Governance & Accountability

MACUA, a partner organisation of the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) in Cape Town, has recently launched a new podcast series.

After years of protesting against Namibia’s anti-queer laws, the country’s LGBTQIA+ communities breathed a collective sigh of relief after a recent court victory, which ruled colonial-era sodomy laws unconstitutional.

Gun violence within abusive relationships is a subject that is all too familiar for anti-violence organisations and activists but seldom gets the public attention that it deserves. In February this year, HBF with its partners, Gun Free SA, MOSAIC & the National Shelter Movement of SA launched a new campaign that aims to strengthen the rights and safety of victims from gun-related domestic violence.

Zimbabwe has been far from a safe haven for women and the LGBTQ+ community. Small progressive steps have been made. However, with homosexuality being an outright punishable offence and one in three women in Zimbabwe being the victim of sexual abuse, while one in four has suffered physical abuse, it has been made abundantly clear that Zimbabwe, as it stands, is not safe for us. On the eve of this historic election, it may be the case that the potential “change” we are hoping for may also not include us.

In May 2023, the SIVIO Institute in Zimbabwe presented the findings of their survey related to Zimbabwean’s level of satisfaction with government performance. The report aims to influence political campaigns by highlighting key issues that Zimbabweans are not happy about and to shape public electoral decisions. We spoke to Tendai Murisa, Director of the SIVIO Institute, to get his insights into the report and what it would take for Zimbabweans to get the government that they want.

Hugo Knoppert coordinates the Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN), a network of European secular, faith-based and developmental civil society organisations that support projects and partnerships in Zimbabwe. While welcoming the European Union’s attempts to re-engage with the government of Zimbabwe, Knoppert expresses concern that Europe’s short-term geopolitical interests will undercut EU support for human rights and civic freedoms and its censure of state repression in the country.

The participation of youth in governance spaces is not impressive. That is not to say that they have no desire to participate: they are inhibited by various structural and institutionalised barriers. Genuine spaces for political participation are limited and policy-making processes work from the top down. Even where policy is supposed to address their concerns, there is scant consultation with the youth in governance and developmental processes. By excluding young people from key decision-making positions and processes, this perpetuates a cycle of harmful policies and programming that is at best irrelevant, and at worst dangerous

The European Union deploys one of the largest observer missions to monitor the 2023 Zimbabwe elections. We spoke to Dr McDonald Lewanika, politics and development professional, about the importance of the verdict by EU election observers and what contributions European actors can make to assist Zimbabweans in getting the elections they want.