The
Poverty Reduction Forum Trust (PRFT) joins other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
in Zimbabwe campaigning against the shrinking of civic space in Zimbabwe. The
continued discussions around and voices on civic space have coincided with the
calls for dialogue as a way of resolving social, economic and political issues.
The recognition of dialogue as an important platform of resolving issues brings
about the discussion to widen rather than suppress the civic space and ensure
that civic players have platforms and avenues to influence the socioeconomic
and political discourse in the country. It is PRFT’s submission that the civic
space is widened to accommodate marginalized voices. As we participate in this
campaign against shrinking civic space, we share our perspective of what we
have been doing as an organization to adapt to the shrinking civic space
through a variety of actions.
Limiting
the space in which civic actors operate essentially restrain the contribution
of civil society organizations in development processes and platforms. CSOs
contribute significantly to development through fostering citizen participation
in governance processes, exercising accountability in governance, policy
advocacy, and providing essential basic services to marginalized communities. Civil
society benefit from polices, regulations and legislation that ensure that they
are held to the same standards of professionalism, accountability and
transparency that they demand of other actors such as Government and Private
sector. It is therefore paramount that legal framework is fairer and not
applied selectively to silence critical voices, especially of marginalized
groups such as Youths, Women and People Living with Disabilities. This will
enhance their contribution to the development process and enhance inclusive
growth of the economy.
The
PRFT is currently piloting a Resilient Roots Accountability Initiative (RRAI)
which seeks to establish genuine grassroots links by being accountable to
primary constituents (PCs) as a way of adapting to the shrinking civic space. The
objective of the pilot project is to enhance primary constituents understanding
of PRFT’s work and its mandate through setting up a feedback collection and
information dissemination mechanism. PRFT’s Accountability Feedback Mechanism
consist of citizen report card as
the main tool, Community Advisory Committee (CAC)[1] and Interface meeting
which help PRFT systematically validate
its actions and strategies through its constituencies-led monitoring of the organization’s
program and progress. PRFT’s is piloting this project in Dora,
Mutare Rural where is has been conducting its Rural Basic Needs Basket (RBNB) program
since 2015 and currently the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) program which
started in 2017.
The RRAI project is increasing PCs’ participation and giving feedback
in PRFT’s programs in an effort to discredit forces that may attempt to delegitimize
PRFT’s work as ‘anti-national’, ‘politically motivated’ or ‘runners of foreign
agents’. The RRAI is conceived on the background of deepening understanding of
PRFT’s work in PCs and viewing PCs as agents of change rather than passive
recipients of PRFT’s work. The hope is that, PCs will represent the interests
of and associate themselves with work of the organization in a way that will
help the organization adapt to the shrinking civic space.
The
need for civil society organizations to adopt the same transparency and
accountability standards that they demand of others, government and private
sector propelled PRFT to undertake the RRAI pilot project. PRFT firmly believe
that establishing grassroots legitimacy should go over and above minimum public
engagement strategies towards transformational change in the way CSOs work,
involve primary constituencies and mobilizing them. Strengthening PCs
accountability lessens the likelihood of being wrongly accused of misconduct, corruption,
and enables more effective responses when being discredited.
Key
Recommendations
- ·
CSOs should innovate around finding
effective ways of strengthening grassroots links such as being accountable to
PCs as a first step to enhance public support base and strengthen the position
of institutionalized civil society.
- ·
CSOs should advocate for a dynamic and
plural civic space through a variety of actions which includes awareness
raising, education and dialogue on civic space with government and local
authorities given that limited civic space provides for governments and public
institutions which are less likely to be responsive to citizens’ requests.
For
more information about Poverty Reduction Forum Trust (PRFT) and the Resilient
Roots Accountability Initiative contact us on Number 59, Mendel Road ,
Avondale, Harare; Tel: +263 242 307472; Email: info@prftzim.org; Website: www.prftzim.org
[1] CAC is a community-based group which includes local ward councilor,
traditional leader, social workers and members of the community, disaggregated
by age, gender, and class. This committee is used as community foot soldiers
for the organization, interacting and
engaging the wider community including those that do not participate directly
in PRFT activities and collecting feedback
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