Open Government Partnership in the spotlight at NMF workshop

The Nelson Mandela Foundation hosted a two-day workshop about the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative. 

The initiative was launched globally in 2011, with South Africa being one of the eight founding governments. The aim of the OGP is to secure commitments from governments to promote transparency and accountability, empower citizens, fight corruption, and introduce new technologies that may strengthen governance.

South Africa’s goals include:

• Tackling corruption
• Increasing citizen engagement
• Making public servants more accountable to communities 

The workshop was open to civil society organisations in South Africa. Speakers included the Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo, David Lewis from Corruption Watch, Dr Fola Adeleke from the Nelson Mandela Institute at Wits University, delegates from Indonesia, and members of the South African NGO Coalition (SANGOCO).

Opening the proceedings, Director of Research and Archive at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Verne Harris said: “Mandela’s mandate to us was to do the difficult work. In his own words he said, ‘You do not have to protect me’.

“We need to be accountable to our people; we need to put together people who don’t necessarily want to be in the same room and create a space safe enough for these robust dialogues to happen.”

Dlodlo explained the responsibilities of her department with regard to the OGP: “Our role through OGP is to improve the quality of life for our citizens. We also want to create synergy with other African-driven initiatives and make other countries subscribe to the roles and characteristics of OGP.” 

At the end of the first day, Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC) Executive Director Mukelani Dimba shared his expectations:

“I hope people learn more about OGP and come back with ideas on how they can contribute. We need new ideas on what we have not tried.” 

After listening to the panel discussions, delegates seemed positive about OGP: 

“Information is lacking in a lot of departments in the government. Public information should be made public. A central government data portal with all acts, legislation, and other public information would help cut all the red tape.” 

“I have a deeper appreciation of OGP. What could make it work, is making information available. In the absence of information, there’s a lot of suspicion.” 

"When people start to talk, engage, there’s always a possibility. I would love to shift the energy in the auditorium and break into smaller groups to listen more about what’s really affecting civil society, and to find out about the structure – who are we accountable to when we go back home?” 

There were some good, robust discussions. It was great to learn about how Indonesia has made OGP work for them.”