Partner country: Namibia

The Plight of the Pangolin: Key patterns enabling the illegal wildlife trade of pangolins in Namibia – a multi-perspective case study

The pangolin is the most trafficked mammal on earth and is believed to be on the brink of extinction. However, in many affected countries including Namibia, research and conservation efforts do not match their endangered status. Despite strict wildlife legislations, the level of illegal wildlife trade remains high, especially impacting Namibia’s rural communities. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to disclose the key enabling factors and underlying power relations fueling this trend in Namibia and, consequently, derive effective conservation and policy implications.

The approach of this thesis is a multi-perspective case study which creates a holistic view of this understudied topic. As a method, we chose six key groups of stakeholders to participate in semistructured interviews. The obtained data was further structured and analyzed through a socialecological systems approach paired with a political ecology lens.

We derived key enabling factors such as the lack of overall cooperation and knowledge exchange between all subsystems as well as the exclusion of important stakeholders. The pangolin, being a non-charismatic species, also suffers insufficient funding, due to its lack of value for the tourism and hunting industries. Further, entrenched asymmetric power relations were found to be one of the root causes. In this defunct system, the marginalization of rural communities creates a vicious cycle of insecurity and poverty resulting in illegal activities such as pangolin poaching.

Publication Type
Master Thesis
Project Area
Environment/Climate change
Sustainable Development Goals
15 - Life on land
Topic
Participatory democracy, citizen dialogues and budgeting
Tags
conservation, fieldwork grant, Namibia, pangolin, wildlife,

Admission requirements

Invited countries

All countries on the OECD-DAC listed ODA-eligible countries, are eligible for the programme, but if a local election is held during the year when the training takes place, the country is temporarily taken off the list. See this list


Target group

Only elected women politicians (currently in office) in a local/regional government will be considered. ICLD will prioritize applicants holding a position of Mayor or Deputy Mayor but will also exceptionally accept applicants who are Councilors. We at ICLD aim to create a group that includes both majority and opposition politicians, as well as a diversity of ages and experience. ICLD trainings are open to all that are eligible, irrespective of physical ability.

Candidates who have previously participated in an ICLD training programme financed by Sida cannot apply for this programme.


Language requirements

The training programme will be organised and conducted in English. Proficiency in English shall be indicated in the Application form.


Health requirements

Considering the training programme consists of international travels and work away from home in a new environment, good health and ability to work without health restrictions is required. You need to be enjoying full working capacity and to be able to engage in an active programme with long days of seminars, study visits and interactive networking. It is therefore recommended that candidates undergo a medical examination before filling in the Medical Statement in the Application form.


Other requirements

The outline of the problem to be addressed by the change process will be of crucial importance in the selection of participants. Once selected, the participant is required to attend all scheduled parts of the 12-months programme and must have approval to participate in all aspects of the program from her local authority. She is required to actively participate in the workshops and complete assignments between workshops (journals, reports).

Due to the nature of the programme, family members are NOT allowed to accompany participants to the programme.


Costs

All training costs pertaining to lectures, literature, documentation, study tours and certain social activities as well as accommodation and food will also be covered by the organiser. All international travel costs related to the programme will be covered by the programme organiser. Costs for personal expenses are not included and are the responsibility of the participant or her organisation.


VISA

Participants are responsible for obtaining all relevant visas during all scheduled parts of the programme. The costs for obtaining visas are to be borne by the participant. It is important to start the Visa process as soon as possible after beeing invited to the programme and to specific workshops.


Insurance

All participants are covered under a group insurance while on scheduled parts of the programme. Medical and dental checkups are not included.


Certificate

Participants who successfully complete all scheduled parts will be awarded a Certificate of completion of training.


Application process

This information will soon be updated with dates for closing dates in 2024. Application shall be made electronically, via link here below and include a recent photograph and all required information and documents. An outline of the problem to be addressed by the change process shall be submitted as part of the application and plays a key role in the selection of participants.

The change process must be described in the application and you will be asked to describe:

  • The societal challenge/problem for change you want to address
  • Describe which democratic components – equity, participation, transparency and accountability – that are particularly crucial for addressing the challenge and its development to lead to better local democracy
  • In which way this work will anticipate citizens’ needs

The application page contains details of what to include with your application. After an initial selection, a few chosen candidates will be invited for the interview, after which the final round of selection will take place.

ICLD operates anti-discrimination policy and all training courses are open to anyone despite the physical ability. If you have some physical disability, please let us know so we can solve all the practical issues that may arise.

The activities in the programme will be carried out on-site or digitally. If the situation occurs that we are forced to postpone workshops due to unforeseen situations, we at the ICLD will suggest new dates when the majority of participants can participate. If no dates are possible, ICLD will consider carrying out the workshop digitally.



Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance

Programme structure

The training consists of three compulsory workshops, of which all three are full time scheduled trainings. Periods between workshops are homebased. The total duration of the programme is 12 months.

When will cohort 11 take place:
The Inception workshop will be held in late January 2025
The Swedish Phase workshop will most likely take place in September 2025
The Final workshop will take place in January 2026

Where:
All workshops except the Swedish Phase workshop will be held in the participating countries. The Swedish Phase workshop will be carried out in Sweden.


Phase 1
Inception workshop

(5-6 days including travels)

More exact location to be decided

After confirmed selection, the participants will be contacted by a programme manager at ICLD and invited to the Inception workshop.

The participants and the programme management develop a shared understanding of the content, structure, methodology and management of the programme. Topics addressed in this workshop, among others: teambuilding and networking, developing the change process, and introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals. The tuition during the inception workshop consists of group discussions and lectures with a combination of Swedish and/or international experts from the region.

The Inception workshop will be held over the course of three days in one of the participating countries.

Work with the Change Process (6-7 months, in home country)

Back in their respective local communities the participants will continue to develop their Change Process. Participants will actively use web-based tools for interaction with facilitators and other participants.


Phase 2
Swedish Phase workshop

(2 weeks in Sweden including travels)

Participants will meet in Sweden for a cultural exchange, advanced leadership training, introduction to Swedish women politicians/mentors and a two-day study visit to a Swedish municipality or region. Topics of study will include, among others: the Swedish model of governance, gender equality and good governance, anti corruption, communication skills and how to be a good role model among other things. Tuition consists of interactive lectures and group discussions with Swedish and international experts combined with study excursions, group work and discussions.


Phase 3
Final workshop

(5 days including travels)

More exact location to be decided

The participants and the Swedish mentors meet in one of the participating countries. The goal of this workshop is to summarize and share the challenges, opportunities and
lessons learned throughout the programme. The participants will present their Change Process results. The programme also includes study visits and lectures provided by the ICLD and relevant lecturers. This workshop marks the formal end of the programme.


Learning processes

The programme employs a mixture of pedagogical methods such as lectures, group work, forum discussions, study visits and facilitated support by the assigned mentors. Support for planning, implementation and evaluation of the Change Project is mainstreamed throughout the whole programme. The number of participants is limited to 25 in order to ensure a close working relationship between participants, ICLD-staff, mentors and lecturers.

Management and staff

All the three phases of the International Training Programme are carried out under the support and management of the ICLD. In addition, the programme is supported by Swedish mentors being selected by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR).


Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance

Programme objectives

The programme aims to provide the following changes in the participant: 

  • Empower the participant with improved leadership skills  
  • Help the participant to fully utilize the power and influence of her position  
  • Strengthen her as a role model to encourage political participation among marginalized groups  
  • Give her access to a network of women in similar positions

During the training, the participant will work on her change process and implement a strategy to make the local authority equitable, participatory, transparent and accountable. 


Benefits:

  • Valuable exchange of knowledge and experiences
  • Extended regional and international networks
  • Improved skills as a “change agent” in initiating and implementing instituational change
  • Skills and abilities to communicate and advocate on issues of inclusive governance
  • Three-day study-visit in a Swedish municipality or region
  • Support to improve participation, equality, transparency and accountability in the local governance

What we will offer:

  • Advanced training in communication, strategic planning and leadership
  • Swedish mentorship including an individual three-day study visit in a Swedish municipality or region
  • International exposure to different political experiences
  • An opportunity for your municipality to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

How?

  • Through skills training workshops on site or digitally
  • Identification of challenges and finding solutions to issues faced by women politicians
  • By offering strategic support and coaching from ICLD staff and mentors
  • In sharing of professional obstacles and successes in an inclusive environment

Change process

The participant is expected to develop and work with a change process of her choice during the training. The change process should address a real problem of concern to the politician, thus contribute to translating the theoretical content of the training programme into capacity development and institutional change within her municipality. The change process aims to increase political accountability, helping leading politicians to better respond to the needs of the citizens. An outline of the problem to be addressed by the change process shall be submitted as part of the application, and plays a key role in the selection of participants. The change process requires strong commitment and involvement of the politician and should lead to the proposal of a solution. Keep in mind that there is NO funding available from ICLD for project implementation.


Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance

Programme objectives

Leadership in Local Governance

The main objective of this training programme is to improve local and institutional governance. This will be achieved through exploring ways of making local governance in the involved municipalities equitable and inclusive.

The participants will work on a change project together during the training and implement a strategy to make the municipality equitable, participatory, transparent and accountable. By strengthening the capacity of selected teams and by strengthening the networks available to them, the overall objectives of the training are to deepen democracy, create space for participation and dialogue, increase service delivery in deprived neighborhoods and through this, reduce poverty.

Local government officials and politicians on the local or regional level are increasingly identified as key players in development and democratization. In decentralization countries the local government is responsible for providing the lion´s share of services to their citizens. Local political leaders operate close to the citizens and their decisions influence the everyday lives of people. The civil society organisations can be grass root organisations such as youth groups, resident associations, workers associations or other community-based organisations. They may also represent groups of urban poor. This creates a unique opportunity for participatory practices and the co-creation of politics between citizens and local political leaders. However, top-down responses are often used even as they are proved to be inefficient to address the complex socio-environmental problems of our time.

Participants in the programme and their respective local governments/organisations will build capacity by primarily building resilience and improving the delivery of critical services, strengthening their institutions by focusing on inclusive political leadership and the cooperative work of elected political leaders, local government officials and civil society and by designing and implementing their of projects. The programme is designed for those who are motivated and have a mandate to contribute practically to the change adaptation and mitigation. The ultimate beneficiaries are the general public, through improved policies, strategies and programmes designed to create inclusive and equitable societies in a sustainable way.

Benefits:
› Valuable exchange of knowledge and experiences
› Extended regional and international networks
› Improved skills as a “change agent” in initiating and implementing instituational change
› Skills and abilities to communicate and advocate on issues of inclusive governance
› Support to improve participation, equality, transparency and accountability in the local governance.

Expected outcomes include:

  • Increased knowledge and skills about citizen dialogue mechanisms, democratic political leadership and inclusive governance to cocreate a more inclusive social contract. 
  • Improved capacity for coherent integration of the SDGs into local planning and policymaking.
  • Enhanced skills and methods to co-create solutions to improve the wellbeing of the urban poor.

Contents:

The programme has a strong focus on democratic political leadership and inclusive governance.

What we will offer:

  • Training in leadership, strategic planning and communication
  • Exposure to different political experiences
  • Two-day study-visit in a Swedish municipality or region
  • An opportunity for the participating municipality to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
  • Citizen´s dialogue

How?

  • Through various trainings, lectures and workshops
  • Identification of challenges and finding solutions to issues faced by local government officials
  • By offering strategic support and coaching from ICLD staff and their mentors
  • In sharing of professional obstacles and successes in an inclusive environment

Change projects

Each team is expected to formulate and implement a so called “Change Project” as an integral part of the programme. The project should address a real issue of concern to the team, thus contribute to translating the theoretical content of the training programme into capacity development and institutional change. An outline of the Change Project shall be submitted as part of the application, and plays a key role in the selection of participants. Teams that can show how the Change Project will make a real positive change and contribute to their deliveries will have an advantage. Teams are encouraged to send several participants working together on a bigger Change Project or building on previous participants´ work on consecutive programmes. The Change Project requires strong commitment and involvement of the local community members in terms of general support, allocation of time and budget, as there is NO funding available from ICLD for project implementation.

Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance

Admission requirements

Leadership in Local Governance

Invited countries

Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Namibia.

Target group

Only candidates nominated by the appropriate organization (municipality, city, region) and in accordance with national rules will be considered. The programme is primarily intended for individuals who have key positions in local governments and who are actively involved in a strategic decision making. Local government officials, politicians at regional or local level and representatives from civil society organisations are thus encouraged to apply. To achieve a good gender balance, applications from qualified women and younger persons are especially welcome. Candidates who have previously participated in an ICLD-training programme financed by Sida cannot apply for this programme.

Language requirements

The training programme will be organised and conducted in English. Proficiency in English shall be indicated in the Application form.

Health requirements

Considering the training programme consists of international travels and work away from home in a new environment, good health and ability to work without physical/health restrictions if required. It is therefore recommended that candidates undergo a medical examination before filling in the Medical Statement in the Application form.

Other requirements

Nominations are assessed on individual and organisational merits. 25 participants will be selected to the programme taking into account that the participants bring diversity to the group through their various backgrounds and professional qualifications.

The programme welcomes applications from teams from the same municipality/city/region consisting of at least one local government official, one elected politician and one representative of a civil society organization at a minimum.

The outline of the change project, together with the commitment of the home organisation to support active involvement of the participant in the implementation of the project will be of crucial importance in the selection of participants. Once selected, the participants are required to attend all scheduled parts of the programme and a Letter of Commitment is to be signed by the nominating organisation before the start of the programme. Due to the nature of the programme, family members are not allowed to accompany participants to the programme.

Costs

All training costs pertaining to lectures, literature, documentation, study tours and certain social activities as well as accommodation and food will also be covered by the organiser. All international travel costs related to the programme will be covered by the programme organiser. Costs for personal expenses are not included and are the responsibility of the participant or his/her organisation.

VISA

Participants are responsible for obtaining all relevant visas during all scheduled parts of the programme. The costs for obtaining visas are to be borne by the participant.

Insurance

All participants are covered under a group insurance while on scheduled parts of the programme. Medical and dental checkups are not included.

Certificate

Participants who successfully complete all scheduled parts will be awarded a Certificate of completion of training.

Application process

Closing date for applications is August 25, 2020. Application shall be made electronically, via link here below and include a recent photograph and all required information and documents. An outline of the Change Project aiming at improving the delivery of critical services in an equitable and inclusive way. The change projects must be described in the application and include the following at a minimum:

  • Title of the Change Project
  • Background and focal problem
  • Change Project goal

The application page contains details of what to include with your application. After an initial selection, a few chosen candidates will be invited for the interview, after which the final round of selection will take place.

ICLD operates anti-discrimination policy and all training courses are open to anyone despite the physical ability. If you have some physical disability, please let us know so we can solve all the practical issues that may arise.

The activities in the programme will be carried out on-site or digitally. If the situation occurs that we are forced to postpone workshops due to unforeseen situations, we (at the ICLD) will suggest new dates when the majority of participants can participate. If no dates are possible, ICLD will consider carrying out the workshop digitally.

Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance

Leadership in Local Governance

The training focuses on exploring ways of making governance in the municipality equitable and inclusive. The participants will work on a change project and implement a strategy to make the municipality equitable, participatory, transparent and accountable. By strengthening the capacity of selected teams and by strengthening the networks available to them, the training aims to deepen democracy, create space for participation and dialogue, increase service delivery in deprived neighborhoods and through this, reduce poverty.

The following countries are eligible for the programme: Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia.

The programme period: 2020-2021

Participants should form a team consisting of at least one elected politician in local or regional assemblies, at least one representative of a grassroot organization working with delivery of critical services and at least one public official from the local administration.


Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance

Youth in Falun and Tsumeb make their voices heard

“A large share of the population is comprised by youth and they are also the ones that will create and carry our future society”

These words are Karin Perérs’s, project coordinator for the partnership between Falun in Sweden and Tsumeb Municipality in Namibia. The partnership started ten years ago and has since its inception yielded several successes within the areas of education, waste management, and city planning. The last project, “Participation and voice implementation” which finalized in the Spring of 2019, focused on youth influence and inclusion in local democracy, tackling mutual issues of youth exclusion from the society.

The importance of youth and making the voices heard guided the objective of the project: to encourage the participation and voices of young people, allowing them to contribute to the society they live in. Karin Perérs happily tell us about the achieved results: “They have realized that their voices matter, that they as a group have influence. They have realized how to collaborate to achieve their goals, and when they do, they do it successfully with great impact!”

Tsumeb benefitted greatly by the introduction of LUPP, a common tool in Sweden used to evaluate local youth’s life situations. In practice, LUPP is a survey tool utilized to increase organizations awareness of the situation, experiences and views of young people, which forms a basis for decision-making processes. In addition to learning the method, first survey was conducted in Tsumeb in 2018. The results of LUPP are namely used also to measure the effects of the other efforts made during the partnership, and in Falun the results have already shown some increase in youth influence.

In Tsumeb, various youth networks and forums have been established to strengthen collaboration and coordination. These forums have fostered important discussions between youth and adults in the municipalities on the topics of abuse, gender equality, pregnancies and HIV/AIDS. In addition, both physical and virtual meeting places have been created, for example, a group named “Born Free Group” which in collaboration with Tsumeb Municipality, has constructed a Youth Park, where youth can meet for various activities and discussions. This Youth Park has, in turn, inspired Falun to establish something similar, directed at unemployed youth and career counseling.

Youth from Falun and Tsumeb were also given the opportunity to participate in a youth exchange. “In addition to giving them skills and experiences that they carry with them for the rest of their lives, we saw that the opportunity allowed many of the youth to advance in life. Some of them have now found employment or are undertaking education.

Swedish partner
Falu kommun
International partner
Tsumeb municipality
Tags
youth inclusion,

Agenda 2030 a given in all of Malmö’s partnerships

Malmö has been working with municipal partnerships for many years now, including one with Swakopmund in Namibia which has been running since 2008 and is now on its third round of programmes, a relatively recent partnership project with Lusaka in Zambia, a pilot study with Cape Town in South Africa, which is currently simmering nicely, and a 5-year project with Tangshan in China, that has now been wound up.

The roots of Malmö’s municipal partnerships lie in such diverse fields as sustainable energy and waste, ecotourism, and local food production from the sea and the land. The focus is often on dialogue with local people and on including groups who often go unheard.

“In Lusaka and Malmö, we’re working on issues such as the problem of unsustainable energy use. We worked to come up with a problem formulation of interest to both cities.”
The cities identified two different points of attack – charcoal in Lusaka and energy efficiency shortfalls in Malmö – and they also identified numerous areas where they could learn from one another.
“We’re working towards goals that involve our respective municipalities’ capacity to address unsustainable energy usage and make it more sustainable.”

Working with Agenda 2030 has been a given for Malmö since 2015, and Malmö’s municipal politicians were the first in Sweden to state explicitly that, “yes, we will work with Agenda 2030.”
“Our aim is to be a city that implements these goals locally – we decided on that back when the goals were adopted in New York. That’s something that the entire municipal organisation is working towards,” says Monika Månsson.

And ever since then, Malmö has been working on drawing up plans and target structures that are now beginning to be implemented across the city.
“This is a matter for the whole world, and it’s something every single one of us must address. Our politicians regard Agenda 2030 as a driving force and a developmental issue, and understand that working on a local level with Agenda 2030 is good for the municipality.”

Has focusing so hard on global goals enabled you to achieve local results?
“Well, the goals are equally important and relevant at both local and global level. Plus they involve the sort of things for which a municipality is already often responsible – whether they’re in Malmö or Lusaka,” says Monika.
“Integrating them into our regular objectives system within the municipality is perfectly possible, but not totally straightforward, because many of the goals spill out over multiple discrete areas within a normal municipal organisation. But the real challenge, of course, lies in achieving the goals by 2030, and in that respect, we really need to pick up the pace in a number of areas.”

Unsurprisingly, given that it’s a coastal city, Malmö has focused much of its attention on goal 14 (Life Below Water). Sweden and Fiji are responsible for the global implementation of this goal, and this has helped spur on Malmö’s work in this area.
“We’ve started focusing on and working to draw up a framework for a coastal strategy with goal 14 providing the overall framework. And there is no doubt in my mind that Agenda 2030, coupled with the fact that we are working with these sorts of issues as part of our partnership with Swakopmund, has helped boost our efforts in this regard.”

Efforts aimed at addressing the charcoal use issue in Lusaka have developed into a partnership that targets several of the Agenda 2030 goals.
“The global goals are a good way of talking about the sort of things that can actually be achieved by a partnership between two such different cities as Malmö and Lusaka. They act as a sort of common meeting point.”
The two cities, Malmö and Lusaka, identified two goals which, in their opinion, were particularly relevant to both municipalities, namely goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and goal 13 (Climate Action). And then, of course, there’s goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
“But we’re also seeing knock-on effects from our activities on several other goals, albeit in different ways in the different cities. In Lusaka, for example, there’s been a knock-on effect in relation to goal 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), and the gender equality aspect of goal 5 (Gender Equality) was also affected, because the use of charcoal has a real effect on women. It’s also provided a new economic perspective and, hence, had an impact on goal 1 (No Poverty) and on the ecosystem and biodiversity aspects of goal 15 (Life on Land).”

Monika also notes that taking the global goals as a starting point has been useful in the context of the partnerships with Lusaka and Swakopmund:
“We have different realities, but the Agenda 2030 goals work well as overall goals when we discuss our partnership, giving us a shared strategic objective. Plus working towards the goals is a useful exercise when it comes to organising and assigning objectives at the various local levels and developing a methodology.”

What would you like to say to your municipal colleagues nationwide who are considering a municipal partnership?
“All global challenges have a local solution, and what we do locally as a municipality affects the rest of the world. Partnerships are good for municipal development because they allow you to choose issues of local importance, but which turn out to have global significance, too.”

Are you sometimes surprised by the direction a partnership can take?
“Constantly. We assume so much in our planning work and pre-launch, but the world changes over the course of a three-year partnership and reality is often not quite what we thought it was or would be. It often works out well in the end, just not always in the way we expected.”

Has Malmö changed its methodology as a result of Agenda 2030?
“Back in January, we launched something that is, I believe, unique in Sweden – something we call the “Sustainable Development Office”. Five people working at the City Administration Office in central Malmö have been tasked with implementing the global goals locally in Malmö. A lot of their work involves planning how the city will work towards the global goals in future.”

Malmö’s ambition is for its budget to be based on the global goals by 2020, and the fact that the Chairman of the Municipal Executive Committee is responsible for both financial and sustainability issues, clearly underlines Malmö’s desire to prioritise its sustainability work.

“The global goals are a way of pinpointing the challenges faced by the entire world. Take goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) for example – the overall relevance of which is very clear. But it’s when you take a closer look at the subsidiary goals that the picture changes slightly,” says Monika.
“Handling the 169 subsidiary goals is considerably more complex – they’re concrete and they make detailed demands when it comes to implementation. They’re the same for the whole world, so they don’t always dovetail exactly with a Swedish organisation. But implementing them in the context of our operations isn’t the biggest problem – the real challenge lies in achieving these goals by 2030.”

2030 isn’t that far off now and the subsidiary goals are pretty ambitious.
“Malmö has a long-term strategy for Agenda 2030 that will, we believe, be effective. And the municipal partnerships have a very natural part to play in a strategy of this kind.”

‘Know Your Neighbour Project’ can bring change in Lusaka

Charity Kalombo is a Senior Community Development Officer in the department of community development and Social Services at Lusaka City Council. She is responsible for four informal settlements which account for 75 percent of the city’s population. Kapwepwe Ward 25 in Matero Constituency is one of Lusaka’s 37 informal settlements.
The biggest problems in the ward are crime and garbage.

The aim of the “Know Your Neighbour Project” is to change the mindset of residents and other stakeholders towards crime and garbage, to make them aware of their responsibilities when it comes to creating a safe and clean environment.
“This is an important project on inclusive political leadership as it is the first of its kind in Zambia. It will promote a safe and sustainable Kapwepwe Ward 25 and further seek to provide an interactive environment where the community and decision makers interact and discuss local development in unplanned settlements,” she says.

She represents the Lusaka team that is taking part in ICLD’s international training programme ‘Inclusive Political Leadership’.
‘Know Your Neighbour Project’ can bring change in the way people manage their waste and to create collaboration among residents, law enforcers and city authorities in fighting crime.
“The launch was a success as it attracted more stakeholders than anticipated. We have had community meetings, monthly cleaning days, and publicity awareness through electronic and print media,” she says.

She states further that community participation is key as it will empower the population to a higher level of responsibility and ownership.
“There is an overwhelming response at community level – actually the community is not waiting for any formalization but performs activities where there is a need. The monthly cleaning days are carried out by the community and supervised by the Know Your Neighbour-clubs,” she says. “In fact, the neighbouring ward of Matero east, are taking their problems to the councillor and the ‘Know Your Neighbour’-clubs of Kapwepwe ward 25.”

Astrid Nunez, Programme Officer ITP at ICLD is satisfied with how the project was launched and the community response:
“It was very pleasing to see that so many people are involved in this project, both locally and from the city’s management,” she says.


The first cohort of ICLD:s new International Training Programme ‘Inclusive Political Leadership’. 

Charity, how do you inspire local politicians and other stakeholders to take part in this project?
“The local politicians are inspired by the publicity the initiative has created. There is an overwhelming political expectation – the Mayor of the greater city of Lusaka wants the initiative to be a citywide project using the same concept. Parliament referred to the initiative as a solution to the problems with crime. I try to inspire people to be professional and open-minded to community initiatives.”

What would you say is key when it comes to the success of this project?
“To include visible partnership and increase the number of people attending developmental community meeting within their household clusters. To kick-start the project without dedicated funding from a partner and then get stakeholders on board to support the initiative.”

“A project with the combined goal of reducing crime and improving waste management is interesting, and we should be observant of the outcome and see if it is clear that these two goals help and enable each other”, says Astrid Nunez.

Charity Kalombo is hopeful about the outcome of the project.
“Yes, I hope I wake up every morning feeling positive that this project is the right one. The initiative cuts across all boundaries and calls on everyone to take responsibility and contribute positively to keeping this county clean.”