Application Form (English) of Social Watch (Benin)

1	Name of the Organization: SOCIAL WATCH	Country: BENIN
2	“Letter of Intention” Please include: (1)   reason why your organisation is eligible to be part of Steering Committee; (2)   what kind of contribution that your organisation can make for Civic Commission for Africa
	The mission of Social Watch Benin is to maintain a social permanent surveillance of public administration. Since 2005, in collaboration with people of cities and countryside, Social Watch has engaged in consultation and activity by the means of various programmes of development, with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Social Watch consults the people to collect their concerns and their deep aspirations for the development of Benin, within the framework of Citizen’s Control of public action. The analysis of perceptions of various alternative reports, which are elaborated at the stage of follow-up of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or of development process of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), conducts people to criticize the deficiencies of good economic and political governance (bad governance and corruption), which ruined all the efforts of socio-economic raising and improvement of the conditions of brave population. The population expressed their distress with the decay of respect for public property. They remain perplexed at the chances of success such as recognition of their interest in the national policy and in decision-makings. Social Watch also conducts CSO’s advocacy beside IMF and World Bank: petitions of our members for the fight against poverty beside IMF and WB. At the same time, the Social Watch network animates firstly the collective of federations and the network of NGOs, work secondly as a member of several plate forms on the governance, the follow-up of budget and the follow-up of planning centred on the objectives of Millennium for the development in Africa, and work finally in different researches in collaboration with international social network on social security. We now have 150 members and a space for CSO’s mobilization. We were so identified as reliable and representative interlocutor by many partners who finance our activities and by many others such as Swiss cooperation which is already engaged.
3	How much could your organisation allocate in order to fulfill responsibility to be part of Steering Committee? *Please include how to spend it. (in USDollar)
	For our actions, we consider a budget of 20 000 US Dollars.
4	Please share the view of your organisation on the report of Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa, “Our Common Interest”. http://www.commissionforafrica.org/english/report/introduction.html
	Two important considerations:   A) General vision of development   Objective of Sustainable Development, elaborated during 1980’, is "to meet the current needs, without compromising the capacity of future generations to satisfy theirs". It means to aim "a double solidarity: horizontal, with regard to most destitute moment, and vertical, between generations". Accordingly, sustainable development was revised on 4 major pillars: social, economy, environment and participative democracy. These four pillars must be in constant interaction. Socioeconomic Development, Environment and Citizenship must be regarded as indivisible on all scales of human societies’ organizations and their environment. The Sustainable Development is local, national and international question. It will be carried out only if the combat and the solidarity are conducted squarely: combat for sustainable management of resources, for disappearance of socioeconomic imbalances and for democracy. The social factors for sustainable development are the access to education, habitat, food, care... the access to satisfy the essential needs of people to fight exclusion in all its forms (social, professional...), to stabilize the demographic growth as well as to control the urban growth and migratory flows. From the economic point of view, sustainable development depends on economic development which conforms to natural environment, providing basic resources, on major change in international economic relations in order to promote fair trade, on cancellation of the debt of the poor countries, and finally, on increase in investments so that they are not constrained any more to choose short-term profits in contradiction with their sustainable development and that of planet. On the environmental level, to achieve the objective of sustainable development, it is important to respect the following principal conditions: use and sustainable management of natural resources (air, water, ground, life) and of the human knowledge, maintenance of several numbers of great natural balances (climate, biological diversity, oceans, forests...) and economy of non renewable resources (oil, gas, coal, ores...). The whole of these conditions will be reached only with the participation of each one. The Sustainable Development requires democracy and the effective participation in this democracy (citizenship).   B) Point of view   The developing countries must exercise the responsibility to not rely on the aide but to aim good governance and the fight against corruption. This effort will be useful through reform of public finance and promotion of mechanism of control by citizens. We must seek to impact the MDGs through research of good practices of follow-up of State’s general budget. Finally the 8th MDGs invites to an international partnership to reach the MDGs .We think that if this partnership is frank with a constant will of our country’s politicians, the combat for sustainable development will be gained.   In conclusion, it is true that this programme develops positive points such as education, water and health care, which conform with the achievement of MDGs. But certain points comprise negative impacts and the program remains for Africa on very general level. The reserves which we carry are related to the fact that this programme does not considerate the cultural diversity of countries and remains so very focused on numbering. Certainly with good intensions but we must be more convinced if this programme presents controllable effects and impacts in rereading of African countries. It is thus necessary to communicate around this programme!!!
5	Please list issues that your organisation would like to emphasize in order to reflect “voices” of your civil society effectively. *Please include reason why you listed those issues.
	1. Technical activity and internet 2. Promotion of Citizen’s Control of Public Action in the French-speaking African countries. We actually received this Mandate at the world general assembly of Social Watch International 3. Campaigns for reinforcement of CSO’s capacity on MDGs and Strategies of growth and reduction of poverty: for actual appropriation. 4. Reinforcement of capacity of local communities, associations for development and NGOs on the budgetary follow-up of community and on lobbying; for the effective advocacy and professional denunciations. 5. Publications and editions of reviews; letters for connection and alternative reports of civil society - visibility and communication -

Establishment of Civic Commission for Africa

We are pleased to announce that Civic Commission for Africa has been established. There were 32 applications from 22 countries, and it was decided that 17 organizations from 17 countries participates in the commission as country-based commmission member organizations, and 4 organizations of 4 countries representing Women, PLWHA and Farmers (South-East Africa & North-West Africa) participates as actor-based organizations.

You can take a look at the list of NGOs under the title of "Name and Contact".

Also, you can take a look at the application forms of the organizations except the contact address on the Blog article under the title of "Country-based organisations".

Name and Contact (Actor-based organisations)

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  Actor based mambers (4)
  --------------------------------------------
Farmers in South-East Africa
PELUM Association
  http://www.pelumrd.org/
  [phone] Fax: [phone]*

Farmers in North-West Africa
 Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs Agricoles de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA) http://www.roppa.info/
+221 939.58.58 Fax: [phone]*

People living with HIV/AIDS
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)
 http://www.tac.org.za/
[phone] Fax [phone]

 Women:
 Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting
 the Health of Women and Children (IAC)
 http://iac-ciaf.com/
Tel/Fax [phone]

Name and Contact (Country-based organisations)

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Country based members (17)
-----------------------------------------------
  Benin
  Social Watch
  www.glegbenu.org
[phone]

  Botswana
  Botswana Council of NGOs (BOCONGO)
  http://www.bocongo.org.bw/
 267-3911319, Fax [phone]
 
  Cameroon
  Association pour la défense des consommateurs(APDC)
 [phone]
 
  Cote Ivore
  Network Africa Asia (N2A)
 [phone] / 08 52 58 93
 
  Ethiopia
  Christian Relief and Developmewnt Association (CRDA)
  http://www.crdaethiopia.org
[phone] / 11-4392389 / 11- 4390322

  Ghana
  AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (ADP)
  http://www.cddghana.org/ngod.asp?ng=15
 233 21 854216　Fax: [phone]
 
  Kenya
  G-CAP Kenya
  http://www.whiteband.org/regions/africa/ken/
[phone] / 20 241915, Fax [phone]

  Madagascar
  Youth Network on MDG
[phone], Fax [phone]

  Malawi
  Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN)
  http://www.mejn.mw/
[phone] Fax:[phone]
   
  Mali
  Comité de Coordination des Actions d'Urgence des ONG'
(CCA-ONG)
  http://www.malipages.com/ccaong/presentation.asp
[phone], Fax [phone]

  Mauritius
  Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS)
  http://www.macoss.org/
[phone], Fax [phone]
  [e-mail]

Mozambique
  G-20
  http://www.iid.org.mz/html/3__pobreza.html
[phone], Fax [phone]

  Nigeria
  Pro-Poor Governance
[phone] / 8055789482
 
Senegal
Conseil des Organisations Non Gouvernementales d’Appui au Développement
(CONGAD)
http://www.congad.sn/
Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

Sierra Leone
Civil Society Alternative Process of Sierra Leone (CSAP -SL)
[phone] / 77-243942

 Tanzania
  MVIWATA
http://www.agro-info.nl/scripts/website.asp?lang=en&org=mv
[phone], Fax [phone]

Zimbabwe
AFRODAD
 http://www.afrodad.org/
[phone]

Selection Process for Steering Committee

Selection Process for Steering Committee of Civic Commission for Africa

A candidate organization for the Steering Committee (among Country-based
Commission Organisations) will submit application form to TCSF by no
later than April 21, 2007 .

All the application forms and additional information provided by the applicants will be shared with all the members of Civic Commission for Africa.  

The Country-based Commission Member Organisations will vote for one candidate (except its own) between April 23 to April 25, 2007.  (Votewill be free and secret.)

4 Candidates that gained most votes will constitute Steering Committee together with 3 Actor based organizations.

Steering Committee will declare its establishment by May 1, 2007.