Battling Corruption in the Search for Peace: The Common Ground Approach

This four-page article details the anti-corruption work of Search for Common Ground in Sierra Leone and Liberia, focusing specifically on the organisation's approach to peacebuilding and fostering accountability. According to the authors, the evolution of community radio in both countries has proven an integral platform in keeping the national rebuilding processes on track. SFCG believes that community radio is a key component in developing an inclusive, accountable, and transparent relationship between citizens and government. To leverage this strength, SFCG has worked with communities and their radio stations to improve the capacity of community radios stations to provide information to citizens on government budget allocation and expenditure.

SFCG uses media tools to increase access to information, mainstream community voices, and model behaviour. In Sierra Leone, its radio programme Accountability Now works to strengthen government-to-constituent service delivery by improving communication between the two sides around the issue of financial management of local councils. The programme provides information on the income and expenditures of local councils, presenting their prepared financial statements with supporting analysis from a diversity of voices. Authors state that because of the programme, some councils taking part in corrupt practices have been exposed, and unfit public officials have been terminated. The show has also caused an increase in community pressure on councils to improve performance and explain actions to constituents.

A second tool used by SFCG is town hall meetings, which provide a forum for discussion that brings together law-makers, local authorities, civil society, and citizens. The report explains that during these meetings, which are broadcast live via radio, citizens can speak directly to their leaders and contribute to the decision-making process. According to the report, these platforms have stimulated the demand for better accountability of development funds and reduced communication gaps between local government, citizens, and civil society.

A third media tool used by SFCG is radio soap operas that model change at the personal and communal level. In Liberia, SFCG produces a radio soap called Today is not Tomorrow, which depicts a negative character using his political connections and wealth to mismanage community development funds. Through a community audit, he is exposed, and the community demands that he go to court. He is given a ten-year sentence. According to the report, most participants in an internal assessment of the programme relayed that they now understood the dynamics of corruption more clearly and that this has impacted the way in which they have engaged with their communities.

The article includes five key principles or lessons learned that SFCG uses to guide its anti-corruption interventions. SFCG’s media products aim to convey messages that manage expectations in terms of the challenges that anti-corruption interventions face, as well as the role and responsibilities of citizens in combating corruption. SFCG remains neutral in the conflicts and dynamics surrounding corruption. It seeks to build a critical mass of diverse actors with the requisite skills to demand better governance and accountability. It aims to build alliances from within the system. The organisation also aims to be gender-sensitive by including the voice and input of women on issues dealing with corruption.

The authors outline five key challenges faced in implementing anti-corruption interventions, one being the difficulty of showing the direct correlation between citizens' access to information and their demand for good governance. They say that developing a system to monitor and document the results of strategic communication remains imperative. A second challenge has been translating knowledge into action. According to the report, in a poverty-stricken environment where people live day-to-day, commitment to a higher level of engagement with government often proves challenging. Strengthening political will to respond to demands for good governance has been another challenge, requiring a shift in mindset on the part of leadership that often takes time.

The authors state that they recognise that their approach of broadening communication and representation in decision-making does not fit every situation. Also, how communities conceptualise and practice representation should be considered on a case-by-case basis. A final challenge identified by the authors relates to understanding social dynamics in information generation. While radio has proven to be an important channel for information dissemination, they state that understanding the social dynamics of information processing and utilisation is a growing challenge.