Increased Public Debate (IPD)

September 2001 - December 2004

IPD aims to foster:

1. increased democratic participation in political processes, both election and post-election governance processes, and
2. increased participation in public debate on development issues through membership organizations.

The project is based on Pact's in initial work in Zambia focusing on building the institutional skills of Zambian NGOs to improve their representation of Zambian grassroots communities' concerns and their access to decision-makers and participation in the public policy decision-making process. Some of the key accomplishments in that initial endeavor laid the ground for the IPD project to support activities that promote public debate, with the longer-term objective of increased pluralistic dialogue and citizen influence on public policy in Zambia.

Pact's approach

Pact's approach combines a sub-grant mechanism with capacity building and timely technical assistance to support the activities of local organizations in promoting public debate in Zambia. Organizations targeted for assistance include the media, membership organizations (unions and church-based NGOs), professional associations, and possibly government departments. Skills enhancement will focus on subgrantee capacity to conduct policy research, poll their members, analyze policy issues of concern to their constituencies, develop positions, lead or conduct media campaigns, conduct sensitive public debates, and organize and run seminars.

Key activities for IPD include:

• Grants management. Pact manages a public debate grant fund for target organizations to support increased public debate. Grants from the fund range from $10,000 to $100,000. Grant proposals are results-oriented with clear potential to affect public policy or public administrative processes. They focus on activities such as carrying out media campaigns, public debates, and dialogue within membership organizations
• Capacity building/institutional strengthening for public debate. The capacity building element of the program comprises training, technical assistance, and/or other capacity building aspects primarily integrated into the grants, so that grants build practical skills in the course of implementing public debate activities. Direct capacity building may be called upon where an organization does not qualify for a grant
• Public Debate Advisory Panel. An advisory panel provides guidance and advice with respect to political opportunities and risks. The panel is comprised of Zambians and expatriates who have an intimate knowledge of Zambian politics and political leaders and a commitment to the evolution of democratic governance in Zambia
• Public sector web sites. The Zambia Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Justice's Governance Development unit were supported to set up websites for the dissemination of white papers, draft laws, a program for good governance, and other information of general interest to the public.

Interim results

• Issued four sub-grants totaling $166,922 to support debate on issues in preparation for the December 2001 nationwide tripartite elections (presidential, parliamentary and local councilors).
• Pact subgrantee Panos Southern Africa (in partnership with ZAMCOM), supported the first-ever live presidential debates in the country, which gave the public an opportunity to compare candidates and their respective platforms. Voter turnout was the highest on record and for the first time the opposition gained a parliamentary majority.
• In 2002 the government announced in Parliament that it would start the process of creating an Independent Broadcasting Authority based on a CSO ZIMA's (Zambia Independent Media Association) draft bill developed through broad public discussions on media reform.
• Based on recommendations of the CSO, PAZA (Press Association of Zambia), which engaged the public in debate on amending the Freedom of Information bill, the government has announced it will repeal and amend the bill. The government has further suggested a task force committee of PAZA and ZIMA membership to advise on design of a new media regulatory body.
• Issued an additional 15 subgrants with a total outlay of $567,010 addressing constitutional review, media law reform, and anti-corruption initiatives.
• Launched two websites for the cabinet and the governance development unit of the Government of the Republic of Zambia. The sites provide interactive space for citizens to provide input into the development of government policies and national legislation.
• Pact subgrantee the OASIS Forum's resistance to serving on the new Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) triggered intense public debate. OASIS Forum members held several meetings with the president and his advisors; consensus was reached on some issues. The president restated his desire for a people-driven constitution and his standing invitation to the OASIS Forum to sit on the CRC. He agreed that the best mode of adoption for the proposed constitution would be via a constituent assembly as demanded by the Oasis Forum but cited legal and financial hurdles to this course of action. An independent website was set up to conduct a public poll on whether the OASIS Forum should join the CRC.
• The eight new subgrants, which were signed with PVOs in 2004, worked to increase citizen participation in the debate on many cross-cutting issues.

Add-on to IPD - Anti-Corruption Initiative

The Anti-Corruption Initiative is an add-on to the IPD project, the objective of which is to enhance the oversight roles of Parliament, the Auditor General's Office, and Civil Society.

The corruption problem to be addressed is one of weak oversight institutions, namely, the National Assembly's Public Accounts and Estimates Committees, the Auditor General, and the Parliamentary Research Service.

Pact's approach

Pact/Zambia is working to restore these institutions using a conceptual framework encompassing three components: 1) hiring an experienced expert-consultant to act as senior advisor to the project, having the trust of Zambian leaders and the experience of Parliamentary reform projects elsewhere in Africa; 2) creating opportunities for support from other donors; and 3) employing phased implementation for flexibility and to facilitate monitoring of progress.

Building skills and focusing debate on central themes is a core strategy of the initiative. It will contribute toward increased capacity and informed debate on a key issues of national importance—corruption and efforts to stem it—and will establish mechanisms to enable civil society and Parliament to interact through their respective oversight roles to stem the scourge of corruption.

Interim results

• A subgrant was awarded to Transparency International Zambia, which held a workshop to develop a comprehensive policy for an anti-corruption strategy.
• A training manual for workshops on anticorruption was developed for Members of Parliament, which includes inputs from the public and private sectors, NGOs, professional bodies, and individuals.
• Pact sponsored trips of high-ranking officials in the National Assembly to anti-corruption workshops in Uganda, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Add-on to IPD - The Parliamentary Reform Project (PRP)

In November of 2002 the National Assembly of Zambia and the Parliamentary Working Group of Donors joined efforts to support parliamentary reform. This agreement was signed by the National Assembly and the Canadian High Comission, Embassy of Ireland, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Embassy of Sweden and USAID/Zambia. The Donor Group contracted Pact Zambia to implement this program using the Government of Zambia's reform report entitled Approved Recommendations on Reforms in the Zambian Parliament as the guiding program document. Through the IPD Associate award, USAID/Zambia provided initial funding to launch the Parliamentary Reform Project (PRP).

For details, see the separate PRP write up.