ORGANISATIONS, politicians and political parties can improve on their public relations (PR) and increase their corporate social responsibility through mobilising local communities for resource mobilisation for many local community development projects.
As a developing country, we have many community development-related projects which cannot be done only through the constituency development fund (CDF) and donor aid.
Although CDF and donor aid have so far assisted us to be where we are now, for almost a half a century now, such funds haven’t taken us where we were supposed to be.
This is why we still have high unemployment land poverty levels amidst rich natural resources. In short only CDF and donor aid are enough to address our socio-economic challenges.
This is why the Chinese have a saying: ‘Teach a person how to catch fish, and not how to eat fish.’
President Michael Sata recently said elected leaders should learn skills that could assist them to facilitate development processes in their respective wards and constituencies.
No sooner did President Sata urge our elected representatives to learn skills than this writer thought of the type of skills our political representatives can learn to be effective in facilitating community development in their areas.
It was from this background that under this column an article titled ‘How good are our politicians are at PR?’ was published on March 16, 2014.
Although the article was talking about politicians, even other Government institutions and private organisations should find time to go to local communities to share with them why they exist in such communities and learn how best they can contribute to addressing some of the socio-cultural and economic challenges the communities are facing.
It is in this light that this article wants to highlight how best to organise communities for resource mobilisation for local community development projects.
Such an article is helpful not only to political representatives but also to civil society and other organisations.
Time for appeasement is long gone. We have tried appeasement strategies and tactics in the past but they haven’t taken us to sustainable human and community development processes.
Asking local community members to mobilise themselves to raise resources for community-felt needs and projects was common and helpful during UNIP under Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
As it was stated in ‘How good are politicians at PR?, what is critical in mobilising communities for resource mobilisation for development purposes is integrity. Do local community members trust you?
If they do, one can sell self-reliance-related ideas to some influential personalities or opinion leaders in the local communities to sensitise others on the need to call for a meeting for organising the community for resource mobilisation for community development-related projects.
A specific priority community project can be used to initiate the process.
If some opinion leaders in the local community work effectively on such a need, one can also use the same influential personalities to call for a local community meeting to sensitise the same community on the limitations of scarce resources for various community projects.
Clearly stating that CDF is too little to go round in the area can be very helpful in such a situation.
Tell the communities the truth because, as Jesus Christ said: ‘The truth will set you free’ in the long-run.
During the community meeting, one can ask community members how best to address the socio- economic development challenges the same local community is facing. Many answers might come out. But one of them would be mobilising resources from the same community to address their
own challenges.
Most communities understand the concept of community contribution to local community development-related projects. Therefore, some members of the community will suggest the concept of local community members contributing some materials, labour and even some money proportionate to poverty levels in that local community.
For example, each resident in Shang’ombo can contribute less money than one in Lusaka’s Woodlands.
Therefore, form community development committees. Depending on the size, a constituency can have three to five development committees where respective counselors and MPs can be facilitating development processes.
In constituencies, community development committees can be formed which can spearhead such approaches.
Using financial resources from any source, some honest executive members of such committees can be trained in various resource mobilisation strategies such as project proposal and development-related report writing where the same communities can be preparing such proposals with their respective budgets.
Then, because of the self-reliance indoctrination in them, such committees or communities can be raising half or so of the requirements to a development project and ask a small fraction of the budget from outside sources.
Therefore, facilitate learning of how to write good project proposals. Facilitate community committee members to learn how to write good development reports.
Such skills in local communities can supplement locally mobilised resources and increase resource mobilisation from external sources for many community projects.
You can approach organisations for supplementary funds with a project proposal. Organisations you approach might ask you: ‘Do you have a project proposal for that?’ Your answer would be ‘Yes.’
Then, an official representing that organisation would say: ‘Let’s see it.’
When you give him or her, they might find that the proposal is very interesting, and you have already contributed three quarters of the project; and you are only asking for a small fraction of funds.
They might even give you more for other projects because they might be impressed with how committed you are to addressing your own community-felt needs.
This means that, using such an approach to community development, politicians, Government departments, civil society organisations (CSOs) and companies can improve and increase on their social responsibilities more than ever before because the resources they can be putting in the local communities for development purposes can reduce, but the development impact on many local communities in the country can increase.
Build development capacities in local communities.
As counselors and MPs, don’t fear that building such capacities in community members can be creating stiff competition for yourselves for future political candidates in the area.
Most Zambians don’t know their elected political representatives.
They also don’t know most firms that make and/or sell certain products which they consume or use.
As a company, establish your presence in local communities in each province throughout the country through increased corporate social responsibility.
Let people know top management officials of companies selling products in their respective communities.
Don’t wait until you have a crisis to go to local communities to explain what you stand for and what you are doing for the communities.
With increased political will from politicians, CSOs and Government institutions to improve on and increase social responsibility-related functions, more community development projects can be done in most local communities.
Local communities need a change of mindset. Little do local community members know that they can effectively and sustainably develop themselves if they are more mobilised in addressing their own socio-economic challenges using their local resources.
Therefore, someone somewhere should tactfully sensitise and facilitate local community members to move from the belief that community development projects can only be funded by Government through CDF and donor aid to believing that the same community members are a solution to all community development challenges they face in their respective areas.
For example, a certain Nigerian friend of mine told me that Nigeria has many universities almost in every district because each local community that felt their children should achieve university education mobilised themselves, put their resources together and built a university within their area.
We can also achieve such local community projects in our communities in Zambia. It just takes change of mindset.
We cannot enter the second half of the century of the political independence with negative and retrogressive mindset.
As the population of the country increases, such mindset increases high unemployment and high poverty levels.
Therefore, let’s put our ideas and resources together. Let’s build relevant capacities in our local communities, in community members and in ourselves.
Such an approach to local community and resource mobilisation can lead to increased community development-related projects and sustainable national development processes.
The author is a PR Trainer and Consultant. For comments and ideas, contact:
Cell:0967/0977450151; E-mail:sycoraxtndhlovu@yahoo.co.uk)