Africa is abundantly blessed with huge resources, but even more blessed with nuances that seem to divide and breed high impunity. The many laws on the continent seem ineffective in the face of contentious governance practices, thereby causing voter apathy and citizens’ lack of interest in the governance system on the continent.
The African organizations spotlights here are doing tremendous work in influencing good governance and citizen engagement on the Africa continent.
These organizations work daily to ensure active citizen participation in the electoral system, champion dialogue, and policy discussions with elected officials. They do these through various programs designed to attract citizen engagement across the continent.
The Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that has evolved from an election-focused NGO working in the Southern Africa sub-region, into a more diversified organisation working on broader governance issues throughout the African continent. The Institute works with national, regional, Pan-African and global partners. Its work extends beyond electoral support to include other democracy and governance fields such as political party support, legislative strengthening and civil society engagement of the African Peer Review Mechanism and other political processes such as constitution-making processes. EISA has current and past field offices in Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This reflects its broader geographic mandate and coverage.
Since the establishment of EISA in 1996, the Institute has supported and/or observed over 100 electoral and political processes in Africa. EISA therefore brings to the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network an African perspective on elections and democracy.
EISA envisions an African continent where democratic governance, human rights and citizen participation are upheld in a peaceful environment. The Institute strives for excellence in the promotion of credible elections, participatory democracy, a human rights culture, and the strengthening of governance institutions for the consolidation of democracy in Africa.
Good Governance Africa aims to improve governance performance across the continent; to inform and persuade the policy community that transparency and accountability are the basic building blocks of successful development; to strengthen the rule of law; and to build an active citizenry that institutionalized constraints on executive power. Why? Because improved governance results in better economic, social, and environmental performance, which leads to greater wellbeing for all citizens.
GGA conducts high-quality research to complement the building of more inclusive political settlements across the continent. Their research is demand-driven and provides an evidence base for building practicable policies that enhance productive and allocative efficiency. They are passionate about solving the challenges of environmental degradation, climate change, and mass youth unemployment, which combine to undermine human security and ecological integrity.
The organization believe that building inclusive political settlements will help to overcome the collective action failures that lead to human rights abuses, corruption and undermining the rule of law; that African countries have an opportunity to leapfrog their industrialized counterparts through pursuing development models that promote green industrialization and enhance ecological integrity simultaneously; and that we can play an integral role in realizing these objectives.
Yiaga Africa is a non-profit civic hub of change makers committed to the promotion of democratic governance, human rights, and civic engagement. The organization invests in building networks and social movements to drive social change and transformation.
With its operational base in Abuja, Nigeria, Yiaga Africa focuses on in-depth research, providing critical analysis on key democratic and governance issues, crafting practical solutions, training, and empowering citizens to lead change in their community. Yiaga Africa implements several innovative programs aimed at stimulating active citizenship, protecting human rights, and deepening democratic governance. They invest in building networks and social movements to drive social change and transformation.
If your organization is doing some work in this regard, please feel free to email us at communications@philanthropycircuit.org. We strive to update our content regularly to reflect inclusive, up-to-date data.