Proposal
Despite the two years existence of the Freedom of Information Act , awareness of the rights of the citizens to request information and demand accountability from public officials and institutions is still very low. Many have heard about it but only a few can explain what the Freedom of Democracy & Good Governance information Act is, this is more so at the community level where it is anticipated that citizens will actively use the FOI to demand accountability, transparency and participation in the running of public affairs.
Background
After close to two decades of military rule, in 1999 transited to civil rule. The transition to civil rule swept away entrenched military dictatorship and opened the way for democratization and liberalization of political space. However, appears stuck with the problems of consolidating democracy such that deepening of the democratic process and entrenchment of democratic values becomes part and parcel of the democratic experience. The task of giving content to democracy is a major challenge if democracy is to become entrenched.
To achieve the aims of democratic consolidation, deepening of the democratic process and entrenchment of democratic values as experiences from other parts of the world have shown, conscious efforts will have to be made to promote and advocate for policies and measures that promote public accountability. This implies in practical terms consciously encouraging citizens’ participation and opening up public institutions to public scrutiny. This is what the freedom of information act seeks to promote.
Public accountability which the freedom of public information aims at will serve as an impetus for freeing the enormous productive and developmental potentials of . A sustained process of development of the economy will no doubt have a multiplier effect on all other aspect of life in. With a stabilized democracy, which only an accountable and legitimate government can bring about, can begin to begin to address the issues of development with which she is presently confronted with.
and by extension the economy have been denied this enormous economic benefits flowing from opening up public institutions to public scrutiny largely due largely to the weak nature of the state just like a majority of African states. (A state is understood as being weak when it cannot effectively carry out its specific tasks: charge taxes of the public, provide reasonable administration of justice and security, and the efficient administration of resources.)
In weak states, participating in the activities of government or requesting information can be a difficult task. Most of the time, the interested party comes up against officials who do not consider accountability as being one of the fundamental requisites of their post, and they respond in a defensive manner.
In weak states with limited democratic experience such as in Africa, access to public information or citizens’ participation in public life demands extra effort. This is because neither the formal rules nor the informal practices that govern the day-to-day functioning of the organs of state are designed to serve citizens with an interest in obtaining information or participating in public activity.
To reverse this trend therefore, conscious efforts will have to be made to encourage citizens’ participation and open up public institutions to public scrutiny. For this to happen, access to public information is a necessary starting point.
As democracy takes root in a majority of African countries, the campaign for transparency and public accountability has gained an added impetus with the call for the freedom of information or disclosures laws gaining momentum.
The global trend towards transparency, accountability as well as access to information on the operations and activities of intergovernmental organizations and even private organizations as encapsulated in such initiatives as the Transparency Charter for International Financial Institutions and a move towards enforcing the rights of the citizen to know.
has not been left out of the global trend towards enforcing the rights of the citizens to know and democratic accountability. This no doubt informed the signing of the FOI act into law in 2011 after suffering setbacks for about 17 years. Despite the signing of the FOI into law however, awareness of the rights of the citizens to request information and demand accountability from public officials and institutions is still very low. Many have heard about it but only a few can explain what the Freedom of Information Act is. This is more so at the community level where it is anticipated that citizens will actively use the FOI to demand accountability, transparency and participation in the running of public affairs.
At the state level, only three states namely federation, plus the Federal Territory, have fully adopted and , out of the 36 states of the implemented the la The consequence is that a larger portion of the country is yet to enjoy the gains of the FOI.
There is a relationship between democracy, accountability and access to government information. Governmental accountability, that is, the duty of public officials to report their actions to the citizens, and the right of the citizens to take action against those officials whose conduct the citizens consider unsatisfactory — is an essential element, perhaps the essential element of democracy.
Access to information permits citizens to question government actions with which they disagree and to seek redress for official misconduct. Access to information also deters official misconduct by reminding public officials of their accountability.
In much of Africa where revenues from oil, gas and mining companies, in the form of taxes, royalties, signature bonuses and other payments should be an important engine for economic growth and social development, the lack of accountability and transparency in these revenues have exacerbate poor governance and have led to corruption, conflict and poverty1.
Increasing transparency and knowledge of what government is doing in the name of the people through the freedom of information act will empower citizens and institutions to hold governments to account.
Mis-management or diversion of funds away from sustainable development purposes will become more difficult. This will benefit the economy of the region in the long run by improving the performances of institution and activities of public officials performed on behalf of the public.
Project Objectives
The overall objective of the project is to promote increased transparency and accountability in governance by building the capacity of community leaders and community based organizations in the to understand and use the FOI act to demand for information held by public institutions.
Below are the concrete, measurable and achievable specific objectives of the project.
- To conduct Freedom of Information (FOI) capacity training for 30 community leaders and community based organizations in each of the senatorial districts of
- To promote FOI awareness, knowledge and advocacy by producing and airing an interactive radio programme on the FOI act
- To promote FOI awareness and knowledge through the production and distribution of posters and leaflets
- To work with trained community leaders and community based organizations in the two targeted states to make specific public interest FOI request from public
Project Activities;
We will carry out the following activities to achieve the overall each specific objectives of the
proposed project. Enumerated below are the activities to be carried out in the project they include but not limited to-
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- Capacity Building Training Workshops
- The project will organize a capacity building workshop on the FOI act in each of the three senatorial districts . The capacity training workshops will target community leaders and community based organisations including market associations, transport unions, town unions etc in each of the senatorial districts in the two states. An average of thirty persons will be trained in each senatorial district bring the total to ninety people for each of the two states. The beneficiary two states will be used as pilot states for the project.
- Interactive Radio Programme
- The project will also produce an interactive radio programme aimed at creating awareness and promoting knowledge of the FOI act. The programme will help to increase the reach of the project beyond those to be trained to members of the general public.
- Production of IEC Materials
- In order to further increase awareness and knowledge of the FOI act, the project will also produce posters and leaflets for educating members of the general public and providing information on the FOI in the two target states.
- Public Interest FOI Requests
- In addition to the capacity building training for community leaders and community based organisations, the project will also work with the trained individuals and organisations to make specific public interest request for information from public institutions with mandates covering the Delta. The aim of this activity is to provide those trained with a hand on experience in activating provisions of the FOI to request for information from public institutions.
- Capacity Building Training Workshops
EXPECTED OUTCOMES:
The expected outcomes of the project include-
- Increased knowledge of and awareness of the provisions of the FOI act and the use of the act in eliciting information from public institutions
- Increased demand for accountability and transparency by the citizens of the states of XXXXXXX form public institutions and officials through the use of the FOI act.
TARGET BENEFICIARIES
The project will primarily target the following-
- Community leaders in the senatorial districts of states- They will benefit directly from the capacity trainings to be conducted in the two states
- Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in the two states- They will benefit directly from the capacity trainings to be conducted in the two
- Members of the Public of the two states- They will benefit from the radio programmes and the information posters and leaflets
EVALUATION PLAN
The results of the initiative will be measured using verifiable indicators including the knowledge of the FOI act before and after the trainings, impact and reach of the radio programme as well as the posters and leaflets produced. The number of public interest FOI request made by the organizations and individuals trained will also be monitored.
SUSTAINABILITY:
The civil society has an ongoing interest in the accountability and transparency of public institutions and officials. This demand for accountability by the civil society is a guarantee of the long term sustainability of the knowledge of and awareness of the provisions of the FOI act which the project aims at promoting.
