The Council for NGOs in Malawi – CONGOMA has called for more collaboration on civic space issues in Malawi. The call comes at a time when the operational environment for civil society is facing a huge turbulence caused by efforts to amend the NGO Law (2000), enforcement of the NGO Policy (2018) and operational guidelines at district level. CONGOMA made the call through Mr. Simekinala Kaluzi, Programmes Manager during a Stakeholders Forum on Civil Society-Government Dialogue mechanisms organized by the National Advocacy Platform at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe on 25 February.

It was noted during the meeting that most CSO recommendations and concerns are not responded to by Government which undermines the democratic obligation that calls for civil society participation in policy making and implementation. Participants observed that civic space dialogue requires commitment from both Government and civil society in order to address the contentious issues which are worsening their working relationship.

During a presentation made by CONGOMA’s Mr. Kaluzi, participants were requested to make use of engagement opportunities which CONGOMA offers in order to influence policy at various levels. Some of the opportunities include the Annual General Assembly, CONGOMA governance structures, sector networking, district networking, participation in Government structures / committees (i.e. Sector Working Groups, Technical Working Groups etc.), representation in Government Boards and regional / global partnerships. Through these engagement platforms, members of CONGOMA and stakeholders have a chance to come together and share ideas, access information and advice from sector experts critical to engaging Government.

Mr. Kaluzi further noted gaps that present challenges for the civil society-Government engagements to take place. Some of the gaps include; poor harmonization of efforts, competition for visibility and resources, poor stakeholder analysis, poor definition of problems requesting Government to address, poor targeting of authorities to address the challenge, project based engagement without appropriate sustainability plans, poor accountability for resources, donor dictations,  and the ‘divide-and-rule’ gimmick by other policy makers. It was observed that these gaps discourage Government and donors to engage civil society on decisions that are relevant and useful to the development of the public.

To address the aforementioned gaps, CONGOMA called for appropriate stakeholders’ analysis and relevant problem analysis. Participants were further requested to embrace a culture of learning from each other to avoid duplication of efforts. Government officials were asked to refrain from being ‘choosy’ on whom to engage.

Moving forward on legislation and working partnership between CONGOMA and the NGO Board, participants reaffirmed the proposal that CONGOMA should be in the Law to coordinate NGOs while NGO Board should maintain its role as a regulator. Additionally, members agreed that NGO Board and CONGOMA should co-exist and complement each other, and that the law in whatever reform, should work for both CONGOMA and Government. The meeting was attended by representatives from Government, civil society and media, among others.