in MalawiChilima said with the election period over it is now time for all Malawians to bring their energy together in working towards developing the country regardless of one’s political affiliation.“The task of developing this country is for all us. Each one of us pays tax and as such every one of us deserves a share of the development in this country no matter which party he identifies with,” the country’s Vice President said.
The challenge of developmentBalancing economic growth drivers and deepening/ consolidation of democracy
Embedding growth in the social fabric of the society, even when it is the political elites that are driving it
Getting the balance rightGovernance/ politics (White, 2008) Getting political society right State institutions right Civil society right – representing interests and values
Economic growth Getting wealth creation right
Some definitions Rent Creation “Rent is payment above and over the opportunity cost of an asset” Meles Zenawi, 2012,p.141
Rent Seeking – spending wealth on political lobbying to increase one's share of existing wealth without creating wealth. The effects of rent-seeking are reduced economic efficiency through poor allocation of resources, reduced wealth creation, lost government revenue, increased income inequality and national decline. Wikipedia
Empowering citizens: the definition Current definition (informed from social accountability)- Enabling people to exercise more control over their own development and supporting them to have the power to make and act on their own choices” Independent Commission for Aid Impact Report 28, 2013
Empowering citizens as a solution
• Just as rent-seeking behaviour is detrimental to wealth creation through the private sector, political patronage is a danger to citizen empowerment
• Empowering citizens seems to offer part of the solution to both problems
Way forward: from the side of citizens
Experiment production and wealth creation to social service provision • CDF
• FISP
• Other handouts
Analytical framework
References• Robinson M. and G. White (eds) (1998) The Democratic
Developmental State: Politics and Institutional Design, Oxford University press
• Tembo, F (2013) Rethinking Social Accountability in Africa: Lessons from the Mwananchi Programme, Overseas Development Institute
• Zenawi, M (2012) ‘States and Markets: Neoliberal Limitations and the Case for a Developmental State’, in Noman A., Botchwey K, Stein, H and Stiglitz, J. (eds) Good Growth and Governance in Africa, Oxford University Press
The End!
Many thanks for attending the session
To contact me Email: [email protected]: fletcher.temboTel. 0997921913