Liberia

Civil Society Outreach

Fostering Participatory Community Development - Townhall Meetings

Search for Common Ground in Liberia (SFCG) believes in bringing together different parties to an issue to collectively discuss challenges and together decide how to move forward. Such venues for collective decision-making can bring together local government, the community, traditional leaders, and even large companies active in the area.

A recent example has been SFCG's recent engagement with ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company, which is preparing to commence iron ore mining operations in Liberia's Bong, Nimba and Grand Bassa counties and as part of its contract with the government is giving $3 million in development funds to the three counties.

To facilitate responsible and collective decision-making regarding the use the funds, SFCG held a town hall meeting between local government officials and citizens in each of the three counties between September and November 2007. The meetings allowed the local representatives to propose and discuss possible initiatives and citizens to ask questions and voice their concerns and resulted in the formation of technical committees that will lead the planning and implementation of the chosen development activities. The meetings illustrate SFCG goal of facilitate healthy dialogue and collective and transparent decision-making and increased citizen engagement on vital development issues.

Strengthening Civil Society Organizations

SFCG has developed a strong reputation as an international organization that acts like a local player. With its unique ability to bring together disparate parties in pursuit of collective solutions, SFCG is well situated to bridge the gap between divided groups in the civil society sector. This credibility has enabled SFCG to engage with local NGOs in a way not always available to international groups, uniquely positioning it to help develop Liberia's civil society.

In Liberia, civil society is a relatively new concept, which emerged at the height of the civil war when state institutions collapsed and the state could no longer meet its responsibilities to its citizens. Since then, while the sector is growing, civil society organizations (CSOs) continue to be fragile, aid-dependent, and overextended in their scopes of activity in terms of mandate and capacity. SFCG's outreach activities seek to support and strengthen the civil society sector to improve their engagement with government as well as the communities they represent.

In order for Civil Society to engage effectively with government institutions, they require unity among their own ranks. This unity is often threatened through inter-organizational fights, often stemming from rifts that exist throughout society as a whole in Liberia. Thus, SFCG plays a key role in providing training, guidance and mediation to these organizations.

A recent example came when the Federation of Road Transport Union of Liberia, Inc. (FRTUL) to seek out SFCG's help with its national executive election. FRTUL is the country's largest public transport union, representing countless taxis and minibuses operating in the country. Though FRTUL had never worked with SFCG before it knew of SFCG's exemplary work during the 2005 Liberian national elections and desired this independent assistance in its own election.

Prior to the elections, SFCG moderated a debate between the four candidates for FRTUL President General. SFCG also provided the public address system and power for the event, which was held at the Liberian National Red Cross in Gbarnga. The debate included opening statements from each candidate, questions from the attending delegates and questions from the candidates to each other. One candidate noted with appreciation SFCG's messages to delegates to vote for the person who will do the best job, not merely for one who is a relative. It was the first ever debate held in the 25 year history of FRTUL and Acting President General Jerry K. Luogua stated that such a debate with audience questions allows for later accountability to statements made, a step that brings improvement.

The day following the debate the FRTUL election for President General and the six other national executive positions was held. SFCG was the only outside observer. The Election Committee of FRTUL ran the voting and vote counting in an organized and stringent way, resulting in credible and accepted results. The Chair of the FRTUL Election Committee, John S.C. Williams, said that the election was free, fair, and transparent because it was the first time they had had observers present and because it was the first time to have candidates tell delegates about their plans, which SFCG facilitated. "Talking Drum Studioplayed a very important role in the process," he said. SFCG "stabilized the process."