Butjwana SeokomaBusiness and civil society have an important role to play in ensuring the sustainable development of Africa says Sipho Mseleku, CEO of the Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce. He urged Africans to invest in developing their own communities and not to rely on foreign funding which in most cases, comes with conditions. Mseleku was speaking at the CAF Southern Africa “Innovating for Sustainability – Africans Investing in Africa” conference that took in Johannesburg from 17-18 September.

Ari BerlinTransparency, openness and access to information are key components of a healthy democracy. That said, why does a simple request for access to information often result in a seemingly endless well of excuses from government? Of course, these excuses are only used following an actual response to a request, which happens only part of the time. In a three-year comparative study conducted by the Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC), 63 percent of requests for information resulted in what is termed a “mute refusal”: when a formal request for information is simply ignored.

Mukelani DimbaThe phrase “information is the oxygen of democracy” does not have the same ring to the ear as anti-apartheid slogans like “Free Mandela” or “Power to the People”. However this does not mean that access to information was not recognised by civil society formations that fought apartheid as a significant tool in the fight to restore the human dignity of all South Africans. Indeed, access to information held by government was seen as a necessary means of exposing the brutality of the apartheid system and a cornerstone of a post-Apartheid system of governance that would be open, participatory, accountable and democratic.

Butjwana Seokoma Archbishop Njonkonkulu Ndungane has called upon South Africans to stand up against poverty. Speaking during the Gauteng round of national poverty hearings in Johannesburg on 12 September, Ndungane said: “We came here to listen to your problems.” The poverty hearings, which have been held in four other provinces over the last two months, provide the opportunity for the poor to speak about their experiences of poverty.

Tian JohnsonThe lack of political will has long been a barrier to HIV prevention work in South Africa - from the Viramune debacle to a denialist Presidency and two successive incompetent Ministries of Health.As the AIDS death toll reached an estimated 2 500 000 in June this year, civil society is faced with what could very well be one of our biggest advocacy challenges of the next few years – that of universal access to the female condom.

Andile L NcontsaWhen I first read the article “Maths and Science vs Morals and Values” by Julie Staub, Fundraising Coordinator at OutwardBound (NGO Pulse, No.139), I thought there was a new dark comedy section in NGO Pulse - the kind you find captioned with a cartoon. In response to what has been described as the cause of the skills crisis in this country, Staub writes: “I believe that we need to teach our youth more about morals and values than maths and science.

African Monitor Over the past two months, the African Monitor, working with Black Sash, CIVICUS, Hope Africa, South African Human Rights Commission, COSATU, Southern African Trust, South African Council of Churches, SANGOCO, Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute and IDASA, has held Poverty Hearings in across South Africa. These gatherings have provided people from all walks of life the opportunity to talk about their experiences of poverty.

Kate SkinnerFormed as a response to the crisis facing the SABC, the ‘Save our SABC’ campaign is part of the activities of a civil society coalition established in June 2008 to help resolve the crisis. A working group comprising the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI); Media Monitoring Project (MMP); Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-SA); National Consumers Forum; Broadcasting, Electronic, Media and Allied Workers Union (BEMAWU); and a number of individuals including Justine Limpitlaw (a legal academic), Prof. Tawana Kupe (Dean of Humanities at Wits University) and Jeanette Minnie (a freedom of expression activist) is driving the campaign.

David BarnardRegister for MobileActive08With six weeks to go, excitement is building up for the MobileActive08 Summit (http://www.mobileactive08.org/).Hosted by SANGONeT and MobileActive.org from 13-15 October 2008 in Johannesburg, the theme of the event is “Unlocking the Potential of Mobile Technology for Social Impact”. This will be the largest international event to date focusing on this topic and is the only global gathering that is connecting leaders who are working at the convergence of civil society, mobile technology and social change.

Butjwana SeokomaThe South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) launched its first dialogue series on constitutional values on 22 August in Johannesburg. Held under the theme “Unity in Diversity: Promoting and Advancing Constitutional Values in South Africa”, representatives from government, human rights organisations and civil society came together to discuss constitutional values in a democratic society.

Julie Staub Over the last few years South Africa has suffered what has become commonly known as the ‘Brain Drain (http://www.hsrc.ac.za/Factsheet-7.phtml)’. Many people we have helped to educate have left our shores for what they believe to be a brighter future elsewhere. Consequently we have been left with a shortage of professionally qualified people in a number of key sectors.

Cornelias NcubeAll states, democratic or authoritarian, exist and govern by exercising political domination and force over citizens. In functioning democracies, however, the state’s political domination and force is ably regulated by strong and inclusive institutional structures and processes, respect for the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights and a vibrant and independent civil society. Constitutionally, Zimbabwe is a democracy.

Nicole SenderayiThe Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) hosted a discussion forum aimed at identifying strategies to enhance citizen participation in collecting, reporting and disseminating information. The discussion forum formed part of MISA South Africa’s annual general meeting on 25 July 2008 in Johannesburg.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has announced the closure of the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) as of 31 December 2008.According to CCS Director, Prof Patrick Bond, he and his staff were summoned to a meeting on 30 July 2008 and advised the centre was being permanently closed at the end of the year. All CCS staff contracts, besides Bond's, would be terminated, with CCS’s good projects moved to the School for Development Studies at UKZN.

Ronald EglinAn interesting debate over new approaches to housing delivery has been going on within civil society circles. Much of this seems to revolve around the need for government to adopt a land-first approach in order to increase the pace of housing delivery across the country. The need for such a land-first approach is deemed more urgent now than ever before as landmark dates such as 2014, by which time government commits itself to “a nation free of slums”, approach.

Aleta ArmstrongAn honestly conversation about the problems facing NGOs today is long overdue. We are not making enough progress in our fight against poverty, hunger, AIDS and other challenges that our region faces. Why? Part of the problem is with how some NGOs operate, especially larger organisations. The other problem is with funding, as most donors work in a bureaucratic and inefficient way. Could we not start using some logic, honesty and commonsense and implement some new solutions?

Eric Richardson The role of an NGO leader involves much more than just ensuring that their organisations comply with all laws, policies and expectations. NGOs, for the most part, have been set up to have a positive impact on society, and so I believe that when necessary leaders should be “rebels” who can take on “the system” and be agents of change for good.Some years ago, while working as a lecturer at the Wits School of Education, a student of mine asked me why it was that so many school rebels seemed to have good leadership qualities.

David Barnard NGO leaders face extraordinary challenges which are very distinct from those faced by leaders in government and the private sector. They often function in isolated and unsupported circumstances, and are faced with a set of complex and interrelated challenges relating to NGOs’ social change mission, increased pressure for accountability and transparency, the need for unquestioned integrity and to maximise limited resources, and the ability to network and position their organisations in an uncertain external and political environment.

Ann Bown Founder’s Syndrome (FS) is not unique to the non-profit sector. In fact it exists in the business world and many other sectors including sports clubs, professional associations and even in political circles. This syndrome can be identified in a church choir or a multi-billion rand corporation. It is everywhere! Transitional leadership is difficult and fraught with challenges and this is often exacerbated by ‘founders’ who will not let go of what is perceived to be their ‘baby’. Diagnosing the ‘syndrome’ is not easy and even more difficult to accept and address when it exists in your organisation.

Thomas AlbertsWeb2.0 is a term thrown around a lot these days and it means many things to many people. There are, however, some common characteristics in its varied usage. Basically, web2.0 refers to the shift in focus from distribution of information through networks (the old ‘bookmark your favourites’ approach) to participation in the creation of information and networks.Examples of web2.0 technology are blogs, podcasts, social networking platforms, and RSS feeds. With web2.0 technology, you can run software applications over the internet, host your photo albums online or collaborate with colleagues on shared documents.