Several people have questioned why our leader of delegation, the distinguished Professor Ms Joyce Befu, MG 66 and Most Excellent Grand Achiever (MEGA-1) is called professor. Such people have gone on to say only those that are serving and promoted, or have served and been promoted in the university are called professors, speacilised in their fields.
Well, such people, such questioners, should examine the laws of this land and check with the relevant legal institutions in Malawi. Everything that is not allowed is in the laws. If it is not in the law, it is allowed. Calling oneself professor is not forbidden by the law. Case closed. Our impeccable and unimpeachable leader is professor.
This professor has asked us to ask a very pertinent question. The DPP government wants to fulfil its election promise that each of the 229 constituencies (each headed by an MP) will receive K5 billion kwacha as Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from next year. But, the new sponsored thinking is that the member of Parliament (the head) and his or her two ward councillors be kept out, in the cold, in favour of Village Development Committees (VDCs), Area Development Committees (ADCs), and eventually district commissioners (DCs).
The question is why? Why are elected representatives being kicked out of the largesse? Why should we trust a district commissioner and her/his civil servants, who, if they swindle us of the K5 billion, will be transferred to swindle yet another district?
We smell trouble and lack of accountability in the whole fight against MPs in CDF. We argue that the best placed in the CDF implementation structure are politicians because if they do not use it carefully, they will lose the next election? The MP and councillors promised us development and CDF is their source of money to realise that development.
The role of civil society organisations (CSOs) and the mass media is providing social accountability and mass education for active citizenship on CDF. They should design, demand, and follow up on the developments and services they want from their MPs and councillors. The way some CSOs argue is, to be mild, suspect. One thing we should know is that CDF is a political fund to be managed by the head of the constituency (the MP).
With MPs and councillors in charge, CDF has so far not borne expected fruits since it was introduced? Probably, yes, but whose fault? Did CSOs and mass media conscientise the people about their rights and what they should expect in the CDF? CSOs and mass media have been sleeping on their mandate.
Where such accountability exists, provided by CSOs and mass media, the money is followed so that it gives services to right holders their expectations.
To cite only a few: The Africa Freedom Information Centre (Afic) in Uganda uses all media platforms to get a nationwide spread of information, and citizen awareness and epistemological empowerment while the Malawi Economic Network (Mejn) prefers working with community radio stations because these are considered to speak directly to the people in the local languages on themes relevant to the local communities.
The last time they worked together, Mejn and community radios uncovered a network of government drivers and bookshop owners who were selling government school textbooks, some with government stamps.
There are many institutions in Malawi that report an improvement in the use of their project money after they attempted to implement social accountability.
In Rwanda, TI-Rw and Norwegian People’s Aid PPIMA Project have teamed up with Pax-Press, a conglomeration of Rwanda media outlets supporting peace processes and governance in Rwanda. They follow up on imihigo, performance contracts, to see what is working or what is not.
In Kenya, Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) uses traditional mass mobilisation, social marketing, theatre and Internet-based social media (such as YouTube) to reach out to the public.
In Bangladesh, social accountability implementers use a multimedia approach in the widest sense: folk, social and traditional media are combined for effectiveness for popular involvement planning and demanding development and services.
So, as can be seen from the examples above, CSOs and the mass media should team up, pool their funding, mobilise and conscientise villagers to follow their money, CDF money.
To leave K5 billion in the hands the DC, no matter how honest he or she is, with only VDC and ADC as the other players is a temptation too high for this economy. If the MPs and councillors are sued out of CDF, we will sue the CSOs and mass media for neglecting their mandates and choosing to fight political battles. CDF belongs to MPs and councillors to manage. MPs should pass a law that prescribes that CDF should be headed by the MP, the owner of the constituency.
