Constitutional Review and Reform: and the Adherence to Democratic Principles in Constitutions in Southern African Countries

(by Louise Olivier, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-620-38911-2)

Constitutionalism requires that a democratic and accountable government has constitutional limits that check its power, and that create the framework for governing a democracy. A country's constitution defines, at least theoretically, its commitment to constitutionalism. Constitutions define the polity, establish the rules and limitations of the relationship between the state and its citizens and they fix and reflect a social contract that underpins the functioning of organised society. Constitution-building has become an essential component of the road maps to peace and democracy in conflict, post-conflict, and transitional settings.

Révision des contrats en RDC: Cinq cas d’études faites par l’ingénieur Kalala Budimbwa.

La République Démocratique du Congo regorge, comme le reconnait tout le monde, d’énormes ressources naturelles qui peuvent, une fois exploitées à bon escient, servir de base à l’amélioration des conditions socio-économiques de sa population.

Ces ressources naturelles sont actuellement soit insuffisamment exploitées ou quand elles le sont, l’incidence dans l’amélioration de conditions de vie des Congolais n’est pas conforme aux performances réalisées par l’exploitation.

Parmi les matières premières exploitées, le cas des matières minérales nous intéresse particulièrement parce que l‘extraction minière a pendant longtemps, depuis l’époque coloniale, contribué avec le plus grand poids au budget de l’Etat; et que les actions futures à mener pour améliorer les conditions de vie des Congolais, tout en s’appuyant sur la valorisation d’autres ressources naturelles du pays, doivent compter avec le secteur minier qui servira encore longtemps de locomotive.

Outside the Ballot Box: preconditions for elections in Southern Africa 2005/ 6

(Edited by Jeanette Minnie, and published by MISA on behalf of the PEPSA Consortium. ISBN: 9916-62-13-8)

Fourteen authors have collaborated in producing this second edition of Outside the Ballot Box. Last year, when eight authors participated, the main focus was on national elections and good electoral practice as a major instrument of democratisation in the SADC region.

This year, the main focus is on civil society as an instrument of democratisation. In addition, three articles were commissioned to discuss key problem areas that affect the region as a whole: the nature of liberation movements as governments, the struggle for gender equality in governance, and the lack of harmonised instruments to guide and assess elections.

By virtue of its theme, any discussion on the legacy of rule by liberation movements will be polemical in nature, and I invited the author of this article to tackle the subject head on. It explores the mindset of liberation movements as governments in the SADC region – those movements whose leaders and supporters fought and died, suffered torture and were separated from their loved ones through exile or imprisonment, in some instances for decades, to break the stranglehold of colonial racist rule in our part of Africa...

The Great Trek North: The expansion of South African media and ICT companies into the SADC region by Console Tleane

(by the Freedom of Expression Institute, with the assistance of OSISA,  2006. ISBN: 0-620-34905-0)

Given a legacy where the apartheid state's super-growth is partly attributable to its systematic exploitation of Southern African natural and human resources (the latter in the mines and on the farms that produced the surplus that became the financial basis for glitter and wealth of the Witwatersrand metropolis and other indicators of South African capital accumulation), and given the destabilisation efforts of the apartheid state – which immeasurably pulled back the development of regional countries such as Mozambique and Angola – the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region has keenly watched post-apartheid South African industrial and trade policy since 1994.

What was, the region asked, to be the new South Africa's role: new engine of Southern African growth and strength, or new sub-imperialist?

OSISA's HIV and AIDS workplace policy has been written to ensure a respectful and supportive environment in which all staff can access information and services related to HIV and AIDS. The policy exists to:

• minimise the possibility of HIV infection for OSISA staff, their partners and dependents;
• ensure a supportive work environment for staff infected and affected by HIV and AIDS;
  
• create an environment that respects the rights of employees and the employer, and sets out the relevant conditions of service as they might relate to an employee with HIV and AIDS;
• manage and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on the work of OSISA;
• eliminate stigma and discrimination in the workplace on the basis of real or perceived HIV status, or vulnerability to HIV infection;
• ensure that employees openly living with HIV and AIDS are treated in a non-discriminatory manner that avoids moral judgement and instead are supported and given compassion and respect.
  

The policy will be made available here for other organisations to adapt and use.

Accessing Information: the key to an Open Society

The public’s right to access information, both state held and from the private sector, is an essential component in an open society that is committed to democratic processes, accountable leadership, transparency in its conduct and the rule of law.

The right to access information is recognised and protected in international treaties and conventions and national legislation in many jurisdictions have provided for this right. A government that enacts legislation that recognises the right to access information and provides effective mechanisms to ensure its realisation and implementation, is one that is comfortable conducting its business in the public eye and one that acknowledges that its public accountability ensures its continued leadership.

Mainstreaming ICTs: Africa Lives the Information Society

Compiled and edited by Women'sNet and OSISA (2005). ISBN: 0-620-35 399-6

Mainstreaming ICTs is a contribution towards efforts to bridge the "policy-practice" divide. The book is aimed at development practitioners and ICT innovators interested in inventive technology applications.

The book contains ten case studies reflecting on the innovative and creative ways Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been used to promote people-centred development in different Sub-Saharan African countries.

The collection also features five toolkits which offer useful resources for civil society groups wanting to utilise ICTs for developmental initiatives.

The document is available in PDF format [2.4MB]. 

Angola: Human development opportunities and threats: a programme of action

(Johannesburg: Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, 2003)

Situational analysis

The European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers—the Council—on October 13, 2003 adopted a number of important and wide-ranging resolutions on Angola. The Council welcomed “the substantial political changes that have occurred in Angola in 2002”, and indicated the EU's intention to maintain supportive relations with Angola as provided for in the framework of the EC/ Angola strategy for 2002—2007, signed with the Government of Angola on 28th January 2003.

Engaging the New Pan-Africanism: Strategies for Civil Society

Compiled by Chris Landsberg and Shaun McKay, Centre for Policy Studies (ActionAid International and OSISA, 2005)

The ultimate goal for all citizens must be to secure the ownership of all African institutions in a manner that ensures their accountability and enhances their value to each African. We should perceive each African institution as part of a larger continental infrastructure which we have a duty to construct and maintain. This must remain the vision that we set our sights to and pursue as effectively as we can.

Cyberlaw for Civil Society: A Resource Guide

By Pamela Stein (Ed.), Safiyya Patel and Doris Tshepe (Cheadle Thompson & Haysom and OSISA, 2003)

The Internet is a global network providing communication between millions of interconnected individual computers and computer networks, primarily through the use of telephone lines. The Internet means different things to different people. Many use the Internet for information gathering, or as a platform for providing information on a vast array of subjects.