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Ways to commit to democracy in Nepal

Nepal needs an essential internal effort to drive reforms that are well overdue. Narayan Adhikari and Blair Glencorse take a closer look Last month, the Nepal government released its written commitments as part of the United States government-led Summit for Democracy—an effort to bolster and renew democratic action globally during a period of significant challenges for democracies around the world. While American influence in Nepal is certainly not uncontroversial—as we have seen with the renewed protests related to the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement recently—in a broader sense the S4D, as it is known, and the “Year of Action” it has now precipitated are an extraordinary opportunity [...]

2022-08-26T12:11:13+00:0026th August 2022|

Groups meet FSRC, police, seek road ethics reform

The Accountability Lab Nigeria, in conjunction with the Akin Fadeyi Foundation, on Thursday, held a roundtable discussion on road ethics reform with the Federal Road Safety Corps, at the Federal Capital Territory Sector Command in Abuja. Present at the occasion focused on improving road behaviours of drivers and security officials that would lead to reducing corrupt practices on roads, were officials of the FRSC, police officers, officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, and some driving school instructors. The Country Director, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Odeh Friday, stressed that Nigerian road users could improve on their road usage ethics [...]

2022-09-07T07:37:11+00:0025th August 2022|

Making the police in Pakistan citizen-centric 

Written by Umar Riaz, Director of the National Police Academy, Islamabad    Whether we're talking about democracies or dictatorships, there isn't a government department with more bearing on the public than the police. In Pakistan, however, no other department (barring a few exceptions) is considered more disconnected from the public than the police. The police department is also a unique public service for having dual roles. It has to ensure the safety of citizens while curbing the liberty of those considered a threat to public safety. They have therefore been given vast powers under national laws. They can search, seize [...]

2022-12-12T07:59:48+00:0017th August 2022|

Five Things We’re Doing To Fight Back Against Closing Civic Space In West Africa

By Kibo Ngowi West Africa is a rich and diverse part of the world-spanning 16 countries and boasting an estimated population of close to 400 million people. Accountability Lab has deep roots in the region, having established our second network Lab in Liberia back in 2013, only a year after the organization’s birth in Nepal. We’ve since opened more Labs in Niger, Nigeria and Mali and with the support of Observatório da Democracia e Governança we’ve rolled out our Virtual Incubator program in Guinea-Bissau as well. These efforts are a response to the governance and stability challenges in the region [...]

2022-07-06T11:02:58+00:004th July 2022|

The PVO Bill is a Step Backwards for Zimbabwean Women

By Alois Nyamazana, Accountability Lab Zimbabwe Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, and building good governance.” – Kofi Annan On 5 November 2021, the Government of Zimbabwe announced its intentions to change the existing Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Act to discourage money laundering and prevent non-state actors from “politicizing charitable giving.” If passed into law in its current form, the Private Voluntary Organizations Amendment Bill, H.B. 10, 2001 will have negative implications on gender development in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has [...]

2022-06-21T14:24:10+00:0021st June 2022|

10 Key Learnings from A Decade of Building Accountability in Nepal

Our team at Accountability Lab Nepal are celebrating the organization’s 10th anniversary by reflecting on some of our key learnings. We feel that our greatest impact is in how much we learn and how much our learning culture has helped us to catalyze changes in Nepal by influencing decisions, shaping opinions and role modeling behaviors. We’ve tested creative ideas as we have mobilized around accountability issues through campaigns; equipped reformers within and outside government with skills, knowledge and tools to push for better governance; and influenced policies, process and practices by building ecosystems in communities. Despite challenges in the past [...]

2022-04-29T10:58:33+00:0029th April 2022|

A Change in Approach Could Resolve Conflict Between Vendors and Authorities 

By Samuel Takawira The last two decades have seen a severe contraction of Zimbabwe’s economy, with agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors suffering mainly from poor policy decisions, resulting in massive unemployment. It is estimated that 90% of the Zimbabwean population ekes out a living in the informal sector, vending in open urban marketplaces. Among these are the municipal markets in Mbare - a low-income suburb of Harare. Mbare is home to the largest informal marketplace in Zimbabwe, where trading space is expensive and oversubscribed. To create access to the market, informal traders have resorted to setting up illegal stalls in [...]

2022-01-17T13:52:49+00:0017th January 2022|

Civil Society Engagement in the Summit for Democracy- What Does Online Data Show?

Written by Blair Glencorse Last week, the US government hosted the Summit for Democracy (S4D)- the beginning of a process to focus on the challenges and opportunities facing democracies around the world. The official Summit itself was a two-day series of high-level conversations, speeches and events (with other official side events over the past few weeks) that have kicked off what the Biden Administration is calling a “Year of Action” (YoA) during which participating countries will then work towards commitments made as part of these efforts. Around the Summit itself there are many unofficial ongoing side efforts to support the [...]

2021-12-15T15:59:56+00:0015th December 2021|

Call to Create the First Citizen Observatory for Participatory Budget in Mexico

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST Ethos, Accountability Lab, Ollin and Borde gathered representatives of the civil society organizations, actors of the private sector, community leaders and guarantor agencies involved in monitoring, and public policy design and/or programs that aim to foster the 2030 Agenda.   They want to trigger positive narratives around the accomplished achievements for citizens and public servants in order to build bridges of trust and achieve greater citizen involvement. They will socialize and promote the participatory budget topics in other legislative entities, aiming to deepen its understanding. Tuesday, October 26th 2021, Mexico City - This morning, civil society [...]

2021-11-08T11:02:02+00:008th November 2021|

Citizen engagement in the fight against corruption – the C20 and the Italian G20 Presidency

Written by Jean Scrimgeour - 2021 co-chair of the C20 Anti-Corruption Working Group and Global Director of Growth and Strategy at Accountability Lab   The key aims of the Italian G20 Presidency were centred around three broad, interconnected pillars of action: People, Planet, and Prosperity. Within these pillars, there has been a focus on ensuring a swift international response to the pandemic through equitable, worldwide access to resources that can reduce inequality, ensure women’s empowerment, support young people, and protect the most vulnerable. Achieving these goals is impossible without directly confronting corruption, building accountability of governments and businesses, and supporting [...]

2021-10-21T11:43:27+00:0013th October 2021|
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