Globalising resistance: social movement activism in Malawi

Attendant with the rise of the good governance discourse of the 1990s and beyond, contemporary research on social activism in Africa has tended to be rooted in normalised conceptions of civil society operating in partnership with the state. The proliferation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) over this period has attracted considerable attention from international donors and researchers alike – so much so that, for many, NGOs have now become synonymous with civil society. As a consequence, considerable gaps are evident in the literature on social movement activism and what this means in specific African contexts. Drawing from an empirical study of political and social activism in Malawi over a six year period (2000-2006), this paper aims at making a contribution in this regard, focusing on the agency and activism of a civic network of organisations and individuals known as the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN). Arguing that MEJN constitutes a social movement in that it embodies many of the associated characteristics identified within literature (a decentralised structure; an emphasis on popular participation and direct democracy; a dynamic membership; and a strong internal solidarity (Pichardo, 1997; della Porta and Diani, 1999; della Porta, 2009), the paper follows the journey of the network – from its genesis within the Jubilee campaign for debt cancellation, to its consolidation through the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) process, to its fragmentation with the attraction of donor funding, to its re-invigoration through challenges posed by its local district membership base – and identifies both the enabling factors and the constraints to its success in effecting social and political change over this time. MEJN’s experience and journey demonstrates the increasingly globalised nature of African social movement activism and highlights both the opportunities and constraints to strategies for change posed by this globalisation

Two 'transitions': the political economy of Joyce Banda's rise to power and the related role of civil society organisations in Malawi

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Review of African Political Economy on 21/07/2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03056244.2014.90194

Gap Analysis of Environmental Health Research in Malawi : Report to the National Commission of Science and Technology

The aim of this consultancy was to assess the current gaps in research for the environmental health sector in Malawi, and to recommend research priorities and an effective action plan to address these gap

ICT in Agriculture Extension and Marketing in Malawi and Mozambique

Executive Summary This report is the result of a study carried out for CTA on “ICT in Agricultural Extension and Marketing”, in Malawi and Mozambique between August 2004 and March 2005. The study involved surveying agricultural and rural development stakeholders, as well as consultations among those stakeholders to bring out views on information needs and perceptions on the possible role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The state of development of the ICT industry in the countries concerned was reviewed as well. Below is a summary of findings. Below is a summary of findings. Adoption of ICT The adoption of ICT by agricultural sector stakeholders shows results from headquarters level up to branch office level (provincial, regional offices). From branches further upstream to rural localities there is minimal adoption. In this study, we use the term ‘ICT Readiness’ to express the level of adoption and potential for rapid ICT-enabled service enhancements. Two ICT trends are relevant to the rural localities: easy adoption and spread of SMS (Short Message System of mobile telecommunications networks) and Community Radios. SMS is important as it represents keyboarding and datacommunication exposure to users. Survey participants operating at branch and rural level show SMS usage at above critical levels: 59% in Malawi and 50% in Mozambique, suggesting opportunities for service development targeting rural based actors. The SMS service providers are beginning to pursue introduction of value added services, such as SMS banking. The Community Radios are beginning to deploy Internet technology capable of supporting quality programming. At the same time, Community Radios are benefiting increasingly from favorable public policy expressions and regulation. Internet activity Internet activity is at a low level of technological sophistication, but widespread, with 84% of Mozambican participants using Internet at headquarters against 44% in Malawi. At branch level these figures drop to 55% and 26%, respectively. Updating websites is often poorly or not at all taken care of; and organisation’s websites are rarely being used for service delivery which is only seen in very exceptional cases. Few stakeholders in this study have websites: 22% in Malawi and 34% in Mozambique. Beyond those in the public sector and parastatals, few of these sites target operators within the country. ICT adoption disparities between branches (rural, province) and headquarters (capital city) are less marked in Malawi than in Mozambique. The explanation lies in the one hand in the challenge caused by great geographical distances in Mozambique in achieving high network coverage. In the other hand, Maputo scores relatively high in ICT, this being an economic centre attracting much activity from South Africa, Portugal and other developed countries. ICT services costs are relatively high in the countries under review. Indexed against service usage baskets, Malawi scores highest costs with index 84, Mozambique index 75 and Kenya 46. Use of information and media Stakeholders in agricultural and rural development, acknowledge that sharing of information and distribution of resources is underdeveloped in both countries, despite the obvious economic necessity. This concerns both sourcing of information and media productions, as well as distribution and dissemination networks. Sector statistics are collected annually but parallel work is being done by various stakeholders. Most service providers develop their own materials (print, radio). Quality of information materials including broadcasts is often subject to criticism by stakeholders. The adaptation and packaging of information for extension (field) purposes is poor. Mozambique boasts more examples of service providers using mass media houses for information dissemination than Malawi. Operational collaboration between government extension services and NGO’s is common in Mozambique, with some good examples in Malawi. Print extension materials often seem to have arbitrarily set circulation volumes, usually far from enough copies to occasionally far too many. The distribution of print news media is very low in both countries: our evidence suggests as little as 0.51% of rural population in Malawi and an optimistic 0.34% in rural Mozambique (few data available for Mozambique). In rural Malawi, there are 4 radio receivers per 100 population (Mozambique figure not available). Television broadcasting presently has relatively little potential for agricultural development, the main reason being network coverage. Even in a relatively small country as Malawi coverage is not higher than 20% of national territory. There are no signs that TV networks will expand soon. Telecentres were surveyed on their usefulness for agriculture and rural development agents. We found hardly any evidence of visitors searching for agricultural information. This is in spite of many voices, again at the roundtables organized for this study, calling for the establishment of telecentres in rural areas. In addition, most telecentre visitors use the Internet almost exclusively for webmail. Web access tariffs charged by the operators are between two to three times higher in small rural based telecentres than in urban centers. 3.1.4 Outreach The problem of quality and outreach of agricultural extension services is undisputed by any of the study’s participants. The limited effectiveness of the extension services is most pertinent in Mozambique: the Ministry of Agriculture employs no more than 500 Frontline Extension Workers (FEW) in the entire country. Even with the collaborative programmes in place with NGO’s and private sector, there is a large vacuum in service delivery. The challenge is confounded by lack of ICT access (see above), large distances to regional centres, lack of information materials and human resources education levels. In Malawi, high casualties of HIV-AIDS have an impact on the performance of the ca. 2,000 extension staff work-force. The distribution of extension materials appears not to be in line with demand and demographics. In both countries, the government creates agricultural statistics once per year, but with considerable time delays and limited depth and detail. Stakeholder’s websites are often not targeting outreach functions, and if they do, they are not being used for this, judging from surfing habits of participants in this study. Email based bulletins are however being used already in reaching farmers and traders. Annexed to this study is a searchable database Inventory of Agricultural Service Providers and Inventory of Telecommunication Operators (Telco’s or TO’s) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), for Malawi and Mozambique, containing basic profile and contact data.The study involved surveying agricultural and rural development stakeholders, as well as consultations among those stakeholders to bring out views on information needs and perceptions on the possible role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

No. 26: Social Media, The Internet and Diasporas for Development

The recent focus on diasporas by policy-makers researchers has highlighted the rich potential of migrants as a force for shaping development activities in their countries of origin. The study of diasporas in development presents researchers a number of significant challenges. As Vertovec and Cohen suggest, ‘one of the major changes in migration patterns is the growth of populations anchored … neither at their places of origin nor at their places of destination’. The fluid, multi-sited and multi-generational nature of diaspora groupings poses considerable methodological challenges of definition, identification, location, sampling and interviewing. As the nature of African diasporas are constantly in flux so too should the methodologies we use to study them. In practice, traditional approaches lead to the same methodological roadblocks. Census and immigration data (particularly from destination countries) can provide an overall picture of diaspora stocks, flows and locations. However, privacy issues generally preclude these sources from providing disaggregated data at the level of the individual migrant or migrant household. Surveys of diaspora members have therefore become the standard means of collecting information on diaspora characteristics, identities, activities and linkages. This immediately raises a set of problems and challenges. Census data can tell us the size of the population to sample but not who the individuals are, where they live and how to contact them. Without a sampling frame, researchers tend to rely instead on ‘snowball’, ‘purposive’ or ‘convenience’ sampling. This has produced a disproportionate number of studies that rely on key informant and focus group interviews in order to create a profile of diasporas and their development-related activities. Diasporas are often geographically dispersed within a country and across different countries. Cost and time constraints and the bias of snowball and convenience sampling lead to a focus on sub-sets. Studies of diaspora members in particular cities or regions are especially common. While sample sizes vary considerably, there is a marked reliance on very small samples, which raises obvious questions about the representativeness and generalizability of the findings. The mail-out survey is still the preferred method of reaching members of a geographically dispersed diaspora, although response rates remain stubbornly low. To contact members of the diaspora, mailing lists are compiled from organizations that keep, and are willing to share, membership lists (such as diaspora organizations, embassies, alumni associations, immigrant service agencies and religious organizations). However, this means an inherent sampling bias since data collected from these individuals and groups has the potential to be skewed towards diaspora members actively engaged with their origin country. This method of ‘accessing the diaspora through the diaspora’ is also unlikely to provide much information on ‘hidden’ members of a diaspora whose immigration status may be undocumented or uncertain and who are wary of disclosing personal information directly to researchers. Researchers have also noted that members of vulnerable populations such as asylum seekers and refugees might be reluctant to provide personal information due to fear and trust issues. To identify and connect with larger numbers, different strategies need to be adopted. In this context, the potential of the internet has rarely been considered. Since the advent of the internet age, more than one billion people have become connected to the World Wide Web (WWW), creating seemingly limitless opportunities for communication. The past decade has also seen a major increase in the use of the internet by diaspora individuals and groupings. The internet has not only facilitated remittance transfers, but has increased communication among and between diasporas and influenced the formation of diasporic identities. In this context, the potential of web-based methodologies in diaspora research appears promising. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we argue for supplementing conventional approaches with new methodologies that embrace the connectivity of diasporas, the emergence of social media and the potential of online surveys. Second, we illustrate the potential of this approach through discussion of the methods adopted in our current research on the African diaspora in Canada

Moral panics on implementation of Consolidated ICT Regulatory Management System: Case of Malawi

This paper analysed moral panics on the implementation of an ICT sector regulatory system called Consolidated ICT Regulatory Management System (CIRMS). The study focused on how the media reported on the events and opinions of stakeholders on the implementation of CIRMS for the ICT sector of Malawi. Media reports published between 2009 and 2012 were analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that the media reported both potential benefits and threats of CIRMS. Some of the benefits included effective billing and revenue generation for the regulator. However, some of the reports indicated that the system had a potential of surveillance to record calls of mobile phone users. Some stakeholders perceived that the system would invade personal privacy which led to moral panics. The study demonstrated the unintended consequences of implementing an information system with a wider scope of stakes. Thus, managers responsible for information systems implementation should be cautious of social implications for ICT sector regulatory systems

Evidence of Successful Interventions and Policies to Achieve a Demographic Transition in sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Malawi

This literature review is part of the DFID–K4D Learning Journey on Supporting a Demographic Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa. The review’s focus is on the available evidence that can explain the success of new champion countries in sub-Saharan Africa on spurring the demographic transition. This literature review concludes that: (i) Intersectoral approaches (e.g. integrating family planning programmes with education, health, and economic programmes) and approaches that are embedded and strengthened through legislation (e.g. revision of abortion laws, and child marriage laws) are particularly important to support the demographic transition in sub-Saharan Africa; (ii) The demographic transition can be initiated before achieving economic growth. Although most African countries are in the phase of a demographic transition, only some have measured a significant decline in fertility rates. Research is clear that the onset of the fertility decline is not only late in sub-Saharan Africa compared with other developing regions, but that the pace in which this happens is slower than expected. Evidence shows that the desire for children has been, and remains, much more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere. Although the desire for more children is higher in sub-Saharan Africa, both women and men have consistently reported that their ideal family size is smaller than the national total fertility rate. Often couples have more children than they want, which shows the need for upgraded family planning services. Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Malawi are used as case studies because these countries’ rate of transition has accelerated more than in other parts of Africa recently. This report will appraise the extent to which the objectives of their population and family planning policies have been realised. Data is taken from national/country-level and international sources (the United Nations World Population Policies Database, the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, and the Population Council), policy documents, research findings, as well as development plan and programme reports

Between citizenship and clientship: the politics of participatory governance in Malawi.

In the twenty years since the post-Cold War wave of democratisation spread across Africa, experiments in participatory governance have revealed fundamental contradictions between their normative bases and their practical application on the ground. Responding to calls for a greater focus on ‘the politics of everyday life’ including the actions of local actors in the context of less-westernised aspects of indigenous political culture, and drawing on the experiences and actions, over a six year period, of the principal civic network involved initially in Malawi’s PRS process, this paper illustrates how contemporary Malawian politics at local level comprises a complex mix of the old and the new. Charting the evolving agency and activities of network members at district level, the paper demonstrates how, in the ongoing struggles for resources for everyday life, normative discourses of participation and representation are combined with more traditional cultures and practices in shaping, moulding and ultimately, it is proposed, invigorating contemporary political agency in Malawi

Promising practice in school-related gender-based violence(SRGBV) prevention and response programming globally

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