Dr. McDonald Lewanika – Accountability Lab Zimbabwe’s Chief of Party

Dr. McDonald Lewanika is Accountability Lab Zimbabwe’s Chief of Party and brings a wealth of experience of civil society work and activism to the Lab. “I cut my teeth as a student  leader at the Midlands State University University in the early 2000s where I served as Secretary General of the Students Union and National Education and Research Secretary for  the Zimbabwe National Students Union, ZINASU” explains Lewanika.  He was expelled and banned from studying in the country after he led a series of student demonstrations, but Lewanika wasn’t deterred from pursuing an education. He went on to earn a [...]

2021-05-31T08:42:22+00:0031st May 2021|

Accountability Lab Nigeria seeks urgent end to Nation’s security challenges

By Abel Leonard/ Lafia Accountability Lab Nigeria says it is collaborating with stakeholders in Nasarawa State to find urgent and lasting solution to the country’s security challenges. The Male Associate of the non-governmental organisation, Alfred Alu, said this Friday, at the group’s meeting with stakeholders in Lafia, adding that the meeting was organised to create opportunity for stakeholders to bring innovations that would restore peace in different parts of the country. He said the organisation had engaged stakeholders in Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna, Kasina and Adamawa states to help in finding solution to insecurity in the country. According to [...]

2021-05-18T10:55:40+00:0018th May 2021|

Gov-Her-nance: Five ways to foster collaboration between local governments and communities

By Soni Khanal and Sanjeeta Pant Nepal is a largely patriarchal society with a hierarchical caste system. But fixing old problems and creating equitable government structures does not have to be an uphill battle. Initiatives such as Gov-HER-nance, a pioneering campaign initiated by Accountability Lab Nepal (ALN) in collaboration with female local government representatives in Nepal’s Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city, brings in new voices and finds solutions to issues of gender equity, local development, and open government. Contrary to what citizens commonly believe, we have found that government representatives can be eager to collaborate with community members to drive change, and to [...]

2021-05-18T10:46:47+00:0018th May 2021|

NGO trains Plateau youth on peace building, social cohesion

An NGO, Accountability Lab Nigeria, has organised a training on peaceful co-existence and social cohesion for Plateau State Youth. Speaking at the end of the two-day event on Friday in Jos, the Project Assistant of the organisation, Mr Peterson Okoro said the training was aimed at curbing insecurity and promoting peace in the state. Okoro said the training carried out under its Peace and Social Cohesion project, is being funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He said the project was aimed at tackling conflict and violence using the young people. He further explained that the project would also [...]

2021-05-18T10:33:12+00:0018th May 2021|

What does an effective, post-pandemic CSO look like?

As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective, collaborative civil society organizations (CSO) —which provide critical ideas, services, and advocacy efforts—have never been more essential. Over the past year, governments everywhere have used the global health crisis as an excuse to close civic space, restrict freedoms, and undermine liberties. By Blair Glencorse and Jean Scrimgeour The “quality of democracy, market economy, and governance” have declined to their lowest levels since 2004, according to the Bertelsman Stiftung. Freedom House maintains that democracy and respect for human rights have declined in 80 countries since the beginning of the pandemic. Equally, many CSOs have [...]

2022-02-12T09:04:31+00:0029th April 2021|

The story of accountapreneur Ammarah Shah

By Bakhtawar Khalid Ammarah Shah is an author and founder of Kaho Kahani, a unique storytelling platform with original content and inspiring stories. She is also a member of the 2020 Accountability Incubator cohort from Pakistan. A young mother of one, she often finds herself a trusted playmate to her son and this has informed her motivating work for children. Her ability to empathize with kids allows her to be part of their imaginary world and fly in a rocket launcher to the moon when she has to! In college, origami lessons and selling cards on Valentine’s Day and Eid [...]

2021-04-28T08:30:48+00:0028th April 2021|

The OGP effect on new business

By Nida Qasim Khan Open Government Partnership (OGP): An overview  Since its inception in 2011, seventy-eight countries, a growing number of local governments and thousands of civil society organizations have become members of the OGP, a co-creation between both government and non-governmental organizations. The OGP serves the purpose of enabling open government for its citizens, whereby they are more accessible, responsive and accountable to its citizens. In OGP, governments and civil society co-create two-year action plans, with concrete commitments across a variety of issues. This model enables civil society organizations to help shape and provide government oversight. Seventy-five countries have [...]

2021-05-11T07:11:37+00:0014th April 2021|

COVID-19 and it’s impact on people living with disabilities in Pakistan

By Nida Qasim Khan The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the extent of exclusion that the most marginalized communities in Pakistan experience. Among the most adversely affected groups are Pakistan’s 28 million persons with disabilities (PWDs), who make up 10% to 15% of Pakistan’s population. according to the Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP). Even under normal circumstances, persons with disabilities are neglected and suffer from reduced access to education, poverty, unemployment, abuse and low rates of participation in the community. According to research done by the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), PWD’s can suffer [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:22+00:0011th April 2021|

Pakistani businesses at a crossroads during COVID-19 

By Nida Qasim Khan The outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected the Pakistani economy and its micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Saboor Malik said in a statement that due to the lockdown, the businesses of cottage industry, small industry and furniture retailers have been adversely affected. The National Incubation Centre (NIC) also noted in its report “Impact of Covid-19 on Pakistani start-ups and the way forward”,  that start-ups were hard hit by the pandemic. The report stated that while before the pandemic, e-commerce, health-tech and ed-tech were the most popular [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:23+00:0010th April 2021|

Accountability Lab to honour honest public servants

An accountability advocacy organization has launched a campaign to award public servants in the health and education sector who are exuding honesty in their work. Speaking at the launch of Integrity Icon Zimbabwe on Thursday in Harare, Accountability Lab Zimbabwe’s Program and Campaign Manager Grace Chirenje said the campaign aims to inculcate integrity to be the norm in public service. “The campaign aims to celebrate individuals working in the health and education sector who go beyond the call of duty and we want to ensure that integrity becomes the norm and not an exception." “So we intend to name and [...]

2021-04-09T15:18:11+00:009th April 2021|
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