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BLOG
Commentary, opinion, and stories from across the SIVIO network on governance, civic life, and development in Africa.
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Freedom of choice in Rwanda’s presidential elections is an illusion
Opinion Piece originally posted in Mail & Guardian: https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/opinion/2024-07-30-freedom-of-choice-in-rwandas-presidential-elections-is-an-illusion/ Freedom of choice in Rwanda’s presidential elections is an illusion By Nyasha Mcbride Mpani and Tendai Murisa Rwandese once again went to the polls to elect their president, who will lead them for the next five years. As expected by many political analysts, Paul Kagame won with an overwhelming 99% of the vote — a figure that even a scientific laboratory machine cannot achieve. Since becoming president in 2000, Kagame has consistently won elections with more than 90% of the vote. Do people lack the freedom to choose other candidates, or are they genuinely…
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South Africa’s Elections Are a Warning Sign for Democracy
Originally posted by Kettering Foundation: https://www.kettering.org/news/south-africas-elections-are-a-warning-sign-for-democracy/ In 1994, the world watched South Africa’s first democratic election, celebrating the victory of Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC). This year, for the first time in three decades, the ANC lost its majority amid growing frustrations with the party’s ability to deliver on its promises. Tendai Murisa warns that without a commitment to inclusive economic development and democratic governance, South Africa’s 30-year-old democratic project is in danger. The disillusionment mirrors what we are seeing elsewhere at this time of democratic backsliding around the world. Nelson Mandela remains the most iconic figure in South…
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AfricaGiving-More Than Just an App!
Introduction In 2023 we launched what was perhaps one of our biggest initiatives in the African philanthropy landscape; a platform for giving which we called AfricaGiving. Prior to this, we were mostly known for our work on community foundations in Zimbabwe, some studies on high-net-worth giving and our online Ease of Doing Philanthropy Index which focuses on laws and processes that constrain or promote giving across the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. Our studies, especially of community foundations spread across Zimbabwe, led us to a realisation that (i) the work of these organisations is not widely known beyond their…
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Embracing Pause for Insightful Futures: A report back from the latest convening.
From the 24th to 26th of June 2024, the Ford Foundation’s Southern Africa office held its first partners meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic. The convening’s theme was Embracing Pause for Insightful Futures. The event was attended by at least 200 participants from the partner organisations in the region. SIVIO Institute was among the partner organisations that attended the meeting with the Executive Director, Dr Murisa, sitting on a panel on the first day’s session. The panel discussed the coalition and the path ahead for South Africa and the region and Dr Murisa shared insights based on the Zimbabwean experience of the Government of national unity from 2009 to 2013. The discussion was timeous as South Africa had just announced its 2024 presidential election results, with the historically dominant ANC gaining managing 40% of the…
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Corruption Amplifies Social Pathology in Zimbabwe: A Call to Action
Since August 2023, we have been experimenting with the idea of advocacy labs. The big idea was to ensure that we broaden ordinary citizens’ participation in advocacy by training them on a how to run an advoccay campaign. The labs are centred around what citizens had seen as the top priority for the Zimbabwe government to focus in relation to unemployment, corruption, and price instability. Through our annual Citizens Perceptions and Expectation Surveys, Zimbabwean citizens indicated corruption as one of the public problems that needs to be addressed. Citizens consistently saw corruption as the top hindrance to the effectiveness of…
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Fundraising Lessons: The Africa Giving Journey
Mid-April I was tasked with running the 100 for US$100 Africa Giving fundraising campaign. My responsibilities were to get 100 people to give 100 dollars or more to any non-profit listed on our Africa Giving platform. The goal was to raise US$ 10,000 and end the campaign with a beautiful dinner to celebrate African Philanthropy. A pretty straightforward task right? Let me quickly say, it wasn’t that easy, especially because the fundraising had to begin with me and I had a lot to learn. At the start of the 100 for US$100 campaign all staff members were encouraged to donate…
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Africa needs to rethink land tenure model
Originally posted in NewsDay: https://www.newsday.co.zw/agriculture/article/200027550/africa-needs-to-rethink-land-tenure-model Written by Melody Chikono SIVIO Institute executive director Tendai Murisa says Africa needs to urgently re-look at the land tenure system so that countries are not easily manipulated by elite systems in relation to climate change. The call comes as climate change and energy transitions are causing insecurity and instability in Africa, threatening the continent’s prospects of achieving its much-desired structural transformation. Presenting at an event titled Climate Justice and Security in Africa: Connections, Accelerators and Sustainability, on the sidelines of the ongoing African Development Bank annual meetings in Kenya, Murisa said there was a need…
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South Africa elections: the one day for citizens to hold power?
Yesterday the eyes of the continent and the world were on South Africa as citizens went out to cast their votes in the most highly contested elections in the country’s 30 years of democracy. One reporter on the national broadcaster alluded that 29 May 2024 is the one day when citizens would hold “power” because they were deciding on the fate of politicians and the political parties they represent.I felt that this again highlighted the narrow approach to which democracy has been reduced to holding an election at the expected time. Citizens come out to vote and then after that,…
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Digital inclusion and African startups -has the internet really helped promote access?
In May of 2024, we published a report – An Assessment of Digital and Traditional Financial Inclusion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia. This report was developed alongside an index (The SI-FIndex) measuring and comparing the level of access MSMEs have to financial products and services. When considering digital inclusion, this report and the corresponding index are important for three main reasons: The intersection of these three critical areas financial inclusion/ digital inclusion and small business were key considerations in the development of this report and in the development of the index. The index and report…
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A Night of Fundraising
“Africa’s time, to gather African resources” is the theme that underpinned our Hundred for US$100 Africa Giving campaign. The campaign was focused on identifying 100 individuals and companies that would give US$100 each in support of any of the 108 organisations listed on the Africa Giving platform. To bring the campaign to a close, a fundraising dinner was held inviting all who had donated towards the campaign. The attendees were made up of entrepreneurs, captains of industry, bank representatives and individuals in the Civil Society Space. The night was a celebration of the personification of philanthropy through individuals who were…
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