Atwaambe GTF Programme Zambia Review Report A Synthesis of Case Studies - Zambia

1. Atwaambe GTF Programme ZambiaReview ReportA Synthesis of Case Studies - Zambia Chrispin R. Matenga Department of Development Studies The University of Zambia 27th July 2012

2. Outline of Presentation 1. Introduction (a) MwananchiTheory of Change (b) Methodology (b) Limitations • Emerging Lessons: (a) Marginality • Persons with disabilities (PWDs) • Women • Youth • Children

3. Outline Cont’ (b) Traditional leaders (c) Media (d) Civil society (e) Elected Representatives (f) Use of Research based Evidence 3. Conclusions What works and what doesn’t work?

4. Introduction Cont’ • The Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) Mwananchi Programme is an initiative of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and is funded by DFID (now UK Aid). • The Programme aims at enhancing the ability and capacity of citizens, media, CSOs, elected representatives and traditional leaders to make use of evidence based approaches in engaging with state actors and institutions to promote transparent, responsive, accountable and effective governance.

5. Introduction Cont’ • Mwananchi Theory of Change • The Mwananchi theory of change defines the desired outcome as linking voice and accountability, as in enabling citizens to have a voice and have this voice as the agent of transformation of institutions towards better government accountability and responsiveness to citizen interests.

6. Introduction Cont’ • In order to achieve this outcome in the African context, it is assumed that the roles of the key interlocutors of the citizen-state relations (media, civil society, elected representatives and traditional leaders) need to be sharpened. • The interlocutors need to work with each other better and maximise the benefits of synergy emanating from their comparative advantages as regards policy making and citizen engagement, whilst at the same time improving their use of evidence in order to influence policies.

7. Introduction Cont’ • The Mwananchi programme seeks to interrogate what happens between citizens having a voice and that voice leading to better or greater government accountability, which ultimately would result into better policies or their implementation and also more impact on poverty. • The idea behind the pilot case studies is to promote more of those things in between voice and accountability that result into more government accountability.

8. Introduction Cont’ • The idea is to find out what works or does not work when deliberate efforts (interventions) are made in form of building coalitions of different interlocutors; capacity support around these interlocutors; and the use of evidence in seeking to transform citizens voice into political accountability.

9. Introduction Cont’

10. INTRODUCTION CONT’ • This review report is a synthesis of case studies based on testimonies across the project sites and from a wide range of sources. • These include: - Marginalized groups (children, youths, women and people living with disabilities); Ordinary community members;

11. INTRODUCTION CONT’ - Civil society organisations; - Community radio stations; - Traditional leaders; - Elected representatives (MPs & Councillors); - Government officers.

12. INTRODUCTION CONT’ • The lessons from these case studies are drawn from case study project implementation in the last two to three years.

13. METHODOLOGY • Case study method - each project was a unit of study separate from other projects - review of literature emerging from projects - personal interviews - focus group discussions (FGDs) - field visit observations

14. LIMITATIONS • Limited field time for interviews • Language barrier (for Kasempa, Nyimba and Petauke) • Not all stakeholders interviewed • Limited time-frame from which to observe changes; - Some projects were under implementation for about two years while others were less than a year when the fieldwork for this report was done.

15. EMERGING LESSONS • Marginality • Marginality is about exclusion • Marginalised groups are those who are excluded from basic rights and entitlements • The Zambian Atwaambe Projects are all working with marginalised groups: Persons with disabilities (PWDs); Children with Special Education Needs; Women; Youth; & children

16. Children with Special Education Needs Interlocutors: • Christian Information Network (CIN) • Citizens Forum (CF) • Forum for Democratic Process (FODEP) • Radio Maranatha • Radio Kasempa

17. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ • The general understanding of marginality in the context of children with special education needs: - Abilities and capacities of children with disabilities are often overlooked and underestimated;

18. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ - their needs are accorded low priority within communities and families and by government.

19. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ • This low priority is demonstrated by: - inadequate special education schools at all levels in the country; - extremely low national budgetary allocation - Low levels of family support due to stigimatisationand ignorance

20. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ Actions by interlocutors : • Three Atwaambeprojects have a special focus on advocating for access to education by children with disabilities: • Kasempa Community Radio and FODEP in Kasempa; • Radio Maranatha and CIN in Kabwe; • Citizens Forum in Nyimba.

21. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ • CIN: awareness raising through media meetings; Radio programmes; and addressing parliamentary committees. • CINtakes the deaf and dumb pupils before a parliamentary committee and other fora. As the saying goes: “ Nothing about us without us”.

22. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ • Radio Maranatha: through phone-in radio programmes, including those that involve the participation of children with disabilities; and stakeholder meetings. • Kasempa Radio: through radio programmes; stakeholder meetings.

23. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ • CF: awareness raising and education campaigns through community meetings; and a television documentary; community census of disabled children and adults.

24. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ Key Results of Interlocutor Actions: • Increased enrolment of children with hearing impairment at Kasempa Basic School & Broadway Basic School in Kabwe from about 7 to 13 and 32 to 50 respectively • A special classroom for pupils with special education needs has been initiated at Kabwe High School

25. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ • The CDC is currently working on establishing a differentiated curriculum for both blind and the deaf learners. • Government is introducing e-learning in learning institutions. • Education policy and Bill currently under review with inputs from CIN and other partners.

26. Children with Special Education Needs Cont’ • There is some increased interaction among different stakeholders including policy makers, elected leaders, traditional leaders, civil society, private organisations and government officers around the issue of education for children with disabilities.

27. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Interlocutors • Citizens Forum (CF) • Forum for Democratic Process (FODEP) • Radio Kasempa

28. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) • The general understanding of marginality in the context of PWDs: • strong prejudices by communities. • stigma and lack self-respect within the communities. • discouraged from making a contribution of opinion in public fora.

29. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Actions by interlocutors : • Three Atwaambe projects a special focus on advocating for the cause of PWDs: • Kasempa Community Radio; • FODEP in Kasempa; • Citizens Forum in Nyimba.

30. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) • Kasempa Radio: through radio programmes; stakeholder meetings. • FODEP: awareness raising and education campaigns through community meetings and radio programmes. • CF: awareness raising and education campaigns through community meetings; and a television documentary; community census of disabled children and adults.

31. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Key Results of Interlocutor Actions: • Increased awareness among the communities & elected leaders on challenges facing PWDs. • Communities are mobilising themselves to find solutions to their marginalisation. For example: - in Kasempa, organisations for PWDs have been established and have acquired an office for free from a government building.

32. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) - PWDs in Kasempa have known the procedures of accessing land from both the traditional leaders and the local council - PWDs in Kasempa are now aware of how Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is utilised - In Kasempa, PWDs participated in the management of nation elections of Sept. 2011

33. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) - In Nyimba district, communities and their traditional leaders have been mobilised. - However, the community in Nyimba expressed disatisfaction that nothing was going- on for them after mobilisation.

34. Women • The general understanding of marginality in the context of women: - strong prejudices by society - seen as part of the husband’s property, farm labourers or domestic servants, rather than being equal partners - limited family bargaining power, influence, freedom or autonomy

35. Women Cont’ Interlocutors • Petauke Explorers radio in Petauke district • Zambia Council for Social Development in Chongwe district

36. Women Cont’ Actions by interlocutors: • Petauke Explorers radio: through radio programmes; stakeholder meetings • ZCSD: through stakeholder meetings; community meetings; radio programmes • Petauke Explorers has provided mass communications on topics related to political participation, land ownership rights, property inheritance rights, gender policy and culture

37. Women Cont’ • ZCSD’s Atwaambe project is aiming at deepening understanding of gender policy and implementation of its provisions and advocating for provision of social services to women such as education and health

38. Women Cont’ Key Results of interlocutor actions: • Increased awareness among the communities & traditional leaders on challenges facing women • Communities are mobilising themselves to find solutions to women’s marginalisation.

39. Women Cont’ • Social norms have begun to change • Women in Petauke district have begun to develop new capacities, acquire resources, and respond to a wide array of opportunities • Women are now able to apply to the traditional authorities and own personal land and are also able to retain family land in instances where the husband dies.

40. Women Cont’ • In politics, political parties were accused of preferring men to women • However, in both Petauke and Chongwe districts there are women MPs although no female Councillors

41. Youth • The general understanding of marginality in the context of youth: - lack of youth participation in decision making - high unemployment - lack of social amenities - hence, youth experience exclusion from public life, mounting frustration, and low self- esteem, which is currently a source of numerous social ills in the country

42. Youth Cont’ Actions by interlocutors: • Two Atwaambe projects have a special focus on youth issues: - 2410 in Lusaka - Radio Yatsani also in Lusaka

43. Youth Cont’ • 2410: through youth mobilisation; awareness raising and education campaigns; ‘meet your councillor’ indabas • Radio Yatsani: through radio programmes

44. Youth Cont’ Key Results of interlocutor actions: • Increased awareness among youths, elected leaders (particularly Councillors) & government leaders on the challenges facing youths. • Behavioural change by councillors- youths interacting with councillors • In one ward (Chaisa ward in Lusaka) a youth elected to position of Ward Development Committee (WDC) Secretary

45. Youth Cont’ • Chaisa WDC compelled to purchase a property to put up a Youth Center in response to youth demands • In the case of Radio Yatsani, Government responded to youths’ demands on radio programme by holding ‘youth indabas’ • Some youths have been connected to entrepreneurs through the Radio Yatsani’s Atwaambe radio programme

46. Children • The general understanding of marginality in the context of children: - lack of children’s participation in decision making - lack of social amenities - denial of the right to education resulting from child labour and early marriage - hence, children experience exclusion from public life, mounting frustration, and low self- esteem, which is currently a source of numerous social ills in the country

47. Children Cont’ Actions by interlocutor: • Only one Atwaambe project is focusing on children: - Media Network on Child Rights and Development (MNCRD) in Petauke district - through Child Reporting Bureau, child news agents recruited & trained within Petauke district collect news on child rights abuses & report on Petauke Explorers radio and Radio PASME

48. Children Cont’ Key Results of interlocutor Actions: • Child news Agents more aware of children’s rights • Child news agents acquire journalistic skills • Project under implementation for a very short time to observe changes in the larger community if any.

49. Role of Civil Society Organisations • Civil society organisations (CSOs) are generally thought to be closer to the intended beneficiaries of development policies. • Due to this proximity, therefore, these organisations can be seen as a medium through which the marginalized groups can express their voice. • Many CSOs represent marginalized groups who have no space to influence policy.

50. Civil Society Organisations Cont’ • They are generally credited to represent the poor marginalized groups such as women, children, youths, and persons with disabilities • CSOs have therefore a potentially important role to play in creating space for voice and catalysing changes in accountability between service providers, policy makers and communities