RADIO CALL-IN SHOWS HAVE REPLACED PUBLIC HEARINGS IN ZAMBIA
GFA is implementing the third component of a GIZ program in Zambia: “Civil society participation in governance reform and poverty reduction (CSPP)”. The project operates as ‘LoPaGo’, (Local Participation in Governance), at local level. Dialogue is promoted between citizens and local government within the context of annual, multi-annual and long-term, (10 years) developmental planning. The project has trained civil society organizations in nine communities on Integrated Development Planning and in moderating public hearings.
Subsidized public hearings were halted by the COVID-19 crisis and successfully replaced by radio shows during which local councilors and departmental heads are presenting their annual planning on air, responding to citizens who call-in during live transmission. The outreach is greater than it had been before with gatherings based hearings and therefore the collective public interest has grown. The local presses – TV and newspapers - pick up on these events.