Community facilitators drilled in sustainable development
Centre for Human Rights and Institute for National Social Initiative (Chinansi Foundation) has said there will be no sustainable development in the country if the citizenry is not empowered to demand accountability and the right to development from duty bearers and service providers.
Chinansi Foundation executive director, Simplex Chithyola, said issues of good governance, human rights and right to development can be adequately addressed if people are given skills to take to task duty bearers and service providers on absence of development in their respective areas.
Speaking when he presided over the presentation of certificates of attendance to 32 community-based facilitators (CBFs) at Liwonde last week, Chithyola said the CBFs would ensure reduced incidences of ignorance about good governance and accountability and how the common man in the village can have his voice heard on anything through Community Rights Centres (CRCs) in every village.
“People should enjoy their right to development but it is only those that are in the know who can enjoy those rights, hence the CBFs will roll out the project at grass-root levels for the benefit of the masses,” he said.
Chithyola said when people are empowered with new skills, they are enlightened to know where to go to demand development and report abuses.
One of the CBFs, Elizabeth Trapence of Madyelatu Village, Traditional Authority Chanthunya in Balaka, said when projects are just dumped on communities without consultation, there is no ownership by the beneficiaries.
“People have to know what and how projects are being implemented so that there is transparency and accountability in any project,” she said.
Democracy Consolidation Programme (DCP) project coordinator, Amman Mussa, said when people are empowered development is never be derailed as nobody will impose projects on them.
“Duty bearers and service providers will bring development projects suitable to the area that will benefit the community and not few individuals,” he said.
Chinansi Foundation is running a three-year Community Empowerment for Sustainable Development project in Balaka with a yearly funding of K30 million from the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) through DCP.
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