Social Accountability in Africa Practio

234 Pages·2010·3.134 MB·English

by  Mario Claasen, Carmen Alpin-Lardies

SOCIAL
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SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY C
IN IA
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AFRICA
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ACCOUNTABILITY
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IL SOCIAL IN
IT
Y

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A ACCOUNTABILITY
AFRICA
Social Accountability in Africa: Practitioners’ Experiences and Lessons F
IN
is a collection of case studies from Africa on social accountability. R
This collection attempts to build a consolidated body of knowledge
I
on social accountability efforts across the continent. The case C AFRICA
studies are diverse and present unique approaches to how social A
accountability strategies and interventions are implemented within
different countries.
Practitioners’ Experiences and Lessons
The book is written by practitioners, for practitioners, providing fi rst-
Practitioners’ Experiences and Lessons
hand experience of designing and implementing social accountability
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initiatives and the challenges, methods and successes each one
IT
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presents. D

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• While most research focuses on the role of citizens and civil Y

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society organisations in promoting accountability, this book places
A
R
a greater emphasis on joint state-civil society initiatives. IO

• While social accountability initiatives are known mostly only in C
L
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their own countries, and few African campaigns are documented, A
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this book fi lls this gap by covering different approaches within a EN Edited by
A Mario Claasen and
wide array of African countries. N
D Carmen Alpín-Lardiés

C
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To overcome language and cultural barriers that have prevented R
M
practitioners in the African sub-regions from learning from each E
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other, this book will be translated into French and disseminated A
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widely in Francophone Africa. ÍN
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R
The Affi liated Network for Social Accountability in Africa (ANSA-Africa) D
IÉ
supports the engagement of citizens and civil society in building S
more effective states through social accountability approaches.
978 1 920409 20 3
Edited by
Mario Claasen and
Carmen Alpín-Lardiés
© Idasa 2010
Copyright in this volume as a whole is vested with the
Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA-Africa),
which is located in Idasa.
For more information about this project,
please visit our website on http://www.ansa-africa.net/.
ISBN 978-1-920409-20-3
First published 2010
Editing by Celia Fleming
Design and cover design by Damian Gibbs, Orchard Publishing
Bound and printed by ABC Press, Cape Town
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without prior permission from the publishers.
Contents
Foreword vii
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Olive Shisana
Introduction 1
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Mario Claasen and Carmen Alpín Lardiés
Controlling Power – Africans’ Views on Governance,
Citizenship and Accountability 8
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Robert Mattes
CIVIL SOCIETY-LED ACCOUNTABILITY
SECTION 1
CHAPTER 1 Seeking Social Accountability from Provincial Government
in South Africa 25
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Derek Luyt
CHAPTER 2 Ensuring Social Accountability in Times of Political Crisis in Kenya39

By Cyprian Nyamwamu
CHAPTER 3 Using the Media to Advance Social Accountability in Uganda 52
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Juliet Nakato Odoi
CHAPTER 4 Monitoring Ourselves – The African Peer Review Mechanism
(APRM) as a Catalyst for Accountability 67
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Terence Corrigan and Steven Gruzd
GOVERNMENT-LED ACCOUNTABILITY
SECTION 2
CHAPTER 5 The Role of the Ombudsman in Ensuring an Accountable
Public Service – Malawi’s Experience 87
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Enock D�A� Chibwana
CHAPTER 6 Parliamentary Oversight of the HIV and AIDS Pandemic –
The Case of Mozambique 98
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Honourable Isaú Joaquim Meneses
CHAPTER 7 Improving Public Service Delivery: Kenya’s Public Service
Reform (2003-2007) 108
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Joyce B� Nyamweya CBS
CHAPTER 8 Leveraging State Accountability: The South African
Commission for Gender Equality 123
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Janine Hicks
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP
SECTION 3
CHAPTER 9 Developing Civil Society’s Budget Monitoring Capacity of HIV
and AIDS Resources in Southern and Eastern Africa 141
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Teresa Guthrie, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, Rose Wanjiru and Paulina Chiwangu
CHAPTER 10 The Local Governance Barometer - Measuring Governance in
Madagascar 157
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Jean-Michel Dufils
CHAPTER 11 Activating Citizens through Community-Based Planning:
The Case of Johannesburg 172
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Lesley Hudson and Khadija Richards
CHAPTER 12 Towards an Enabling Environment for Social Accountability
in Kenya 185
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Alexander O’Riordan
CHAPTER 13 Monitoring Resource Flows in Decentralising African States 197
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Sylvain Boko and Mary McNeil
Conclusion 209
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
By Carmen Alpín Lardiés and Mario Claasen
Contributors 218
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN AFRICA – PRACTITIONERS’ EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS
Acknowledgements
vi
We would like to express our gratitude to the World Bank Institute for the solid
support it provided to enable the ANSA-Africa Secretariat, hosted initially by
the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and subsequently by Idasa,
to contribute to the delivery of this volume. The Bank’s Development Grant
Facility provided the financial assistance which enabled the compilation and
production of this publication.
We are grateful to Social Dimensions, in particular Marlene Roefs and
Daleen Botha, for their role in the project and to the South African Institute
for International Affairs, and in particular Victoria Ayer and Steven Gruzd, for
the delivery of the first manuscript.
Equally important is the contribution of those service providers and project
partners who provided technical input, project management and monitoring
support, including the editors, authors of chapters and reviewers.
We wish to sincerely thank the following: Bernadette Bule, Marianne
Camerer, Shaamela Cassiem, Thembinkosi Dlamini, Rex Gibson, George
Katito, Sian Long, Carmen Malena, Abdul Waheed Patel, Tšoeu Petlane, Angela
Thomas, Claire Waters and Russell Wildeman.
We are grateful to the South African Institute for International Affairs, and
in particular Victoria Ayer and Steven Gruzd, and to Social Dimensions, in
particular Marlene Roefs and Daleen Botha, for their role in the project.
We also wish to extend a word of gratitude to the Knowledge Systems Pro-
gramme at HSRC for leading the project since inception; the Democracy and
Governance Programme at HSRC, and in particular Dr Kwandiwe Kondlo, for
their management of the project between August 2008 and September 2009;
and the Economic Governance Programme at Idasa, and in particular Mario
Claasen and Carmen Alpín Lardiés, for their management of the project since
September 2009 to date.
The authors write in a personal capacity and their views do not necessarily
reflect those of the sponsoring bodies.
ANSA-Africa Secretariat
Foreword
vii
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the inaugural edition of the Affiliated
Network for Social Accountability (ANSA-Africa) Social Accountability in Africa
volume, produced under the auspices of the ANSA-Africa World Bank-funded
development grant facility.
The publication is intended to serve as a knowledge resource to support
policy-makers, public policy practitioners, law-makers, public institutions,
public managers, the research and academic community, civil society, donor
organisations, international and multilateral development agencies and all those
actively involved and concerned with the subject of the ‘governance-accounta-
bility’ nexus in Africa.
Consistent with its mandate of conducting public-purpose, policy-relevant
research, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) holds the view that
social accountability can significantly promote sustained good governance in
Africa. This may help to address the many challenges the continent faces in
moving towards sustainable development, in particular achieving the challenges
of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The stimulus and demand for more effective and greater levels of social
accountability to improve the quality, transparency and developmental impact
of governance in Africa has experienced a gradual and steady rise in recent years
due to various factors. These include among others:
• Growing consensus that democracy thrives when there is a strong civil society
and strong government which are mutually reinforcing;
• The role played by civil society in scaling up government development pro-
grammes while also advocating for human rights and principled democratic
values is indispensable;
• The recognition that in pursuing social accountability, civil society organisa-
tions need to ensure that they are accountable to their constituencies, report
on their work, get feedback and support and are transparent about their
sources of funding;
SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN AFRICA – PRACTITIONERS’ EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS
• The progress in setting constitutional and legislative frameworks for the
decentralisation of governance and devolution of power from central to pro-
vincial and local governments is a step towards social accountability;
• The promotion of gender and youth roles in budgeting and developmental
initiatives is critical to ensure accountability and inclusiveness; and
• The use of media tools in information dissemination to broaden community
understanding of government programmes plays an important role.
Since the first ANSA-Africa stakeholder conference held in December 2006
there has been an expansion of new African networks for social accountability
learning, knowledge sharing and capacity building in more than 1600 organi-
sations across the African continent. These mirror similar trends which have
emerged on the Indian subcontinent and in the Philippines with the expansion
of the ANSA model. This is reflective of the growing global concern with good
governance as a prerequisite for sustainable development.
viii The collective challenge confronting proponents of social accountability is
how best to galvanise and institutionalise social accountability and the possi-
bilities it presents at continental, sub-regional, country and local levels. Other
challenges include:
• Extending and expanding the network, building on existing regional and
in-country networks. A vital component of this endeavour is the need to cul-
tivate continuous growth, cohesiveness and strengthening of the African social
accountability movement, including training and capacity building, shared
learning, information exchange, and meeting the demand for integrating and
incorporating French and Portuguese language content;
• Translating complex concepts into practical, locally specific and easy to under-
stand indicators, generating governance criteria and standards for comparing
the quality of governance in different situations and recommending action
plans for improvement;
• The lack of a revenue base and the dependence on transfers from central
government are impediments to local initiatives;
• Convincing all levels of government to embrace social accountability, the
benefits it presents and the need for capacity building and resource mobilisa-
tion; and
• The ongoing processes concerned with deepening the political and economic
integration of the African continent raise important questions worth consider-
ing regarding the relationship and role of ANSA-Africa in providing practical
support to social accountability responsibilities of multilateral forums such
as the African Union (AU), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(Nepad) and regional economic communities (RECs).
This inaugural ANSA-Africa Social Accountability in Africa volume provides a
valuable knowledge base drawn from a rich and diverse wealth of experiences
and lessons learnt. Collectively, the chapters provide socio-political analysis
of different country contexts to show how social accountability strategies and
interventions are implemented and monitored.
I trust that this volume will provide a solid foundation and fountain of
knowledge to keep us on course toward the goal of strong, socially accountable
democracies on the African continent.
Dr Olive Shisana
Chief Executive Officer, Human Sciences Research Council
Introduction
By Mario Claasen and
Carmen Alpín Lardiés1
1
THE ANSA-AFRICA NETWORK
The Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in Africa (ANSA-Africa) was
born out of a stakeholders’ conference convened by the World Bank Institute
(WBI) and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa in
2006 in Accra, Ghana. Stakeholders, including government officials, donors,
civil society organisations and multilaterals attended the conference to discuss
the status and future avenues of social accountability initiatives in Africa. At
this conference, the stakeholders recognised the tremendous wealth of social
accountability initiatives underway across the continent but also identified
the lack of knowledge and lesson sharing amongst those engaged in these ini-
tiatives. Participants also raised concerns regarding the capacity of citizens to
engage and hold their governments accountable. The capacities of citizens and
civil society were spread unevenly between Anglophone-, Francophone- and
Lusophone-speaking countries. According to the stakeholders, what was needed
was a continental platform that could serve as a clearinghouse of knowledge
products, provide an inventory of capacity building on social accountability
initiatives and methodologies, and support cross-country learning exchange on
various initiatives.
The ANSA-Africa Network was officially launched in 2007 with the Secre-
tariat being hosted at the HSRC up until December 2008 and subsequently at
African democracy institute Idasa. The Network’s governance structures include
an Executive Committee (EXCO) and the Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
The EXCO is the highest decision-making body in the Network. The Secretariat
submits its strategic plans and operational plans to the EXCO for approval. The
EXCO represents experts in the field of social accountability but also reflects the
linguistic regions of Africa, namely Francophone, Lusophone and Anglophone.
The EXCO convenes on a quarterly basis. The TAG is a group of technical
1 Idasa, Kutlwanong Democracy Centre, Pretoria, South Africa
SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN AFRICA – PRACTITIONERS’ EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS
experts in various fields of social accountability such as health, education, anti-
corruption, social welfare, etc. This is an advisory group that often assists the
Secretariat in the identification of experts in certain areas and the conceptualisa-
tion of research outputs.
WHAT IS SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY?
In the broadest sense, accountability is the requirement of those in power to
explain and take responsibility for their choices and actions.2 Ackerman defines
government accountability as a “proactive process by which public officials
inform about and justify their plans of action, their behaviour and results and
are sanctioned accordingly”.3 What is striking about Ackerman’s definition is his
recognition of accountability as a proactive process where government officials
2 do not sit and wait for citizens to demand but actively and voluntarily dissemi-
nate information, convene forums of participation and ultimately give account.
It also recognises that accountability is not merely a once-off activity but a con-
tinual process between duty-bearer (public official) and rights-holder (citizen).
However there is one key problem with this concept – it assumes that
accountability exists only between those who hold formal state power and those
who do not. It is quite possible and actually encouraged that accountability
involves holding one’s peers accountable. For instance, Members of Parliament
(MPs), irrespective of political party, have a mandate to have oversight not
just over the executive but also over each other. In many countries MPs must
publicly declare all assets and gifts and for those who do not declare, it is their
peers who will hold them accountable. This often means some form of sanction
against those who do not adhere to the rules.
The sanctions are designed to deter any form of rule-breaking, but often this
is not sufficient. For a government official with a minimal salary there is very
little incentive not to commit corruption. Punitive measures are necessary to
prevent mismanagement of resources and abuse of power. But excessive punitive
strategies can paralyse officials’ behaviour and this can be counter-productive
to improving government performance and can limit their creativity.4 Knowing
that they are being watched by outsiders and not only by their peers can act as
a powerful deterrent to officials tempted to break the rules.
The active participation and engagement of citizens and civil society groups
in policy-making and implementation can greatly improve accountability and
overall good governance. Citizen monitoring can complement elections and
by so doing reinforce and improve vertical accountability mechanisms. Citizen
monitoring can include social audits of public services and expenditure-tracking
surveys. Similarly, citizen monitoring can also enhance horizontal accountability
within the state. Citizens can raise awareness by setting standards of perform-
ance of public services and placing pressure on oversight institutions to act,
through institutions such as the ombudsmen offices in various countries. It is
2 Ackerman, J�M�, 2005� Social Accountability in the Public Sector: a conceptual discussion, Paper No� 82, Washington D�C�,
World Bank, p� 1�
3 Ibid., p� 2�
4 Ibid., p� 12�