September
29
50 years after independence...In The African.org, issue 8, August 2010, p.36-38
June
04
Open Government Intiative
United States of America Civil society Government Citizenship Trackbacks (0)
Open Government Intiative
The Open Government intiative was launched in 2009 by President Barack
Obama. It seeks to make American government more open, accountable,
transparent and participatory. This website (maintained by the White
House) contains an Open government blog which highlights programmes,
press releases and projects from the American government. It includes
case studies of the use of web 2.0 technology to encourage citizen
involvement in government. There are also discussion forums where they
can vote/ discuss new ideas.
From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/
June
01
Power And Control, The Relationship Between The People And Government. Demos
Power Government Trackbacks (0)
The Liberal Republic [pdf]
http://www.demos.co.uk/files/LiberalRepublic_web2bb.pdf?1242120969
The Demos organization publishes thoughtful pieces of commentary and research on a variety of topics, including civics, governance, public space, and other related matters. Richard Reeves and Philip Collins authored this 71-page paper, and in it they consider the nature of power and control, and more specifically, the relationship between the people and government. The work was published in May 2009, and is divided into three chapters: "Independence", "Capability", and "Power". The report concludes with a series of notes and references. Perhaps Reeves and Collins say it best when they note, "The 'good society' is not a perfect shape to be carved by the elite out of the crooked timber of humanity. It is created by independent, capable people charting their own course through life." [KMG] The Scout Report
May
11
The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa - Kgalema Petros Motlanthe.
1. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dr Pieter Mulder.
2. Minister of Arts and Culture Lulu Xingwana.
Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile.
3. Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga.
Deputy Minister of Basic Education Enver Surty.
4. Minister of Communications Siphiwe Nyanda.
Deputy Minister of Communications Dina Pule.
5. Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sicelo Shiceka.
Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Yunus Carrim.
6. Minister of Correctional Services Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Hlengiwe Mkhize.
7. Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu.
Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thabang Makwetla.
8. Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde.
9. Minister of Energy Dipuo Peters.
10. Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan.
Deputy Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene.
11. Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.
Deputy Minister of Health Dr Molefi Sefularo.
12. Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande.
13. Minister of Home Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba.
14. Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale.
Deputy Minister of Human Settlements Zou Kota.
15. Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation (1) Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim.
Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation (2) Sue van der Merwe.
16. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe.
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel.
17. Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana.
18. Minister of Mining Susan Shabangu.
19. Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa.
Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula.
20. Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan.
Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Enoch Godongwana.
21. Minister for the Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi.
Deputy Minister for the Public Service and Administration Roy Padayachie.
22. Minister of Public Works Geoff Doidge.
Deputy Minister of Public Works Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu.
23. Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti.
Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Dr Joe Phaahla.
24. Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom.
25. Minister of Social Development Edna Molewa.
Deputy Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini.
26. Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile.
Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation Gert Oosthuizen.
27. Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele.
28. Minister in The Presidency (1) National Planning Commission Trevor Manuel.
29. Minister in The Presidency (2) Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency Collins Chabane.
30. Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
Deputy Minister of Tourism Thozile Xasa.
31. Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies.
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (1) Thandi Tobias.
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (2) Maria Ntuli.
32. Minister of Transport Sbusiso Joel Ndebele.
Deputy Minister of Transport Jeremy Cronin.
33. Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica.
Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Rejoice Mabhudafhasi.
34. Minister of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya.
From News24
April
02
Public’S Response To Hurricane Katrina. Docuticker
United States of America Natural disasters Government Trackbacks (0)Attributing Blame: The Public’s Response to Hurricane Katrina (PDF; 151 Kb)
Source: Journal of Politics
When government fails, whom do citizens blame? Do these assessments rely on biased or content-rich information? Despite the vast literatures on retrospective voting in political science and attribution in psychology, there exists little theory and evidence on how citizens apportion blame among public officials in the wake of government failure. We designed a survey experiment in which respondents ranked seven public officials in order of how much they should be blamed for the property damage and loss of life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. We manipulated the information provided to respondents, with some receiving the officials’ party affiliations, others receiving their job titles, and others receiving both cues. We find that party cues cause individuals to blame officials of the opposite party, but citizens make more principled judgments when provided with information about officials’ responsibilities. These results have implications for our understanding of the impact of heuristics and information on retrospective evaluations of government performance.
See: The Vote is Not Tallied on Katrina Blame (Stanford Graduate School of Business News)
March
26
Does The Development State Need A Planning Ministry? Development Dialogue
South Africa Government Trackbacks (0)Isandla Institute and the Open Society Foundation for South Africa invite you to a Development Dialogue
on
The shape of things to come: Does the development state need a planning ministry?
Thursday 2 April 2009, 16h30 - 18h00
(tea and coffee served beforehand, please be seated at 16h30)
Centre
for the Book, Cape
Town
It is highly expected that the forthcoming ANC administration will restructure Cabinet. One of the expected changes is the introduction of a planning ministry, which will be responsible for planning, prioritising and co-ordinating across government. This is a role National Treasury has de facto played, leading to criticism from ANC allies that Treasury is wielding too much power and influence. The proposed planning ministry (or, as some say, planning commission) is seen by its proponents as the institutional vehicle to enable the state to play its developmental role in a co-ordinated and effective manner. While the planning ministry is likely to become a defining feature of the next administration, to date there has been little public debate on this ‘super-ministry’. It is unclear what exactly the role and scope of the planning ministry will be, how it will function and to what extent it will have the clout and authority to direct other government departments. Is a high-powered centralised planning structure what South Africa needs to overcome poverty, inequality and unemployment? Or will such an entity lack accountability and at best end up with (more) high level policies and plans, without real teeth or capacity to ensure implementation?
Jeremy Cronin, MP (SACP), Hildegarde Fast (Western Cape Department of Housing) t b c and Omano Edigheji (Human Sciences Research Council) t b c, have been invited to share their perspectives on these questions.
The Development Dialogue will be held on Thursday 2 April 2009 from 16h30-18h00, at the Centre for the Book, 62 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town. Tea and coffee are made available between 16h00-16h30. Kindly note the event will start at 16h30. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity for informal interaction over drinks and snacks.
If you are interested
in attending this event, please r.s.v.p. on admin@isandla.org.za
by Tuesday 31 March. You will receive confirmation of your
attendance.
We look forward to seeing you
there!
January
30
Deciphering the Dutch drop: ten explanations for decreasing political trust in The Netherlands
This site provides free acess to an article by Mark Bovens and Anchrit Wille which was originally published in International Review of Administrative Sciences Vol 74(2):283–305 [DOI:10.1177/0020852308091135] 2008. The 23 page article examines the causes falls in levels of in public trust in government, using the case study of the Netherlands from the 1980s onwards. It is argued that Sudden dips in public trust in government are better explained by political or economic crises than by a deterioration in government performance. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.uu.nl/NL/faculteiten/rebo/organisatie/departementen/departementbestuu
This site provides free acess to an article by Mark Bovens and Anchrit Wille which was originally published in International Review of Administrative Sciences Vol 74(2):283–305 [DOI:10.1177/0020852308091135] 2008. The 23 page article examines the causes falls in levels of in public trust in government, using the case study of the Netherlands from the 1980s onwards. It is argued that Sudden dips in public trust in government are better explained by political or economic crises than by a deterioration in government performance. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.uu.nl/NL/faculteiten/rebo/organisatie/departementen/departementbestuu
January
30
Can Obama Use Technology To Transform Government?
United States of America Government Technology Trackbacks (0)Wiki White House : Can Obama use technology to transform government?
This site provides access to a podcast and video recording of a
discussion co-sponsored by the New America Foundation, Wired Magazine,
and Google which took place on 9th January 2009. Panellists (who
included members of New America Foundation) discussed their hopes for a
more transparent administration and the challenges to a more open and
participatory government. This involved considering the possibilities
and challenges faced by more US government implementation of web 2.0
technology for political communication. Copyright and technical
information is diplayed on the website.
From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2008/wiki_white_house
January
08
World's Worst Dicators, 2008, As Listed By US Popular Magazine
Politicians Government Trackbacks (0)World's worst dictators 2008: Parade Magazine
Free access to the annual listing of the world's worst dicators from US
popular magazine Parade. It includes a top 10 listing with basic
biographical information, photographs and online slideshows.Copyright
information is displayed on the website.
From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.parade.com/dictators/2008/
Comment from CW:
Already out of date as Musharraf of Pakistan is gone.
December
20
Quick info about the selected person and the position.
Source: Reuters (via TVNZ)
From: The Resourceshelf
December
11
Long Term Impact Of The Slave Trade On Citizens' Trust In Local Instutions And Governments In Africa. Afrobarometer
Africa Slaves and slavery Civil society Government Trackbacks (0)
Transatlantic slave trade and the evolution of mistrust in Africa: an empirical investigation
This site provides free access to the full text of Afrobarometer working paper no.100 by Nathan Nunn and Leonard Wantchekon which was published in June 2008. Afrobarometer publications report the results of public opinion surveys on the attitudes of citizens in selected African countries towards democracy. It is coordinated by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD, Ghana), the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), and the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IREEP). This 47 page report considers the long term impact of the slave trade on the trust of local instutions and governments by the population. a key question is whether whether individuals belonging to an ethnic group that was heavily impacted by the slave trades in the past are less trusting of political leaders and others today. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.afrobarometer.org/papers/AfropaperNo100.pdf
This site provides free access to the full text of Afrobarometer working paper no.100 by Nathan Nunn and Leonard Wantchekon which was published in June 2008. Afrobarometer publications report the results of public opinion surveys on the attitudes of citizens in selected African countries towards democracy. It is coordinated by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD, Ghana), the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), and the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IREEP). This 47 page report considers the long term impact of the slave trade on the trust of local instutions and governments by the population. a key question is whether whether individuals belonging to an ethnic group that was heavily impacted by the slave trades in the past are less trusting of political leaders and others today. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.afrobarometer.org/papers/AfropaperNo100.pdf
December
04
Center for Ethics in Government (US)
Compilation of resources from this center that addresses "this most critical, fundamental and far-reaching problem facing government in America: the loss of public trust and confidence in representative democracy." Features an overview of ethics policy issues, an ethics and lobbying legislation database, publications, links to news stories on ethics, and more. From the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
URL: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/ethics/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27176
Lobbying Ethics
This FAQ discusses definitions of political lobbying, the relationship between lobbying and ethics, and ethical dilemmas presented by lobbying in the areas of fairness, transparency, and the common good. Includes links to related websites. From the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
URL: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/government_ethics/introduction/lobbying.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27173
Companion website to this 2008 public radio program that looks at "how the perks lawmakers enjoy make it tough to clean up government, and what happens when newcomers try to play the lobbying game." Includes the full program and transcript, a list of congressional perks, features on the viral video "We Are the Web" and the growth of lobbying in Washington, reporter's notebook, and related links. From American RadioWorks.
URL: http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/congress/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23596
Annotations copyright LII.ORG
June
26
PostGlobal
"PostGlobal is an interactive conversation on global issues moderated by Newsweek International ... [and] The Washington Post." It considers the impact of recent events on the power of governments such as the U.S., China, Israel, and Russia. The "Global Power Barometer" "tracks how well global players use power to advance their policy goals. ... The system tracks [and links to] thousands of news media, academic, governmental and other sources."
URL: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/drg/index.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26082
Annotation copyright LII.ORG