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Trade 2030: questions on gender and technology

Posted on by Myn Garcia

‘Economic policies impact different segments of the population, including men and women, in different ways. In turn, gender inequalities impact on trade policy outcomes and economic growth. Taking into account gender perspectives in macro-economic policy, including trade policy, is essential to pursuing inclusive and sustainable development and to achieving fairer and beneficial outcomes for all.’-  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’ (UNCTAD)

The recent public forum of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in October 2018 with the theme Trade 2030 addressed the issues of sustainable trade, technology-enabled trade, and a more inclusive trading system.

The inclusion of civic voices in the forum was important. Coalitions and organisations such as Third World Network, Our World is Not for Sale, Women at the Table and Consumer Unity and Trust Society International curated and facilitated important sessions debating the intersection and implications of trade justice (or lack thereof) on: human rights gender, agriculture, food security, and climate justice, among others.

Two issues that stood out for me were ‘gender-responsive trade policies’ and the notion of technology as an enabler of trade.

Trade experts from around the world presented on options for sustainable trade

In 2017, the Ministerial of the WTO in Buenos Aires endorsed the Buenos Aires Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment. The views on the Declaration were contrasting. One argument asserted that the Declaration does not need to assess the negative gendered impacts of trade liberalisation in multiple sectors such as agriculture, industries, service and garment sectors, among others. However, Ranja Sengupta of Third World Network in her paper, Addressing Gender and Trade Issues in Trade Agreements: Creating more problems than solutions? suggests the need to explore the question as to which space is best suited for achieving gender equality or readjustment to address the adverse impacts of trade policy and liberalisation.  She posed the question: ‘Is it [gender equality] in trade agreements or should it be done in other enabling spaces such as through human rights mechanisms or should it be done through domestic policy…?’

‘Women entrepreneurs and producers not only benefit less proportionately from trade liberalisation but also bear a much higher share of the adverse impacts.’

In the current climate of ‘hyperglobalisation’ where trade negotiations are driven strongly by large and complex corporate and commercial interests, there are indeed serious questions that persist: what policies are likely to have an effect on gender equality and how can such policies be influenced? How can civic voices and development workers advocate for gender equality and better support women’s access to the benefits of trade?  And how robust is the process of identifying and addressing gender-based constraints that impede inclusive development?

The dominance of neo-liberalism, which is focused on creating a set of rules, arguably works against women’s rights and equality and excludes women. The questions that resonate are: how can the rules be rigged to make the system more inclusive? How can women in the global south and in the margins of developed countries in the north truly benefit from inclusive and enabling trade policy? What does this look like and what will it take to make this happen? And is the claim that countries should and will be enabled to ‘trade their way out of poverty’ viable?

Over 1500 participants attend the forum each year

Trade 2030 also highlighted technology as a driver of innovation for development. But civic voices said this cannot come at the expense of other imperatives such as social justice and environmental protection, which must also be considered when industrial policy is being formulated. While there is healthy scepticism about technology as a panacea, it would be wrong to discount the potential for technology to enable inclusion. For example, women entrepreneurs and producers use technology as part of their business solutions. But even as this is the case, access to technology is differentiated and the result is often making the gulf between haves and have-nots even greater – in an already divided and polarised world. For instance, women entrepreneurs and producers not only benefit less proportionately from trade liberalisation but also bear a much higher share of the adverse impacts due to their unequal access to resources and their location in the power structure. And at the macro level, economic empowerment of women in developing countries must be analysed within the broad context of development in these countries. How can a global ‘free’ trade agreement benefit women if their countries are not able to realise their domestic economic, social and human development plans and outcomes?

The answers to these questions can begin to rebuild trust in institutions- but only if voices less heard in trade debates are listened to.

Myn Garcia is Deputy Director-General at the Commonwealth Foundation. Image credit: WTO

Following the money: cash transfers

Posted on by Commonwealth Foundation

(Above) Helen Mudora presents project results at the Foundation’s annual grants workshop. The workshop shares monitoring and evaluation techniques with new grants partners and provides opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing.

Earlier this month, Helen Mudora, Programme Manager at Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP), presented the results of her organisation’s project ‘Enhancing accountability for cash transfer programmes’ to our new cohort of grantees and our Board members at the annual Commonwealth Foundation grants workshop.

APSP’s project is being delivered in the counties of Busia, Kilifi and Kajiado in Kenya. In this interview, Helen discussed some results and lessons the project has generated with Gillian Cooper from the Knowledge, Learning and Communications team.

Gillian: What are social protection cash transfers?

Helen: The Africa Union defines social protection as: ‘responses by the state and society to protect citizens from risks, vulnerabilities and deprivations. It also includes strategies and programmes aimed at ensuring a minimum standard of livelihood for all people in a given country. This entails measures to secure education and health care, social welfare, livelihoods, access to a stable income, as well as employment’.

Social protection is largely seen to have three pillars: health insurance, social security, and social assistance.  In Kenya, the three most common social assistance programmes include the Orphans and Vulnerable Children cash transfer (OVC-CT), the Older Persons cash transfer (OPCT) and the Persons with Severe Disabilities cash transfer (PWSD-CT).

‘Cash transfers have transformed the lives of thousands of people who would ordinarily find it a challenge to meet even their basic needs.’

The orphans and vulnerable children cash transfer programme was started by UNICEF as a pilot, mainly as a response to the crisis of HIV orphans. It is now funded by the government and gradually over time has included all children who face poverty and vulnerability.

Cash transfer programmes for older persons respond to the unique challenges faced by older persons including low income levels and destitution.

The Persons with Severe Disabilities cash transfer programme was started to meet the basic needs of carer families who may not be in a position to find time to generate income because of caring responsiblities for a family member with a severe disability.

In many countries, the poorest of the poor are PwDs. They face multiple barriers – the system disadvantages PwDs from earning an income. They don’t have access to services and there’s no transport to take them to school. Without schooling there is a close correlation to poverty – only about 5% of PwDs in Kenya make it to university – and so the PwDs cash transfer helps to redress this imbalance. Cash transfers have transformed the lives of thousands of people who would ordinarily find it a challenge to meet even their basic needs.

Gillian: What did APSP’s community sensitisation and social audits uncover about the cash transfer programme?

Helen: APSP works with communities to promote citizen engagement in the delivery of cash transfer services through social audits. We identify community organisations to work with, who in turn identify community monitors who form the link between government programmes, citizens, and beneficiaries.

APSP trains the community monitors in social protection, rights-based approaches and advocacy.

Community sensitisation forums are held to increase awareness levels of the communities and citizens about existing social protection programmes. APSP, in collaboration with community groups, then conduct a social audit of government programmes.

The social audit is a deeper way of generating evidence to inform policy.

This entails collecting data on various parameters of the government service charter, including timeliness of payments, distance to collection points, dignity in service delivery, awareness of existing government programmes, as well as impact of the cash transfers.

‘APSP is conscious to strike a balance, making sure not to undermine the relationship with government and manage the politics so it does not become confrontational.’

Our audits have found that some people in rural areas have to walk more than 6km, sometimes 7km, to collect the cash.  In the urban areas this is not a problem as the service has been more decentralised and the road infrastructure is good. In rural areas beneficiaries walk longer distances to access the cash. We also found that the timeliness of payments varies. 50% say they get their payments on time. 33% have to wait about 6 months. For the rest, the time varies, some have delays more than six months.

We also looked at the length of time it takes to receive the cash at the bank. It was noted that because those who receive the cash are few in number, there is often a long line especially considering people have a short two week window within which to be paid.

Finally, the audit looked at the complaints and redress mechanism. We found that this has been poorly publicised as not many people know about the government toll free number, where they can report any challenges or issues. Currently the complaints process is still centralised at the headquarters in Nairobi, but the complaints might be made from 400km away! We are recommending that the complaints mechanism is decentralised so that people can lodge complaints and have it resolved at the community level.

Social accountability is about pushing for effective service delivery. What the government says it’s going to do should be done within the promised timeframe. That’s what it means to provide cash transfers as a right. APSP is trying to discourage tokenism and help community members realise that the cash transfer is a right. We’ve worked to build the confidence of the community so that if they find a problem, they have a right to complain and the government has an obligation to listen.

Gillian: What have been the most effective ways to track progress and ensure government accountability?

Helen: Evidence. You must generate evidence. For a long time, individuals would make complaints, but when you make a complaint as an individual, it’s not sufficient. But it becomes evidence when you bring in a bit of science, and present it as a research finding which shows that a particular phenomenon is a part of a bigger picture. And so, this project has helped us to move from individuals complaining, to a collective approach that generates evidence to inform policy.

‘Building capacity is about supporting marginalised groups to make their voice heard in a way that makes policy makers listen and respect them.’

Gillian: How has the project addressed gendered needs?

Helen: This is a work in progress. For starters, whenever we do community mobilisation, we always ask for a specific number of women and men. At the beginning, when you mobilise people to come together, you must make sure you get both men and women. You might not get a 50-50 ratio, but it’s important to set this as a target so that at least you will get a considerable number of women. For trainings we go the extra mile to get women to participate; we might need a sensitisation meeting to encourage participation.

We respect and are conscious of the triple roles of women. So for the community sensitisation forums, our starting time must take account of when women have completed their morning routine. We start at 9 or 10 and by 12:30 we must finish. If the timing is not right they will not come at all.  We have also built the capacity of women to articulate their issues in different fora. For APSP’s international meetings, we make sure women from project communities are on the programme to speak.

Gillian: How does APSP engage with government to make change?

Helen: We seek opportunities to sit with government and meet in their Boardroom. We always request meetings with the Permanent Secretary in her/his Boardroom so that we share these findings with them first before it goes public. APSP is conscious to strike a balance, making sure not to undermine the relationship with government and manage the politics so it does not become confrontational. APSP is part of the National Steering Committee for Social Protection, which is a government constituted committee. This shows they have faith in our work.

Our engagement has paid off; APSP’s research has influenced the process of cash disbursement. In 2018, the government started a universal cash transfer for older people. Previous cash transfers were provided at only two banks. Now there are five banks from which to choose from. In addition, clients are given an ATM card, so they can access the money at any time.

We also engage in the legislative process. Social protection is in the constitution but there is no subsidiary law to enshrine the cash transfer system. APSP has been working with both Parliament and the Executive arm. We try to balance our engagement so we are not leaning on one side. Parliament now invite us to the departmental committee meetings and we are working with them to pass that law.

Gillian: How should marginalised groups be included in decision-making about policies that affect their lives?

Helen: Capacity building is very important. Building capacity is about supporting marginalised groups to make their voice heard in a way that makes policy makers listen and respect them. The voice is there but how they voice it may mean nobody can listen to them. They may be voicing it through complaints or in anger or desperation.

Evidence generation is one way. People are less likely to doubt statistics – you don’t have to bang tables when you have data. The skills we’ve been able to build for the community has been intense but transformational.

We have developed an advocacy tool. It provides steps for engaging and how to make your message hard-hitting. The advocacy tool includes a monitoring guide to help track meetings and progress so you can attribute the impact of your work to a policy change.

Gillian: What are the next steps for your project?

Helen: We are hoping our experiences can be used to replicate the project in other counties in Kenya.  We can also replicate it in other countries – APSP works in 27. The project provides a very good basis for knowledge sharing. When we have our delegates meeting in August, grassroots representatives are part of the programme. We can show it as a model of citizen engagement in decision-making.

Beyond that our long term goal is for sustainability of social protection programmes. Our bigger advocacy agenda is around national budgets and processes. In many countries, social protection is funded by donors. In Kenya it is now 97% government funded but in other countries it is 100% donor funded. So where is the government commitment? We aim to push for social protection allocations from national budgets to meet the African Union  Social policy framework – which states that every government should use 2% of its budget on social protection so that it is sustainable and not dependent on external donors.

Helen Mudora is Programme Manager at Africa Platform for Social Protection

One foot taller

Posted on by Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa

Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa on how being a regional winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize developed her confidence and transformed her worldview.

Personal growth is something which, for me at least, does not occur gradually or steadily. Rather, it happens in fits and starts during significant moments in my life; moments which are so pivotal to my journey as a human being that they permanently alter the way I see myself and the world.

The short week I spent in Nicosia for the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize can definitely be counted among those rare defining moments. If personal growth could be measured in inches, then I’m sure I grew a foot taller during the last week of July.

Having travelled the twelve thousand eight hundred miles from Samoa to Cyprus, I arrived red-eyed and exhausted in Nicosia after more than thirty hours without sleep. Not the most promising start for a highly anxious introvert! But the efforts of the hard-working Commonwealth Writers team made everything run so smoothly that my many anxieties evaporated and I was able to enjoy every moment of the experience, in spite of myself.

Above: Jenny shares writing experiences at a Q&A session following the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Award Ceremony 2018 in Nicosia, Cyprus

Coming from the Pacific, whose literature is still relatively young, and in particular from a very small island nation which can only boast a handful of authors, meeting people who share my passion for story-telling is a rare privilege. To meet and connect with the four writers whose work outshone the other five thousand entries for this year’s prize was beyond amazing. Socialising is often quite difficult for me, and at home I am something of a recluse, but with Efua, Kevin, Lynda and Sagnik the connection was instantaneous.  Not only was the presence of these writers pleasantly energising, I also learnt a great deal from each of them: from the variety of techniques, the diversity of backgrounds, the multiplicity of experiences and the beauty of their unique personalities.

‘Not only was the presence of these writers pleasantly energising, I also learnt a great deal from each of them: from the variety of techniques, the diversity of backgrounds, the multiplicity of experiences and the beauty of their unique personalities.’

While every day of the trip provided new insights and memorable experiences, the highlight was of course the Short Story Prize announcement ceremony on 25 July. The open-air, rooftop setting at the Centre of Visual Arts and Research, overlooking a quiet street in old Nicosia, could not have been more ideal. The mood which the setting sun and darkening skies had helped to create was enhanced by the poignant songs of Cypriot artist Vasiliki Anastasiou which threaded together the stories that were read that night. So touched was I by the atmosphere which both the music and surroundings had created that I shed my nerves, which for me is no mean feat, and read from my heart; unafraid to reveal my soul to the world.  I am indebted especially to Janet Steel from the Commonwealth Foundation, who not only ensured that the evening was a success for all of us with her creative direction but whose support and encouragement gave me the courage to grow.

This growth I keep mentioning is impossible to measure and very difficult to describe, but it manifests itself in subtle changes in perception and visible differences in outward behavior. I find myself beginning to redefine who I am and to rethink some long-held preconceptions about the world. For one, I have become far more optimistic about the future of human rights in the Pacific Islands, having discovered that other Commonwealth countries which faced very similar challenges have begun to overcome them. More importantly, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize has taught me that no matter how small and isolated our islands are, our voices matter and we deserve to be heard. I am now also confident that there is a place for people like me in the world; something that I have struggled to affirm for many years.

Above: Regional winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2018

It was in Nicosia, among my fellow writers and new-found friends that I was able to, for the very first time, speak publicly about my gender identity: something I have always shrunk from mentioning despite being an LGBTQIA rights advocate. The people around me and the exposure to a new, diverse world finally made it possible for me to unlock the closet door, twelve thousand miles away from home. Never before had I said the words ‘I am non-binary’ out loud and I have never felt so liberated! This personal liberation has been mirrored by the freeing of inner voices and the unlocking of inner stories which will shortly find their way onto paper and eventually out into the world.  Winning the Regional Prize has thus not only provided validation, exposure and a platform for my advocacy, it has also been a significant step in my personal journey towards growth, self-acceptance and freedom, all of which will undoubtedly make me a better writer.

Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa is a Samoan writer.

Malawi’s 50-50 campaign

Posted on by Gillian Cooper

Gillian Cooper investigates one partner’s decade-long effort to secure greater female representation in decision-making in Malawi.

Emma Kaliya is Board Member of Gender Links, Chairperson of FEMNET, and the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance in Malawi and a women’s rights activist of many, many years. We had the pleasure of speaking to Emma Kaliya about her life’s work and her role in the Gender Links project Making the Post-2015 agenda work for gender equality in Southern Africa, which is supported by the Commonwealth Foundation.

I was struck by the continuous challenges and her unwavering dedication, over more than a decade, to increase the numbers of women in political decision-making roles. Emma’s story highlighted the highs and lows and continuous struggle that gender equality advocacy requires the world over. I was pleased to learn that the global ‘50-50 campaign’ had started in Malawi as a national, grassroots campaign.

Back in 2008, after many years of lobbying and negotiations by the Southern Africa women’s movement, the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development was adopted by Heads of States and Government. Civil society alongside Ministries of Gender/Women affairs had fought long and hard to get SADC leaders to agree to the Protocol – transforming a non-binding Declaration into a more robust Protocol agreement.

Civil society fought to include the protocol target that at least 50 per cent of decision-making positions in the public and private sectors are held by women.  (Since the Protocol’s revision in 2016/17, this target has been revised to be met by 2030).

‘Emma’s story highlighted the highs and lows and continuous struggle that gender equality advocacy requires the world over.’

Adoption of the Protocol was a significant achievement, but civil society recognised that the Protocol’s adoption was just one step in a long journey to implementation. In Emma’s words: ‘We were not going to sit quietly! We know there are tricks!’ Pushing for implementation required tracking progress, and this would be done using the SADC Gender Barometer.

An important first step in the introduction of the Barometer was to popularise it and to show its usefulness to improving gender equality. Fortuitously, Malawi’s elections closely followed the Protocol’s adoption in 2009; Malawi had not yet ratified the Protocol. So in the run up to elections, Emma and other civil society actors used this opportunity to translate the target of 50-50 female representation in political decision-making into action.  The ‘50-50 campaign’ was born.

The campaign was able to gain momentum and really took root with Malawians.  Mini-buses and roadside rest houses painted with the 50-50 campaign slogans are still visible today. While we chatted, Emma challenged us: ‘Ask anyone what 50-50 is and they will tell you.’ And so I asked a couple taxi drivers and the receptionist at our Lilongwe hotel – both male and female – if they knew about the 50-50 campaign. Though not a representative sample, of course –each was able to tell me that it was about increasing numbers of women in politics.

Late Bingu wa Mutharika, the President at the time, was eager to demonstrate that Malawi would make progress on its regional and international commitments to increase the numbers of women in decision-making spaces. And Emma was given a number of platforms to present the movement’s agenda. She was clear: ‘We have come for one agenda. Women want to be in Parliament and local councils.’ Sure enough, in that year, the President provided small but significant funding for the campaigns in each constituency where there was a female candidate. The campaign paid off. At the time, Malawi had the highest number of female candidates it had ever had and 43 seats out of 193 seats were eventually won by women.

‘Mini-buses and roadside rest houses painted with the 50-50 campaign slogans are still visible today.’

Three years later Malawi got its first female President. Previously Vice-President, she took office following the sudden death of Mutharika. Expecting to build on the progress over the last few years, instead the 50-50 campaign faced some of its biggest challenges in the 2014 election cycle.

Those unhappy with her leadership promoted a campaign in the 2014 elections to discriminate against all women in political office. The campaign against women leaders saw the number of women representatives drop from 22% to 17%. ‘We were really let down…I never expected it’; Emma’s body language showed the toll the discriminatory campaign had.

In 2017, Emma was one of the Commissioners on the Special Law Commission on the Review of Electoral Laws in Malawi. One of the recommendations of the Commission was the institution of a quota for women in each of the 28 electoral districts. Such a quota system would open up a seat in each district, guaranteeing 28 seats for women, but would not challenge seats in existing constituencies where women would still be eligible to stand.

While President Peter Mutharika was supportive when he made a statement at an EU-Brussels meeting, his Cabinet decided to reject the recommendation for the ‘28 seat initiative’, siting technical implementation challenges once adopted. Emma was understandably frustrated.

Malawians go to the polls in 2019, and campaigners have been told that the 28-seat-initiative will not be considered. However, the 50-50 campaign lives on and is gearing up again.

Gillian Cooper is Programme Manager for Knowledge, Learning and Communications at the Commonwealth Foundation.

Why land laws matter

Posted on by Patience Ayebazibwe

Patience Ayebazibwe led research in Southern Africa on the policies and conventions governing women’s access to land. Here’s what she found.

The status of women in Africa as a whole, and the extent to which the regulatory environment promotes gender equality across different spheres of life, provides an important backdrop for understanding and addressing gender imbalances  in land and investment governance. Moreover, patriarchal attitudes and practices persist, particularly in rural areas, which means that women continue to be marginalised in terms of access to land and productive resources.

A 2017 study conducted by Akina Mama Wa Afrika in Malawi, eSwatini and Zambia, with support from the Commonwealth Foundation, revealed that deliberate restrictions on women accessing, controlling and owning land are common to all three countries. The study also showed that most dominant legal systems are strongly gender discriminatory. This is attributed to an unenforced policy regime on land guided by patriarchal cultural beliefs that do not regard women as custodians of land, discriminatory laws and policies, expensive legal justice, and low representation of women in senior leadership positions, largely as a result of persisting patriarchal attitudes and practices at both community and household levels.

Land is a critical tool of production and remains a social asset that is central to political and financial power, cultural identity and decision making. In Africa women’s customary land rights are more vulnerable. Even where customary tenure systems recognise land rights of both men and women, women’s names are rarely on the documents, making them more vulnerable to losing their rights.

Patience recently met Commonwealth Foundation staff to discuss the progress of Akina Mama Wa Afrika’s project in partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation ‘Strengthening women’s voices to advocate for women’s land rights in Southern Africa’

Study after study has shown that women’s access to and control of land, and other productive resources, is central to ensuring their right to equality and to a decent standard of living. This is emphasised in Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 5. While Goal 1 recognises that to end poverty, it will be crucial to ensure equal rights to ownership and control over land, as well as equal rights to inheritance of productive resources (target 1.4), Goal 5 on Gender equality and women’s empowerment calls upon governments to carry out legal and policy reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources (Target 5a). Indeed, evidence shows that a woman who has land has a degree of security; she is less likely to tolerate domestic violence and is in a better position to leave a violent relationship and negotiate safe sex, so the importance of ensuring women’s land rights goes far beyond economic security and access to resources to the imperative goal of ending violence against women.

Why is it then that while women’s land rights are well-recognised as an important pathway for achieving poverty reduction at individual, household and national levels, as highlighted above, many African countries continue to deny them ownership and control of land and other productive resources?

‘Land is a critical tool of production and remains a social asset that is central to political and financial power, cultural identity and decision making.’

The Akina Mama wa Afrika study showed that the situation of women and ownership of land has been worsened by the increased rush for large scale land acquisition by both international and national investors. While contexts differ, investor interest in large-scale land deals for agribusiness has raised commercial pressures on land and livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa.  Admittedly such projects can potentially benefit local communities, but research suggests that investments can often have negative consequences on vulnerable groups, indeed women suffer disproportionately. This is because such investments tend to reinforce, or even exacerbate, existing attitudes and practices. Further denying women’s access to land.

Understanding these customary norms, as well as the opportunities and challenges presented by existing statutory laws relating to land and investment, is crucial in developing appropriate and effective interventions to strengthen women’s voices and accountability in land and investment governance.

Going forward, advancement of women’s economic rights, their control and participation in the land economy can no longer be ignored if we are to attain gender equality and reduce poverty. The study reveals that Malawi, eSwatini and Zambia need to push for accelerated land reform, particularly to address the duality of the land tenure system which is governed by traditional and statutory norms. This should involve increasing access, control and ownership of land by women in order to address the historical injustices that women have faced over land. The research also points to the need to strengthen women’s livelihood opportunities by increasing their ability to hold agricultural investors in their countries to account. This will not happen overnight and will require organising so that there is a critical mass of activists demanding policy change. This point was well articulated by one of the participants in the research project: ‘land is power, and it won’t be given away easily by those who have it. We need to build a strong movement so that collectively we take actions to challenge the barriers…our voices from the ghetto must be heard. We need land: it’s capital and it’s life’.

Patience Ayebazibwe is Programmes Officer at Akina Mama Wa Afrika. Women’s Land Rights in the Wave of Land Acquisitions in Malawi, eSwatini and Zambia is available for download here. 

Details for a difference

Posted on by Anita Nzeh

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) are implementing a Grants funded project on the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2016.

In June the Foundation’s Knowledge, Learning and Communications (KLC) and Grants team went on mission to Sri Lanka to learn more about our partner’s work.

We met with RTI civil mobilisation coordinators from different districts in Sri Lanka who shared both stories of positive change and resistance. We observed an RTI awareness raising and RTI filling training session in Nonagama and we spoke to elderly community members in Matara who consider themselves torch bearers of the RTI Act.

Before the Act came into law, TISL advocated for its adaptation to the Sri Lankan context.  This involved representations in the drafting committee’s final meetings and working with parliamentarians to sensitise them and broaden their understanding of what RTI is about. Post-enactment of the RTI Act, TISL have adopted a watchdog role to ensure compliance.

On the advocacy side of the project the RTI team provide feedback and advise the government on how best to implement the law. This includes work with the RTI Commission who provide the Act’s guidelines and the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media who raise awareness of the Act. In addition to this TISL have worked to ensure that other legislation does not interfere with right to information laws. A recent examples is the National Audit Bill which, while still in drafting stage, has certain provisions that prevented information disclosure.

Above: Project manager Sankhita Gunaratne. Hear her account of the project here. 
Above: Community flag bearer of the RTI act. Flag bearers assist other citizens in filing information requests.

In Sri Lanka people file RTI’s for many reasons. Amongst the most common are:

  • Land e.g. public property, land permits, development licences, paddy land for citizens and canal cultivation permits;
  • Development activities e.g. Construction delays and procurement;
  • Social welfare e.g. law enforcement, police, army;
  • Health and Education e.g. school admissions process and educational facilities.

Awareness raising around the RTI Act is key to the project’s success. TISL’s RTI team, led by Sankhita Gunaratne conduct awareness raising in the form of street dramas (in local languages of five districts), press advertisements and newspaper articles. In addition to the RTI van, a dedicated website called RTI Watch and a film on RTI has been created; providing personal stories that have been be shared with wider audiences.

Although outcomes for citizens are overwhelmingly positive, it is clear that some information requests are not being dealt with in the correct way. Pushing for the full realisation of the RTI Act in practice is the task ahead for the TISL RTI team.

Please use this link to read more about TISL RTI teams work Right to Information: a success story from Vavuniya, Sri Lanka written by Sankhita Gunaratne.

Anita Nzeh is Senior Programme Officer for Knowledge and Learning at the Commonwealth Foundation.

Right to Information: a success story from Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

Posted on by Sankhita Gunaratne

Transparency International Sri Lanka made an Information Request of the Vavuniya Divisional Secretariat, querying the lack of updates to the Secretariat’s website.

The site in question had not been updated since 2015. Information was also requested about the steps the Divisional Secretariat had taken to help and facilitate members of the public who submit RTI Forms.

The Divisional Secretariat responded by updating their website in June 2018 . Furthermore, an information board was displayed in front of the Secretariat Office, containing details about the information officer of the Divisional Secretariat. This enabled easy access to the Secretariat’s RTI Unit for members of the public, and set a precedent for proactive disclosure.

The picture depicts the website last updated on 18 December 2014 and the update following the RTI request on 19 June 2018.

Sri Lanka marked a historic victory in August 2016 when the right to information act was passed. The law now enables all citizens to access information held by the State and was internationally acclaimed: ranking third in Centre for Law and Democracy’s RTI rating.

Even though the passage of the law was a result of 20 years of agitation by civil society, journalists, politicians and activists, beyond this circle, knowledge of the law and its significance was mostly non-existent. The grant provided by the Commonwealth Foundation enabled Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) to be one of the lead organisations in Sri Lanka demystifying the law for citizens – in Colombo, Matara, Ampara, Trincomalee and Jaffna, spanning the Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern provinces, and other districts as well.

Sri Lanka’s rank on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (91 ) demonstrates the challenge set before the country and hopes and were fostered that the RTI law would open up the space for transparency, accountability, and an avenue for ordinary citizens to better understand government processes.

However, since the law’s enactment little effort has been made to educate people on RTI, and it is civil society that has filled that space. Through this grant, TISL has employed several techniques aimed at doing so.

Very early on, as RTI was operationalised, TISL used an ‘RTI Van’ with a large LED screen and loudspeakers, to drive through the districts, stopping in strategic locations. It ran audiovisual content on the RTI process, with staff members interacting with the public, and in certain cases, helped them to formulate RTI requests on the spot. Notably, in the Trincomalee districts, over 150 RTI requests were facilitated covering issues of corruption, access to education and health facilities. Street dramas around International Right to Know Day 2017 , newspaper advertisements, missed call campaigns and SMS shots are among the other techniques that were used.

A Manual and information leaflets were created and mirrored on a website which was regularly updated. These described case studies and the law in local languages in a simplified and accessible manner. TISL has continued to visit communities conducting small pocket meetings, listening to people’s needs and brainstorming as to how people can use RTI creatively and at times collectively to resolve problems. TISL also facilitates constructive discussions with government counterparts.

RTI has been working in unforeseen ways in Sri Lanka. While it has in many instances led to information disclosure, government actors have been known to remediate issues causing discontent without disclosing information.

For example, the residents of Akkaraipaththu in Ampara made a complaint to the Medical Officer of Health (MOH), about garbage accumulation affecting 10 families and a school in Akkaraipaththu in May 2017. The issue was communicated to the President via the ‘Tell the President’ campaign in July 2017, but no action was taken. In January 2018, a RTI was filed, requesting information on the actions taken by the MOH pursuant to the complaint. Within four days of making the request, the garbage was cleared and the MOH even asked the citizen if he could withdraw his RTI.. The citizen has refused.

Another manner in which RTI has assisted the average citizen is that it has given them access where formerly she might have been stonewalled. The stringent timelines for disclosure stipulated in the law has ensured that citizens with a good understanding of the RTI process could follow a few simple and non-confrontational steps to hold a public institution accountable.

RTI is both weapon and deterrent, enforcer and protector. Stories of the law’s success have now begun trickling in from many parts of the country. It is eminently important that these hard-won victories continue to be used for the benefit of all.

Sankhita Gunaratne is a project manager at Transparency International Sri Lanka.