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Summit held in Pretoria in August 2017. We have also supported engagements with the South African gov- ernment on DRC through the leadership of Anglican Archbishop Makgoba (who is also an OSF-SA Board member). This has been done in partnership with CENCO, the South African Council of Churches and other churches in the region. Through OSISA’s sup- port, the Archbishop has previously visited Kinshasa and interacted with CENCO, political and civil society leaders, and the president of CENI.
à Using our strategic relationship with the SADC Electoral Commissions Forum (SADC-ECF), of which CENI is a key member, OSISA also encouraged SADC ECF to lend support to CENI’s efforts to be much more open and strengthen engagement mecha- nisms with civil society.
Supporting the “Get out and Vote” campaign in Angola
The 2017 elections in Angola were like none before them as for the first time in the country’s history, President José Eduardo dos Santos exited active politics and did not run. Instead, João Lourenço ran and replaced dos Santos as Angola’s first new president in 38 years. OSISA was involved in supporting “Get out and Vote” national mobilisation campaigns. This included support to Acção Para o Desenvolvimento Rural e Ambiente (ADRA), Fórum Regional para o Desenvolvimento Universitário (FORDU),
Former president, José Eduardo dos Santos
© Ricardo Stuckert/PR - Agência Brasil/CC BY 3.0 br
as well as to Missão de Beneficência Agropecuária do Kubango, Inclusão, Tecnologias e Ambiente (MBAKITA) and to Associação Omunga.
Under this support, a number of civil society organisations worked together, in different provinces in Angola, on election education through open meetings, music shows, training and provincial convenings. As a result of some of these efforts, a record 9.3 million people registered to vote. The new President Lourenço won the elections and promised to fight corruption and run a clean government.
OSISA decided to seize this space and support civil society organisations pushing for transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors. This entailed submitting an application under the President Reserves to facilitate the strengthening of civil society to position it to respond to the changing political context in the anti-corruption and governance sectors.
Peace negotiations and advocacy for reforms in Mozambique
In Mozambique, the stop-start-stop armed conflict continued in 2017 with negative impacts on peace, development and human security. The country faced key democratic governance challenges, including ineffective accountability of elected leaders and institutions to citizens, rising corruption and opaque public procurement processes–as illustrated through the regime’s $2 billion
President João Lourenço
© Olaf Kosinsky/CC BY-SA 3.0
OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA – 2017 REPORT
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