On 17 November, PSAf organised a half day consultative forum for Zambian Members of Parliament and implementing partners for the Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF)’s Atwaambe project.
The meeting was attended by five Members of the National Assembly of Zambia (NAZ) and representatives of organisations that are involved in the GTF activities in Zambia. Journalists from selected national and community media institutions across the country also participated in the consultations.
The aim of the consultative forum was to sensitise and share insights of the GTF governance projects that are currently being implemented in selected NAZ constituencies and obtain input into how best the implementing partners could collaborate with parliamentarians in order to inform and influence policy around the range of governance issues being pursued. Immediately after the consultative forum, a media training workshop was held to equip journalists with the skills to bring out the issues discussed during the workshop.
The event served as a window for strengthening the relations between Parliament and the citizenry in an effort to inform and improve the quality of services offered to citizens in various segments of the public sector system.
The Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) Programme, branded as the Mwananchi Programme in Africa and locally named Atwaambe in Zambia is part of a 6 country initiative that focuses on enhancing the capacity of citizens and elected representatives to make use of evidence based approaches in their interactions to promote transparent, responsive, accountable and effective governance. The Atwaambe programme in Zambia is specifically focused on deepening and influencing policy change as well as promoting opportunities and capacities for engagement and constructive dialogue on issues affecting women, youth, children and persons with disabilities. The programme is managed by Organisation
ODI and funded by Department for International Development (DFID) and is being implemented in 5 sites: Kasempa, Lusaka, Chongwe, Petauke and Kabwe.
