No Choice. No Voice.

– Showing up for Democracy’s Sake – Recently, US Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina cast the deciding vote* confirming Betsy Davos for Secretary of Education. I could not help but notice that Tillis ran unopposed for most of his political career. According to Wikipedia: “Tillis ran for the General Assembly in 2006. He defeated[…]

A bold solution to the public service delivery crisis in South Africa

Public service delivery in South Africa is in crisis. Service delivery protests are increasing dramatically and becoming more violent. Government has tried many ways of engaging citizens through public forums, presidential hotlines and facility-based complaints mechanisms, but has not yet found a way of ensuring what citizens say becomes part of how government monitors and[…]

Setting the agenda for development – who has the power?

In a recent blog, Patricia Dorsher comments that “It is a particular feature of aid that people on the ground are often not involved in activities affecting their communities”. Patricia makes the case for not only shifting resources to those with greater need, but also shifting other sources of power, such as agenda setting; “Agenda[…]

David Bonbright speaks at the Citizen Voices: Global Conference On Citizen Engagement For Enhanced Development Results

David Bonbright speaks at the Citizen Voices: Global Conference On Citizen Engagement For Enhanced Development Results. The event held in Washington DC on 18 March was hosted by the World Bank in partnership with CIVICUS and InterAction. David Bonbright joined tech innovators, development specialists, government officials, academics, civil society representatives, World Bank staff and the private sector where experience[…]