Incumbency Turnover of Local Government Councillors in Malawi

Accountability Systems of Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs): Case Study from Ghana

“…It has been revealed that although most donors profess to appreciate the importance of downward accountability, they lack the practical knowledge for implementation (Chiweza, 2010;Eyben, 2008;Hilhorst and Guijt 2006;Keystone, 2006;O'Dwyer and Unerman 2007;Wellens and Jegers, 2011). This is because none of the donors' imposed reporting formats neither promotes downward accountability relationship between NGOs and their beneficiaries nor encourage learning, sharing and improvement (Agyemang et al, 2012;Baur and Schmitz, 2012;Islam et al, 2013;Jordan andvan Tuijl, 2006, Pham et al, 2010).…”

“…They should incorporate downward accountability reporting into their overall reporting format and encourage NGOs to abide by them. There is the need for collaboration between donors, NGOs and beneficiaries in shaping the criteria for effective accountability (Buss, 2013;Chiweza, 2010;Fowler, 2013;Islam et al, 2013;Keystone, 2006).…”

Malawi

“…However, they are all technically accountable to their supervisor in DAES, and this arrangement is typical with all technical departments in the ministry. Staff recruitment, training, performance management, and promotions are all centralized in the technical department, which poses a challenge of unity-of-command principle in management between the central technical departments and decentralized services, including extension (Chiweza 2010). However, there is hope for improvement as government is moving toward completing the sector devolution process.…”

‘We Did Many Projects Together’: Boundary-Spanning Strategies of Councillors in Rural Ghana

“…Given their restricted influence over decisions and the resources needed to fulfil their duties, the position of councillors, who pass for ‘elites’ in the rural periphery (see Higley and Burton, 2006: 7), appears contradictory. In emerging and established democracies, councillors lacking influence or those dissatisfied with their performance would generally quit their seat or refuse to seek another term (Aars and Offerdal, 1998; Chiweza et al, 2021; Crook and Manor, 1998; Hjelmar and Pedersen, 2010). 1 Pragmatically, those who continue in their role would need a delicate balance between attempting to fulfil their mandate on the local council and actively pressuring for more effective government action to avoid incurring the wrath of voters.…”