Seminar on How Civil Society and Communication can Strengthen Transparency and Accountability
October 22, 2009
European Development Days, Stockholm
The development sector is not unique. Communication, transparency and accountability are equally important in extracting industries and other private businesses. And the challenges and tools for solutions are very similar.
It is often said that the development sector faces specific challenges and specific solutions. The seminar “How can civil society and communication strengthen transparency and accountability?” at the European Development Days suggests the opposite.
All speakers, though from different branches and professions, concluded that clear, comprehensible communication is crucial to face challenges on transparency, accountability, results, efficiency and sustainability.
David Isaksson, CEO of the Swedish communication consultant team Global Reporting, introduced the seminar by stating that communication is not only about making folders and arranging press conferences.
“Despite the fact that we talk about dialogue and participation, much of the communication is done through traditional one way campaigning, such as TV-commercials, folders and billboards. But this will not change people’s behaviour.”
Everything and everyone communicates. We cannot rely on one press secretary to handle communication. Every person in an organisation is a communicator. Communication must thus be seen used a strategic management tool.
“One example is the coffee served at the European Development Days. We talk about sustainability, transparency and justice. But the coffee served here is not fair trade. Someone in the organisation has not understood that everything communicates.”
Per Tjernberg, Director at BearingPoint, a leading international operational consultant, pointed out that the development sector can learn from the business sector.
“We work with transparency, accountability, efficiency, results based management – we face the same challenges as you do.”
BearingPoint has a well-developed toolbox to deal with these challenges in the private sector. The tools focus on how to bring about the changes, when the planning is made – a crucial point in all development processes.
The point of departure is the customers’ needs. Converted into development cooperation, this means the needs of the poor citizens, for whom the aid is aimed.
“The goal in these processes is to minimize waist, that is all efforts and costs that does not fulfil the needs of the end user. It is about minimizing the costs to deliver and to guarantee that what is delivered is of highest quality. If the tools used in the private sector could be adapted to development aid, I think there would be a great potential to address the challenges you are facing.”
Antoine Heuty from the Revenue Watch Institute, talked about the importance to spread knowledge about payments governments receive from oil, gas and mining companies. Civil society groups, the media and parliamentarians must be empowered to gain the knowledge they need to follow the money and hold government more accountable for how it manages and spends the nation’s resource wealth.
During the last years, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has become a blueprint for improved management of natural resource revenue.
“The initiative brings together civil society, companies and government to round table discussions, reconciling governments’ receipts with companies’ payments from the extractive sector.”
Linking transparency to the grassroots level and communicating why transparency has a direct impact for the daily lives of citizens impact is paramount to the future of the transparency movement and the challenges faced by resource rich countries. The initiative launched by Revenue Watch in Bayelsa State, Nigeria – with generous support from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – attempts to demonstrate that bringing together government, civil society and companies from the extractive sector can increase transparency the management of oil and gas revenues.
With support from Revenue Watch Institute (RWI), Alfred Brownell from Green Advocates in Liberia is working with empowering citizens and local communities to participate in the decision-making with reference to managing their natural resources.
Brownell’s organization used the EITI communication and outreach programs as a launching pad. They use the Participatory Rural Appraisal tools community radios, translation into local vernaculars and cultural performances to enlighten people that they have a right to know about how their government is using revenues from the extractive industry.
Historically, in Liberia, information linked to natural resources contracts has been opaque. Information regarding the terms of contracts made with operators of the extractive industries remains difficult to access. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to access this information in a timely fashion that would facilitate societal input during the process of negotiation.
Given the government’s and industry monopoly on information and expertise, civil society and Liberian public continue to be excluded from this aspect of extractive industry revenue management.
To address this issue, Green Advocates, with support from the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) research and design a draft user friendly contact review and monitoring tool kit adapted to the Liberian situation. Through the tool kit, Green advocates developed thematic areas in the contract that could be monitored and means of accessing the needed information. Series of questionnaires were developed to generate the appropriate data that would then be published in an annual report on the status of implementation of these contracts,
The information generated from out of this process will then be use to conduct at least series of intensive training of trainers workshops for selected members of civil society organizations as well as local communities. The trainee will then form the core of Liberia’s first civil society contract review panel. As a result of this Liberians could track finances generated within the extractive industries sector, from point of origin to point of expenditure.
Anna Chifungula, the Auditor General of Zambia, stressed how they use communication in all phases of the auditing process to achieve a transparent flow with a minimum of conflicts. This transparent communication process is part of the anti-corruption policy recently launched in Zambia.
“In the past, most government entities that were questioned denied that our findings were correct, but this behaviour has decreased dramatically. As we are communicating that we are not conducting a witchhunt, but just auditing that the finances are correct, we have developed an understanding and respect among the entities we are auditing.”
Anna Chifungula also encourages cooperation between NGOs that act as watchdogs and government auditors.
“We have a very good cooperation with OXFAM and Transparency International and local organizations.”
David Isaksson concluded the discussion following the seminar.
“To build relations you have to adapt yourself. You have to listen to people. Donors and partner governments must learn to use communication tools that include participation and empowerment, based on comprehensible information on government income and spending.”
Lars Tallert/Global Reporting