Feature

Laying the Foundations of Democracy

Members of the farmers’ team in Mtandire, Lilongwe explain to Michael Keating their extension plans. The teams are part of a NICE initiative.

Gift Phiri of NICE argues that in order for democracy to function, it is essential to tackle poverty and food security. Survival comes first, democracy second. In the Mtandire area in Lilongwe, this theory is practised, and can be replicated to the rest of Malawi’s urban communities, according to John Chome of UN Habitat.

The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) was founded in 1999 by the Government of Malawi and the European Commission. NICE begun as a pilot project to provide voter and civic education in the run up to the 1999 parliamentary elections. Today, NICE has established itself as important partner for civic education, focused on the development of democracy and good governance in Malawi rather than a short-term intervention.

NICE works with local communities, helping people identify the issues affecting their lives, providing them with information on how to address these issues and supporting the creation of systems to put this knowledge into action. The people decide. NICE plays the role of a facilitator. “Democracy is a process. People will not worry about democracy if there is no food on the table,” says Gift Phiri, representative of the district civic education officer for NICE in Lilongwe.

Consulting the community
In Mtandire, a low income and densely population area in Lilongwe, NICE officers conducted a needs assessment after discussions with the residents. Poverty and hunger were highlighted as their main problem. Mr. Phiri describes NICE’s methods as simple but effective. “We simply asked the community: how can we best address these problems? And then the community came up with the answers.”

Irrigation was the best suited solution to achieve food security. So NICE, with help from European Union, provided the farmers with water pumps and farming tools. The farmers then set up special farming teams; the teams consist of ten to fifteen farmers, who work, share resources and seek ways to progress together. NICE also organizes seminars for the teams, to teach farmers basic business management skills including how to integrate their profits and using different marketing strategies. A volunteer from the local community is then chosen by the community to oversee the teams and provide NICE with “eyes and ears on the ground”, as Mr. Phiri puts it.

Mr. Michael Keating, the UN Resident Coordinator for Malawi and Mr. John Chome, Programme Manager for UN Habitat visited Mtandire recently. Mr. Chome believes that this practise in Mtandire, and other similar initiatives can be replicated in other Malawi’s urban communities. “We recently awarded the Malawi Award for Human Settlements to Kang’oma, which is following a similar path to Mtandire”, says Mr. Chome and adds that from a human settlement perspective, these projects are exemplary, where communities identify solutions to their problems.

Mr. Khombe opens a bank account
“I have eight children, my firstborn is a doctor and two of the others are teachers. Farming enabled me to support them through school”, says George Salomon Khombe, leader of the Tasaukira Farming Team in Mtandire.

Mr. Khombe is an elegant man dressed in a white suit and blue tie. “I am a farmer not an office clerk. I knew I had visitors so I decided to dress up. This is my office,” he says and points to a nearby tree. Mr. Khombe cuts an impressive figure, tall with greying hair and a moustache. He tells his visitors he was born in 1940, although he looks much younger – and has the vigour of a man in his thirties. He grows bananas, sugar cane, rice and vegetables, uses the soil to make ceramics and is considering setting up a fishpond on one of his fields. Mr. Khombe has been with NICE since the beginning. Through irrigation, he harvests bananas two or three times a year, instead of just once. “I would like to get better prices for my products,” he says. Asked if he dreams of being able to access foreign markets, he answers, “Yes, but for that I need exposure. Maybe you can help me?”

The visitors decide to buy some sugar cane from Mr. Khombe. Despite his office attire, he grabs a machete, jumps into the bush and cuts the sugar cane. The field is indeed his office. Later, he asks if he can get a ride into the city to go open a bank account.

Using locally available resources
In the village of Fumbe, soap production has become the hub of the village economy. After consulting with NICE, the women of the village suggested soap production as an interesting income generating activity. “Our role was to identify someone who could train the women in soap making. Eventually they were able to make soap on their own and then pass the knowledge on to other members of the community,” says Gift Phiri. The women now sell soap on the local markets at a cost of twenty kwacha a bar.

Members of the farmers’ team in Mtandire, Lilongwe explain to Michael Keating their extension plans. The teams are part of a NICE initiative.

NICE depends fully on the communities it serves. All materials are local, and the income generating activities are based on locally available resources. Lack of local capital, however, is still the biggest hindrance to prosperity according to Mr. Phiri. He says that the local community has written applications for financial assistance to donors, and he is hopeful of some help being provided. “Financial matters are always a concern for us. If the people have food security, and are not poor they can fully contribute to the development of democracy in Malawi.”

Replicating good practices
As well as helping Malawians develop successful businesses, NICE tries to embed the ideas and practices of democracy. NICE officers educate villagers on the principles of democracy, and the volunteers on the ground, themselves elected by the villagers, report back if those principles are practised. The results are clear; all the local chiefs are elected and a great deal of emphasis is put on the empowerment of women. Female chiefs are not uncommon, and women are active participants in local politics.

NICE has a presence all over Malawi. The staff see it as their mission to be able to reach every village, in every corner of the country. Mr. Phiri says that it is crucial for NICE workers to reach even the remotest part of Malawi. He points to a stack of motorcycles outside the office, “All NICE workers travel by motorcycle because it can reach places a car cannot.”

“A culture of democracy must develop from the grass roots level. That is why we preach to the villagers that everything must be decided by the community – nothing they do can be opposed to the principles of democracy. NICE is about laying the foundations for a democratic culture,” Mr. Phiri proudly explains the work of NICE.

Jon Skaftason

Issue 1 2007