Democracy demands quality of governance. Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development, it is the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised for the common good. Are you a non-governmental organization having the aim of strengthening the role of the public in politics and governance? This project will definitely help you. The specific objectives of the project are to enhance the accountability and transparency within the system through the formation of pressure groups composed of young men and women, improve internal working processes of political parties through forming insider groups and strengthen the participation of citizens in local governance through education and training.
The Problem
South Africa is a developing country. The World Bank has classified it as a newly industrialized country with the third-largest economy in Africa and the 35th-largest in the world. Crime, poverty and inequality remain widespread in the country, with about a quarter of the population unemployed and living on less than US$ xxxxx a day. In 2015, 71 percent of net wealth was held by the 10 percent richest of the population, whereas 60 percent of the poorest held only 7 percent of the net wealth. Moreover, since 2004, South Africa has had thousands of popular protests making it the “most protest-rich country in the world”.
Amid a raging pandemic and failing economy, a survey conducted in March and April (Wall Street Journal) found that more than 10 million people (nearly a sixth of the population) had experienced hunger over the ongoing riots and protests. It is simply feedback for discontent. The deep rot of South Africa’s social and political order, racial tension, communal mistrust, injustice and systematic corruption has wrecked the democratic structure of the country.
40, 000 businesses impacted and further 150,000 jobs at risk! There is no grievance, nor any political cause, that can justify the violence and destruction. People/Citizens need to be thoroughly aware of their history, their surroundings, what’s happening around the world and what’s happening in their system of government so that they can voice or make more well thought, rational and impactful decisions on matters of social and economic importance thereby taking actions that are growth oriented.
Proposed Solution: Democracy demands quality of governance. Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development, it is the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised for the common good. This includes:
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- process by which governments are chosen, monitored and changed
- systems of interaction between the administration, the legislature and the judiciary
- ability of government to create and to implement public policy
- Mechanisms by which citizens and groups define their interests and interact with institutions of authority and with each other.
As public services are funded by citizens, either directly or indirectly, they have the right to expect a particular quality of service that is responsive to their needs and which is provided efficiently at a reasonable cost but unless the citizens are aware about the functioning, structure and interdependence of the government divisions and their rights, there would be no accountability of the government, hence, transparency of the government’s functioning is equally important. As part of the proposed intervention we shall be focusing on three processes that will improve overall governance in the project site. These include:
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- Transparency and Accountability
- Formation of Pressure Groups
- Increased participation of citizens in local governance
Project Area and beneficiaries: xxxxx of Northern ABC,South Africa. The citizens of xxxx at large will benefit from the project. Appended below are important facts and figures on xxxx Municipality
Region name: xxxx Municipality (xxxx Municipality)
Status: Administrative subregion
Population: 442,266 people
Region name (Level 1): ABC
Headquarters: xxxxxx
Administrative subregions: xxxxxx
Project Duration: The project will be implemented over a period of 2 years. The first year will be utilized to create awareness amongst the citizens and also conduct necessary research. The second half of the first year and the second year will be dedicated to increase the participation of youth and citizens through the various proposed activities.
Project Description: The project will be implemented in the district xxxxx of Northern ABC Africa by forming the insider and outsider type of pressure group which is based on the relationship the particular group has to the government.
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- Insider groups operate inside the decision-making process. They may also sit on government policy committees and agencies and have links to parliamentary select committees. They have a better chance creating an impact on how policy shapes up as they are consulted at various stages of policy formation.
- Outsider groups choose to remain at arm’s length from the government and exert their pressure indirectly via mass media or through public opinion campaigns.
Specific Objective
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- Objective 1: To enhance the accountability and transparency within the system through formation of pressure groups composed of young men and women.
- Objective 2: To improve internal working processes of political parties through forming insider groups.
- Objective 3: To strengthen the participation of citizens in local governance through education and training.
Project Activities
Awareness Generation: Awareness generation is a key activity towards achieving project success. A mass awareness drive will be carried out in different project localities with the help of local field partners. A mass awareness drive will be carried out in different project localities with the help of local field partners. The following activities will also be undertaken as part of the awareness sessions in different cities.
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- Production and broadcast of radio shows
- TV roundtable discussions
- Distribution of booklets
We shall be involving experts and community leaders to sensitize young people about good governance and their civil and political rights.
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- Research Work and Education: Pressure groups largely operate through their ability to communicate with the public and raise political consciousness. If the PG of xxxxxxx pools a few resources to help the qualified representatives carry out research and maintain websites, it would not only make people internationally aware of the data and situation of the area but help the PG collect more funds to further enhance the education system’s access. This would help the youth in making their opinions and putting their views across on government policies after seeing the research and continuous update of their area’s situation through the website. Building the intellect is necessary to avoid erratic decision making and rash actions such as destroying public property out of rage which has been established through the citizens’ hard earned money.
- Political Participation and Non-violent Direct Action: The outside groups could seek to exert influence precisely by mobilizing popular support through activities such as petitions, marches, demonstrations thereby pushing issues up the political agenda and demonstrating both strength and commitment and the level of public support for a particular cause. Such forms of protests have been particularly attractive to young people and in xxxxx 52% of the population is between the ages of 18-64 years of age, which can be mobilized.
- Policy Formulation: Although pressure groups, by definition are not policy-makers this does not prevent them from participating in the policy making process as they are a vital source of information and advice to governments on changes and development at the ground level, providing them with the statistics and necessary developments that require action and other demands that need to be addressed.
- Checks and Balances: Periodic follow ups in the form of informal meetings help to check up on how much and what action has been taken on the designed plan and the demands placed. This would help keep the required transparency and accountability of the government. We shall organize question answer sessions with public representatives on the implementation of public schemes, utilization of public money and shall also conduct audits to assess the success of projects and schemes run by the government.
- Trickle Down impact: The interaction between the insider and the outsider groups would help to get a deeper analysis on whether the policy’s implementation has reached the lowest of the beneficiaries or not and take action if the latter seems to be the case. There will be active discussions between the insider and outsider group to assess the change.
- Enhancing Citizen Participation: Citizen Participation plays an important role in improving the use of public resources, reducing corruption and improving accountability of public offices and departments. As part of the project we shall carry out the following activities:
- Education and Training
- Establishment of youth centers
- Participatory budgeting
- Involving media
- Increasing access to technology
- Opening space for debate and dialogue
Through the above mentioned process, we will be able to enhance the participation of the public in local governance and will also facilitate good governance within the system.
Proposed Program Schedule: (The proposed timeline for the program activities and events.)
Key Personnel : (The titles, roles, and experience/qualifications of key personnel involved in the program)
Program Partners: (A list of the names and type of involvement of key partner organizations)
The project will be primarily implemented by our organization and we shall engage local institutions and civil organizations for the mass awareness and sensitization drive.
Organization Credentials and Competence: We are a non-governmental, non-political and non- profit making organization established in the year xxxx with the aim of strengthening the role of the public in politics and governance. The organisation develops strategies and mechanisms for improving governance, transparency and accountability of elected representatives. Over the years we have worked on various projects, some of these include:
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- Conducted Citizen Awareness Campaign- ………….
- Successfully completed project on increasing women participation in politics- ……….
- Organized 50 public rallies to improve public awareness on local governance.
- Supported the government in starting youth clubs to train young people in human rights- ongoing projects.
