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Access to info enhanced by AI and e-governance

Image: Unesco On 28 September the world marked the International Day for the Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). This event, established in November 2015 through UN resolution (38 C/70) and first commemorated in 2016, aims to facilitate international discussions on policy and guidelines in this important area.  Access to information plays an important role in Read more >

Safeguarding our democracy in the age of growing mistrust

Electoral democracy – a democratic government based on a system that enables all citizens to select one candidate from a list of competitors for political office in a process of election. Each citizen becomes a voter who casts a secret ballot indicating their choices. In order for the election to qualify for democratic integrity, the Read more >

Civil society’s fight for transparency is vital for democracy

Democracy: a system of government in which the people of a country can vote to elect their representatives;fair and equal treatment of everyone in an organisation, etc., and their right to take part in making decisions. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries Democracy, by its very definition, can only work if all people are able to participate in Read more >

CSOs condemn recent threats by govt officials, call for accountability

Dear Mr President, The ongoing attacks on civil society organisations by government officials are concerning and must receive urgent attention. These attacks are unacceptable, go against our country’s Constitution, and undermine our democracy. This week, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) announced that they are temporarily closing their offices after Councillor Nkululeko Mbundu, Read more >

Directly electing our president does not guarantee accountability

By Steven FriedmanFirst published on My Vote Counts Academics who teach politics do not believe that their knowledge equips them to judge court cases or to represent parties in legal actions. But judges and lawyers tend to believe that legal training somehow equips them with a knowledge of politics greater than that of their fellow Read more >

International Parly Day celebrates democratic gains and challenges

The International Day of Parliamentarism (IDP) is celebrated every year on 30 June, to commemorate the day in 1889 on which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was founded – this is the global organisation of national parliaments, of which South Africa is a member. Currently the IPU comprises 178 national member parliaments and 14 regional parliamentary Read more >

We cannot let the Zondo report become another white elephant

This piece is extracted from Corruption Watch’s 2021 annual report. For more information, click here. By Karam SinghFirst published on News24 Since 2020, South Africans have had to deal with a multitude of new challenges and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, as if the daily struggle for the majority of our people was not enough. Read more >

OGP at 10: toward democratic renewal around the world

Source: Open Government Partnership When eight governments and nine civil society leaders launched the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2011, no one expected it to reach its current size and scope. Over the last 10 years, however, OGP has grown in ways that have exceeded expectations. Governments and thousands of civil society members have, together, Read more >