Effective Governance, transparent public services and citizen empowerment through Information and Communication Technologies is the theme of the 4th Annual e-Governance Africa Forum 2010 in Maputo, Mozambique, from 23 to 25 March.

Johannesburg: Picking holes in the governance of electricity supply, and energy policy more generally, is like shooting fish in a barrel. Whether it is the development and sequencing of key policy documents, the absence of proper stakeholder consultation, leadership failure, or the lack of clarity about intragovernmental roles and responsibilities, there are more hooks on which to hang a public debate than in a cloakroom — as a new analysis of electricity governance reveals.

This month saw a flurry of public engagement at Parliament. The implementation of the Domestic Violence Act was critically examined, a process that resulted from an earlier consultation with civil society.

Ghana's discovery of major oilfields is set to transform the country. But there has been little public debate on the fundamental effects that this will have, or even on upcoming short term government decisions that will have a major impact. So I contribute a few thoughts to encourage debate with my Ghanaian friends.

Rome: The fight for women's rights came about hand in hand with the struggle for democracy, civil rights and national liberation in different countries and periods, says Inés Alberdi, executive director of UNIFEM. The time has now come for action on the effect of the global financial crisis on women, and other problems such as stereotyping, gender-based violence, unfair budgeting, lack of work opportunities and social protection for women, and the plight of women migrants.

We are here tp honour the memory of Helen Suzman, whose life was the embodiment of integrity in all respects. Hers was atough time in the life of our nation. But she did not shy away from making those tough calls that leaders who leave a deep imprint on society are called to make.

Yash Tandon is the former executive director of the South Centre in Geneva. In an interview with Pambazuka News, he discusses the problems of 'development aid', his differences with Dambisa Moyo's arguments in 'Dead Aid', the importance of Southern countries' right to autonomy and his own book, 'Ending Aid Dependence'.

"STOP the world, I want to get off!" I wanted to say as Dambiso Moyo whipped us off on a whirlwind world tour. This came to us in bits, sandwiched into her keynote address at a seminar held at the SA Reserve Bank on Wednesday. The seminar's theme was "alternative policies to address poverty and inequality in Africa". It was hosted by the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in Africa and The Institute for Democracy in Africa.

Cape Town: Today we table in this House a Green Paper on National Strategic Planning and a policy paper on performance monitoring and evaluation. On 5 June 2009 and again on 24 June 2009 in the debate on the budget vote of the Presidency, both Minister Chabane and I provided a detailed introduction to the work of our Ministries. We set out the rationale for the establishment of our functional areas, noting that the key reason for the establishment of these two Ministries in the Presidency is to improve the overall effectiveness of government in achieving our short-, medium- and long-term objectives.

In his recent visit to Africa President Barack Obama praised the strength of Ghana’s democratic institutions and emphasised the vital importance of good governance to sustainable development and the protection of human rights. Obama’s message was clear, America will provide aid and support only to those nations, like Ghana, that exhibit strong democratic institutions and a record of transparency and accountability: ‘governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by consent and not coercion.’

Accra: I am speaking to you at the end of a long trip. I began in Russia, for a Summit between two great powers. I traveled to Italy, for a meeting of the world's leading economies. And I have come here, to Ghana, for a simple reason: the 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra as well.

Efforts to increase domestic revenue and reduce dependency on foreign donors and the allocation of substantial resources to education and health are among the aspects of the new budget welcomed by the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme's (TGNP) budget analysis task team.

Countries with non-renewable natural resource wealth face special opportunities and special challenges. If used well, these resources can create greater prosperity for current and future generations; if used poorly, they can cause economic instability, social conflict and lasting environmental damage. The purpose of the Resource Charter is to assist the governments and societies of countries rich in non-renewable resources to manage those resources in a way that generates economic growth, promotes the welfare of the population in general and is environmentally sustainable.

During the first decade of the 21^st century, sub-Saharan Africa experienced its strongest period of sustained growth in decades. Economic indicators were up, and with them, many indicators of poverty witnessed marked improvements.

A ANSA-Africa está a procurar entrar em parcerias formais com duas instituições; uma baseada na África Oriental e outra na África Ocidental. O objectivo desta parceria é de expandir e promover os objectivos da ANSA-Africa nestas sub regiões na área de responsabilização social.

L'ANSA-Africa recherche deux organismes pour créer des partenariats : un basé en Afrique de l'Est et un autre en Afrique de l'Ouest. Le but de ce partenariat est de développer et de promouvoir dans ces régions les objectifs de l'ANSA-Africa dans le domaine de la responsabilité sociale.

The ANSA-Africa is seeking to enter into formal partnerships with two institutions; one based in East Africa and another in West Africa. The aim of this partnership is to expand and promote the objectives of ANSA-Africa in these sub-regions in the field of social accountability.

Without timely access to information, individuals are unable to participate in decisions that may affect their lives and livelihoods. Without access to public information, communities are unable to hold decision makers accountable for their actions. The right to access information is a fundamental prerequisite to meaningful participation, democratic accountability and to combat corruption.

Mo Ibrahim is a Sudanese businessman and head of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which he started in 2007 to draw attention to governance and leadership in Africa. The foundation produces an annual Index of African Governance and awards a $5 million prize to a former African head of state who "has demonstrated excellence in Africa leadership." Ibrahim, who founded Celtel, one of Africa's leading telecommunications companies, says in addition to good governance, Western countries must focus on improving infrastructure and education in Africa. He notes the importance of good governance in both the public and private sectors: "Why is it legal for a large oil company to sign a multibillion dollar contract in Angola or somewhere without disclosing it?" he asks. He also stresses the importance of African countries working toward regional integration.

Preamble

Civil society organizations, district budget oversight committees, and councillors from across the country met at a conference organized by National Accountability Group (NAG) in collaboration with Movement of Concerned Kono Youth (MOCKY), National Coalition on Extractives (NACE), and Rehabilitation and Development Agency (RADA) on the 25th of February 2009 at the British Council Hall, Tower Hill, Freetown.

Members of parliament face a challenging set of tasks in fulfilling their core and sometimes conflicting functions within government and society. They are expected to provide a voice for the people, that is, they represent their constituents' interests and views within the national government.

Social Accountability Course: your input needed

It is difficult to feed research-based evidence into policy and practice. This article discusses which capacities need to be strengthened to increase the impact of research on policy.

Inter Press Service recently published a three party series on how gender issues were being incorporated into Uganda's budget and finance system. The individual articles, previously featured in our daily newsflash section, have been compiled into a single document for the benefit of our stakeholders. We believe the points raised in the articles have a wider reference for activists and analysts interested in service delivery, budget monitoring and gender issues.

In promoting evidence-based policy in developing countries, the links between civil society organisations and legislators in the research-policy-practice interface have been insufficiently studied.

The World Bank's new chief economist for Africa recently penned an entry on his new blog with the title: Is information the solution? His comments drew on pioneering research in Uganda by World Bank staffers in the 1990s on the role that information played in ensuring better development outcomes.

Health experts and activists have heavily criticised African governments for failing to collaborate with civil society organisations (CSOs) on health research and health policy development.

With the world slightly past the halfway mark to the Millennium Development Goal deadline of 2015, pressure is mounting to promote gender equality. Goal Three is to promote gender equality and empower women -- but in fact, every goal relates directly to women's rights.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay

Seven women and thirteen men from Anglophone and Francophone Africa and the Caribbean met during the last days of September in Gorée Island, Senegal. They have many things in common, but one in particular is their ability to make innovative connections in gender, agriculture and information and communication technologies (ICTs). This ability has led them to be finalists of the Gender, Agricultural and Rural Development in the Information Society (GenARDIS) small grants fund.

In line with their mandate to promote civil society organisations (CSOs) as important actors in the fight against poverty on the African continent, the Southern Africa Trust and an advisory group of organisations met on 26 September 2006 to reflect on the establishment of an independent mechanism for CSOs to interface with the secretariats of the intergovernmental institutions of the African Union (AU), namely the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the Pan African Parliament (PAP).

Good Health does not only mean free from diseases but it also means more i.e physical, mental and economic well beings. DORP aims to establish rights to health by integrated development with the slogan "Sunte habe tader katha jader katha haini suna'' listen to the words of those who were not heard through implementation of PRSP, MDG and Peoples Health chart. Development Organization of the Rural Poor-DORP, a non-government development organization has been working for the last few years through its Searching for poor Upazila Health and Family Planning Budget project. DORP has been implementing the project as a pilot scheme in 66 Upazilas under 06 Divisions of the country.

Through examining the experience of the Ugandan Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS-Uganda), Rosette Mutambi highlights the extent to which ordinary Ugandans remain without effective official health care. While stressing the role of government in empowering local communities, she argues that genuine improvement in primary health care rests on involving an informed population in the planning and implementation of the system overall, a consideration of even greater importance in a resource-poor nation like Uganda

The recent signing of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development could mean that the stories and images in the region's media may soon have a more balanced perspective.

Yes: John O'Shea says Irish aid bestows legitimacy and credibility on rapacious and oppressive governments.

No: Hans Zomer says that without government, there can be no development. Aid comes from the outside, but development must come from within.

In the past seven years, the world has witnessed at least three hopeful trends in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa: (1) funding for AIDS prevention, care, support, and treatment programs has reached an all-time high; (2) the HIV prevalence rate has declined in some countries; and (3) most African governments have developed AIDS strategies and policy-making institutions. While these are important accomplishments, we must now ask: “How can the positive momentum of these AIDS efforts be sustained?” Increased civil society mobilization and AIDS advocacy is essential to capitalize on these developments.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: After three days of around-the-clock deliberations, the 300 delegates at the Seventh Africa Governance Forum (AGFVII) agreed on recommendations to boost the efficiency and responsiveness of African governments to deliver essential social services to their people. Their proposals will be presented to Presidents and Prime Ministers from across the region at the next African Union Summit.

Capped off by a dialogue with Burkina Faso’s President, Blaise Compaore; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; and Prime Ministers Abdelaziz Belkhadem of Algeria, the AGF VII brought together government officials, civil society representatives, journalists and business leaders from more than 30 countries under the theme “Building the Capable State in Africa”. A flagship governance initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the AGFVII was convened by the agency’s Regional Bureau for Africa.

More than US$50 billion of largely private sector investment has been pledged to develop Africa's burgeoning information and communication technology (ICT) sector at a summit attended by African heads of state and more than 1,000 representatives from the industry.

• Accra
  The Assembly of the African Union
• Brussels
  Global Forum on Migration and Development
• Vienna
  Global Forum on Reinventing Government
• Geneva
  UN Global Compact Leaders Summit
• Platform for Development: Countdown to 2015
  Civil Society Development Forum 2007
• India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum
  Ministerial Communiqué
• UN Economic and Social Council
  Ministerial Declaration
• Strengthening Freedom of Expression in Africa
  Credo-Africa and Media Foundation for West Africa
• International private sector: Declaration on MDGs
  Accra Daily Mail
• African Governors of the Bretton Woods Institutions
  2007 African Caucus Communiqué
• Conference of Ministers of Education of the African Union
  Communiqué
• Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit
  Communiqué
• Statement by IMF African Consultative Group
  Communiqué
• African Management Development Institutes' Network
  Communiqué