The advent of democracy and multiparty political dispensation in Malawi 23 years ago called for the need for a re-education process for Malawians so that there was shared information and values on the requirements of the new political system that ended the 31 years of dictatorship.<\/p>\n
In this endevour, there was a vibrant civil society that emerged to provide civic education to the Malawian populace.<\/p>\n
However, a number of experiences quickly came to the fore in the exercise of providing this civic education. Firstly, it was observed that civic education was mostly theme-based and human rights \u2013 mostly without the equal emphasis on the corresponding duties and responsibilities \u2013 were the priority topic of the day. Secondly, the geographical coverage by the civic educators was mostly limited to urban and peri-urban locations. At the same time, those that went into the interior of the country were not providing continuous civic education.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was observed that most of the civic education was understood as political education which was being done in a top-down and non-participatory manner such that people\u2019s reorientation towards the new democratic dispensation was missing as there was no attitude change,\u201d observes Vincent Kalawa, Regional Civic Education Officer for the North.<\/p>\n
The consequences of these observations became more apparent in the run-up to the second general elections in 1999 despite that the polls registered a higher voter turnout of 94 percent against 1994\u2019s 79.9 percent.<\/p>\n
Thus, in 1999, the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) was established in order to offset these challenges. With funding from the European Union, Nice was to contribute towards the strengthening of the democratic process and good governance by providing countrywide civic education in a participatory, non-partisan, professional and permanent manner. In addition, it was charged with the responsibility of providing civic education that would facilitate behavioural and attitude change and mobilise Malawians for participation in public life including elections.<\/p>\n
Nice has been running as a project until March 2012 when it metamorphosed into a Public Trust but maintained its overall objective of contributing towards the promotion of democracy and good governance through civic and voter education so that there is enhanced ability of Malawian citizens to participate in public life including democratic decision-making processes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom 2012, we have successfully implemented several operational programmes. For instance, in January this year, we finalised Programme Estimate 3 (PE 3) building on the successes of PE 2 which ran from July 2014 to August 2015. PE 2 was built on the first operational PE 1 that was implemented from March 2013 to June 2014 and focused on the mobilisation and civic education of voters for Malawi\u2019s first tripartite elections that took place in May 2014,\u201d says Kalawa.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the just-ended PE, we had four main thematic areas which we have successfully managed to implement: enhancing capacity of Malawians and civil society organisations to effectively engage and participate in electoral processes; improved transparency, accountability and responsiveness of duty bearers and service providers in addressing governance issues at local levels and deepening citizen voices including disadvantaged groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cEfforts were also made towards enhancing our own capacity in programme and organisation management for quality implementation, networking and coordination with other role players at district and national levels; and lastly, promoting peaceful coexistence and social cohesion among Malawians,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
In the post tripartite-elections period, Nice has largely been focusing on strengthening of citizen voices and responsiveness of duty bearers while ensuring that the roles of the elected duty bearers and public officials are adequately comprehended.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is pleasing to note that now things have improved because all districts at least have citizen forums which are functional. We have been very instrumental in establishing citizen forums because we have seen that they are the best accountability forums in communities. The idea is we have to ensure that there is an in-built mechanism within communities to take care of the outstanding service delivery issues that require responsiveness on the part of relevant duty bearers,\u201d says Kalawa.<\/p>\n
Citizen forums have been very crucial in ensuring transparency and accountability, especially in public projects taking place in the rural areas, according to assessment reports at Nice.<\/p>\n
Senior Chief Mwankhunikira of Rumphi says the establishment of citizen forums has assisted a lot in tracking public projects in communities. Speaking to members of Kasasa Citizen Forum in Rumphi recently, Mwankhunikira said it was pleasing that communities were able to follow up on development projects whose implementation is not satisfactory.<\/p>\n
For instance, Lunyina Bridge in Rumphi collapsed just soon after its completion. It collapsed before it was opened to the public for use due to poor workmanship on part of the contractor. As a way forward, the community through the Kasasa Citizen Forum are planning to meet council officials to seek clarification and remedial action to ensure that they are assisted with another bridge which shortens the distance to Bolero Health Centre.<\/p>\n
According to Mwankhunikira, well-trained citizen forums can greatly deal with seemingly high corruption levels in implementation of public projects in rural areas.<\/p>\n
Nice, through its January-February report, acknowledges that through citizen forums, corrupt head teachers have been forced to refund funds meant for school improvement programmes (Sip) which they abuse; boreholes have been sunk; duty bearers have become more responsive as they are frequently engaged; there has been improved transparency in implementation of community projects; more importantly, communities understand their role in various activities that would help develop their areas.<\/p>\n
Traditional Authority Kampingo Sibande of Mzimba also says that through civic education, members of the community find it very easy to summon Members of Parliament (MPs) and councillors to interface meetings which he says was not common in the previous years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is an indication that people understand the roles of their political leaders and also their rights. We are making steady progress in as far as local governance is concerned,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
According to Nice Board Chairperson Susan Kaunda, there is good participation of women and the youth in the development activities owing to transformative civic education activities being conducted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a sign that communities are really empowered. However, they should not relent but do more so that they help in changing their communities,\u201d said Kaunda, during her tour of Nice activities in the North recently.<\/p>\n
She said it was also encouraging that the chiefs have accepted the work of Nice, hence easing the governance institution\u2019s efforts to empower communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen chiefs accept our work, the battle is won. This is very encouraging. Everywhere in the country, we cordially work hand in hand with chiefs. Nice works with the communities; so the collaboration and support we get from traditional leaders is helping to make our work easier and more relevant.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite some challenges they encounter, our officers have tirelessly worked and managed to change community attitudes and empowered the local population through civic engagement. They have also forged good working relationship with various partners in the pursuit of making communities better places,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Among other things, the strength of Nice lies in the fact that it has a global reach in the country as it is present in all districts including Likoma and its sister island of Chizumulu. Aided by a team of over 8,000 volunteers, it is able to reach even the remotest part of the country. These volunteers are the links and animators of participatory development and are present in every village.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we look into the future, we have been able to come up with a strategic plan which is a guiding tool in implementation of our activities. Among other things, we will be looking at the demand side of governance zeroing in on transparency and accountability by building capacity of both duty bearers and citizens on their obligations and entitlements as well as responsibilities, respectively, in ensuring transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also try to sensitize citizens to the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in ensuring transparency and accountability and also deepen citizen\u2019s voice including the marginalised groups such as women, youths and people with disability in perceived hard-to-reach areas,\u201d says Kalawa.<\/p>\n
According to the strategic plan, Nice will also endevour to enhance the capacity of Malawian citizens to hold duty bearers accountable through enforcement of public service charters at district level; promote peaceful coexistence and social cohesion; enhance citizens\u2019 capacity to actively participate in decision and policy-making processes and elections<\/p>\n
\u201cImproving democratic governance is foundation for poverty reduction and sustainable development. In this context, Nice will continue to contribute towards the promotion of a democratic culture and good governance through quality and transformative civic and voter education in fulfillment of its mandate of deepening democracy and good governance so that we have a Malawi that everyone would want to see,\u201d says Kalawa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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