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ABSTRACT
There is an undeniable trend towards civil society participation in virtually all issue-areas of global governance, yet civil society participation varies widely among international organisation (IOs). While this trend has inspired a voluminous academic literature, empirically-based, comparative studies of IO-civil society interaction in Africa remain largely absent. This article therefore examines civil society participation in three African subregional organisations – the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). What are the factors that have made regional integration in ECOWAS relatively more people-driven, and that have thus far hindered effective civil society participation in the affairs of SADC and the EAC? Support from member states, allies in the respective organisation’s bureaucracy, and characteristics of civil society itself, the research shows, affect participation in regional integration, with the latter aspect apparently more salient in SADC and the EAC than in ECOWAS.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the Fritz Thyssen Foundation for funding the research on which this article is based. I would also like to express my gratitude to my anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article, as well as my interviewees for their extremely invaluable input without which this article could not have been written.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Theresa Reinold is junior professor of global and transnational cooperation research at Duisburg-Essen University. Trained as a political scientist, her research interests lie at the intersection of international relations theory and international law. She is currently carrying out a two-year research project entitled ‘The rule of law in African regionalism’, funded by the Thyssen Foundation, which explores how global rule of law scripts are translated into (sub-) regional African practices. Her work has been published inter alia in the American Journal of International Law, the Review of International Studies, the International Journal of Constitutional Law, and Global Constitutionalism.
Notes
1 Christenson GA, ‘World civil society and the international rule of law’, Human Rights Quarterly, 19, 1997, pp. 724–37; Reimann KD, ‘A view from the top: International politics, norms and the worldwide growth of NGOs’, International Studies Quarterly, 50, 2006, pp. 45–67; Steffek J & C Nanz, ‘Emergent patterns of civil society participation in global and European governance’, in Steffek J & C Nanz (eds), Civil Society Participation in European and Global Governance. A Cure for the Democratic Deficit? New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1–29; Saurugger S, ‘The social construction of the participatory turn: The emergence of a norm in the European Union’, European Journal of Political Research, 49, 2010, pp. 471–95; Tallberg J & A Uhlin, ‘Civil society and global democracy: An assessment’, in Archibugi D et al. (eds), Global Democracy: Normative and Empirical Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–24, <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.460.2571&rep=rep1&type=pdf>.
2 Civicus Monitor, ‘Tracking Civic Space’, Database, accessed 23 October 2018, <https://monitor.civicus.org/>.
3 Jonas O & B Seabo, ‘Making ECOSOCC work: Present challenges and future prospects’, Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 6, 1, pp. 1–21.
4 Olonisakin F, ‘ECOWAS and civil society movements in west Africa’, IDS Bulletin, 40, 2, 2009, p. 109. Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, Executive Director of The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), equally notes that ‘[c]ivil society participation in the REC in West Africa is far more advanced than that in EAC or SADC. None of the latter have the kind of recognition and space for engagement that ECOWAS has given to civil society in West Africa … Key directorates engage members of civil society in the various thematic areas’. Interview, 4 September 2018.
5 Interview with Edith Kibalama, Director of the Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development, 27 August 2018. This squares with the assessment of the second President of the East African Civil Society Organisations Forum (EACSOF), Chris Maina Peter, who maintains that the “participation of civil society organisations in the affairs of the East African Community is very marginal”. Interview, 4 September 2018.
6 Interview with Morris Odhiambo, former President of the East African Civil Society Organisations Forum (EACSOF), 24 September 2018.
7 Interview with Bob Libert Muchabaiwa, previously Research, Advocacy and Policy Manager, SADC-CNGO, now Social Policy and Economics Specialist, UNICEF Malawi, 27 August 2018.
8 Interview with Alice Mogwe, Director of The Botswana Center for Human Rights, 12 September 2018.
9 Matlosa K & K Lotshwao, ‘Political Integration and Democratisation in Southern Africa: Progress, Problems and Prospects’, EISA Research Report, 47, 2010, p. 49.
10 Edwards M, ‘Introduction: Civil society and the geometry of human relations’, in Edwards M (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society. New York: Oxford University Press, New York, p. 2.
11 Early research investigated CSO participation in the UN (see Weiss TG & L Gordenker (eds), NGO’s, the UN, and Global Governance. Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner.), the WTO (see Charnovitz S, ‘Opening the WTO to Nongovernmental Interests’, Fordham International Law Journal, 24, 1, 2, 2000, pp. 173–216.), the IMF (see Scholte JA & A Schnabel (eds), Civil Society and Global Finance. London: Routledge.), as well as the World Bank (O’ Brien R et al., Contesting Global Governance: Multilateral Economic Institutions and Global Social Movements. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.). Later studies focused on the Food and Agriculture Organisation (Liese A, ‘Explaining varying degrees of openness in the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in Jönssen C & J Tallberg (eds), Transnational Actors in Global Governance: Patterns, Explanations, and Implications. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 88–109.), and the International Labor Organisation (Thomann, L, ‘The ILO, tripartism, and NGOs. Do too many cooks really spoil the broth?’, in Steffek J et al. (eds), Civil Society Participation in European and Global Governance: A Cure for the Democratic Deficit? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 71–94.) Another popular object of study has been CSO participation in the EU (see Kohler-Koch B, ‘The three world of European civil society – what role for civil society for what kind for Europe?’, Policy and Society, 28, 2009, pp. 47–57; Saurugger S, ‘The social construction of the participatory turn: The emergence of a norm in the European Union’, European Journal of Political Research, 49, 2010, pp. 471–95.)
12 Steffek J, ‘Explaining cooperation between IGOs and NGOs – push factors, pull factors, and the policy cycle’, Review of International Studies, 39, 2013, p. 1003.
13 Grigorescu A, ‘Transparency of intergovernmental organisations: The role of member state, international bureaucracies and nongovernmental organisations’, International Studies Quarterly, 51, 2007, p. 640.
14 Steffek J, ‘Explaining cooperation between IGOs and NGOs – push factors, pull factors, and the policy cycle’, Review of International Studies, 39, 2013, pp. 1011–2.
15 Tallberg J et al., ‘Explaining the transnational design of international organisations’, International Organisation, 68, 2014, p. 743.
16 Raustiala K, ‘States, NGOs, and international environmental institutions’, International Studies Quarterly, 41, 4, 1997, pp. 719–40.
17 Grigorescu A, ‘Transparency of intergovernmental organisations: The role of member state, international bureaucracies and nongovernmental organisations’, International Studies Quarterly, 51, 2007, pp. 625–48; Tallberg J et al., ‘Explaining the transnational design of international organisations’, International Organisation, 68, 2014, pp. 741–74.
18 Grigorescu A, ‘Transparency of intergovernmental organisations: The role of member state, international bureaucracies and nongovernmental organisations’, International Studies Quarterly, 51, 2007, p. 640.
19 Tallberg J et al., ‘Explaining the transnational design of international organisations’, International Organisation, 68, 2014, p. 756.
20 Weaver C & R Leiteritz, ‘”Our poverty is a world full of dreams”: Reforming the World Bank’, Global Governance, 11, 3, 2005, p. 373.
21 Steffek J, ‘Explaining cooperation between IGOs and NGOs – push factors, pull factors, and the policy cycle’, Review of International Studies, 39, 2013, p. 1001.
22 Ibid.
23 I would like to thank one of my anonymous reviewers for alerting me to this point. See also Dany C, ‘Janus-faced NGO participation in global governance: structural constraints for NGO influence’, Global Governance, 20, 2014, pp. 429–30.
24 Tallberg J et al., ‘NGO influence in international organisations: Information, access and exchange’, British Journal of Political Science, 48, 2015, pp. 213–38.
25 Tallberg J et al., ‘Explaining the transnational design of international organisations’, International Organisation, 68, 2014, p. 754.
26 Tallberg J et al., ‘NGO influence in international organisations: Information, access and exchange’, British Journal of Political Science, 48, 2015, p. 218.
27 Tallberg J et al., ‘Explaining the transnational design of international organisations’, International Organisation, 68, 2014, p. 756.
28 One of the few comparative studies in this area was authored by Millstein M, ‘Regionalising African civil societies: Lessons, opportunities and constraints, The Nordic Africa Institute, 2015, <http://nai.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:790494/FULLTEXT02.pdf>. Existing analyses of individual organisations come in the form of policy briefs plus a handful of scholarly pieces: Bappah HY, ‘ECOWAS protagonists for peace: An internal perspective on policy and community actors in peacemaking interventions’, South African Journal of International Affairs, 25, 1, 2018, p. 83; Eze C, ‘The role of CSOS in promoting human rights protection, mass atrocities prevention, and civilian protection in armed conflicts’, Global Responsibility to Protect, 8, 2016, p. 263; Godsäter A, ‘Civil society and regional governance: Knowledge production and issue-framing around SADC’, Journal of Civil Society, 11, 1, 2015, p. 106; Godsäter A & F Söderbaum, ‘Civil society participation in regional social policy: The case of HIV/Aids in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Global Social Policy, 17, 2, 2017, p. 126; Iheduru O, ‘Civil Society and Regional Integration in West Africa. Partners, Legitimizers, and Counter-Hegemonic Actors’, in Fioramonti L (ed.), Civil Society and World Regions. How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014, p. 142; Kinyunyu S, Strengthening Civil Society in the EAC: Sharing Experiences with Other RECs, annual EACSOF report, 2009, <http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/files/Final%20EACSOF%20Report.pdf>; Matlosa K & K Lotshwao, ‘Political Integration and Democratisation in Southern Africa: Progress, Problems and Prospects’, EISA Research Report, 47, 2010, p. 49; Millstein M, ‘Regionalising African civil societies: Lessons, opportunities and constraints, The Nordic Africa Institute, 2015, <http://nai.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:790494/FULLTEXT02.pdf>; Musa AI, ‘Civil society and the implementation of the ECOWAS agenda’, Legislative Digest, 11, 3, 2017, p. 5, http://cislacnigeria.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CISLAC-March-2017-Newsletter-pdf.pdf; Odhiambo M, Towards Greater Civil Society Participation in the East African Community: Challenges and Prospects. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 2010, p. 89; Olonisakin F, ‘ECOWAS and civil society movements in west Africa’, IDS Bulletin, 40, 2, 2009, p. 109; Reiss M, “Make It a People’s Integration!” The Role of Organized Civil Society in the Regionalisation Process of the East African Community. Marburg: Tectum Verlag, 2014, p. 93; Söderbaum F, ‘Regionalisation and civil society: The case of southern Africa’, New Political Economy, 12, 3, p. 319; Zajontz T & A Leysens, ‘Civil Society in southern Africa – transformers from below?’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 41, 4, 2015, p. 7.
29 ECOWAS Commission, Economic Community of West African States: Revised Treaty, Abuja, 2010, p. 45.
30 Iheduru O, ‘Civil Society and Regional Integration in West Africa. Partners, Legitimizers, and Counter-Hegemonic Actors’, in Fioramonti L (ed.), Civil Society and World Regions. How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014, p. 142.
31 African Minds, The Civil Society Guide to Regional Economic Communities in Africa. New York: Open Society Foundations, 2016, p. 83.
32 Ibid., p. 6. The ECOWAS Authority comprises ECOWAS heads of state and government and forms the apex of the organisation’s governance structure. Member states assume the chairmanship of the Authority on an annually rotating basis. Apart from the Authority, the executive branch of ECOWAS also comprises the Council of Ministers as well as the Commission. The minister in charge of ECOWAS affairs in the country that holds the chairmanship of the Authority is automatically conferred chairmanship of the Council of Ministers. The final element of ECOWAS’ executive branch is the Commission, headed by the President of the Commission who is appointed by the Authority for a four-year term.
33 WACSOF (West African Civil Society Forum), website, accessed 29 October 2018, <http://www.wacsof.net/index.php/en/about-wacsof>.
34 Iheduru O, ‘Civil Society and Regional Integration in West Africa. Partners, Legitimizers, and Counter-Hegemonic Actors’, in Fioramonti L (ed.), Civil Society and World Regions. How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014, p. 143.
35 World Vision Africa, Civil society organisations and the African Union towards a continental advocacy strategy for World Vision, 2007, <https://sarpn.org/documents/d0002580/5-CSO-AU_Africa_Report_Apr2007.pdf>.
36 African Minds, The Civil Society Guide to Regional Economic Communities in Africa. New York: Open Society Foundations, 2016, p. 83.
37 Musa AI, ‘Civil society and the implementation of the ECOWAS agenda’, Legislative Digest, 11, 3, 2017, p. 5, <http://cislacnigeria.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CISLAC-March-2017-Newsletter-pdf.pdf>.
38 Iheduru O, ‘Civil Society and Regional Integration in West Africa. Partners, Legitimizers, and Counter-Hegemonic Actors’, in Fioramonti L (ed.), Civil Society and World Regions. How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014, p. 145.
39 Eze C, ‘The role of CSOS in promoting human rights protection, mass atrocities prevention, and civilian protection in armed conflicts’, Global Responsibility to Protect, 8, 2016, p. 263.
40 Ibid., pp. 263–4.
41 Olonisakin F, ‘ECOWAS and civil society movements in west Africa’, IDS Bulletin, 40, 2, 2009, p. 110. For a similar assessment see Bappah HY, ‘ECOWAS protagonists for peace: An internal perspective on policy and community actors in peacemaking interventions’, South African Journal of International Affairs, 25, 1, 2018, p. 83.
42 Odhiambo M, Towards Greater Civil Society Participation in the East African Community: Challenges and Prospects. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 2010, pp. 11–2.
43 EAC (East African Community), Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, Arusha: EAC, 2007, p.1.
44 Ibid., p. 13.
45 Odhiambo M, Towards Greater Civil Society Participation in the East African Community: Challenges and Prospects. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 2010, pp. 65–6.
46 African Minds, The Civil Society Guide to Regional Economic Communities in Africa. New York: Open Society Foundations, 2016, p. 40.
47 Odhiambo M, Towards Greater Civil Society Participation in the East African Community: Challenges and Prospects. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 2010, pp. 12–3.
48 Interview with Edith Kibalama, Director of the Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development, 27 August 2018.
49 EACSOF (East African Civil Society Organisations’ Forum), 'The Voice of Civil Society in East Africa’, website, accessed 29 October 2018, <http://eacsof.net/>.
50 Odhiambo M, Towards Greater Civil Society Participation in the East African Community: Challenges and Prospects. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 2010, p. 14.
51 Interview with Edith Kibalama, Director of the Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development, 27 August 2018.
52 Otondi ST, ‘Civil Society Organisations in the East African Community (EAC) Integration Process, Life & Peace Institute, 2016, accessed 2 September 2018, <http://life-peace.org/hab/civil-society-organisations-in-the-east-african-community-eac-integration-process/>.
53 Odhiambo M, Towards Greater Civil Society Participation in the East African Community: Challenges and Prospects. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 2010, p. 13.
54 SADC (Southern African Development Community), ‘Declaration and treaty of the SADC’, 1993, <https://www.sadc.int/files/8613/5292/8378/Declaration__Treaty_of_SADC.pdf>.
55 SADC-CNGO (Southern African Development Community Council of Non-Governmental Organisations), ‘Vision, mission, objectives’, website, accessed 10 November 2018, <http://www.sadc-cngo.org/index.php/who-we-are/who-we-are>.
56 Godsäter A, ‘Civil society and regional governance: Knowledge production and issue-framing around SADC’, Journal of Civil Society, 11, 1, 2015, p. 106.
57 Zajontz T & A Leysens, ‘Civil Society in southern Africa – transformers from below?’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 41, 4, 2015, p. 7.
58 Southern Africa Trust, Draft Proposal on SADC Mechanisms for Engagement with Non-State Actors, 2014, <http://www.southernafricatrust.org/docs/SADC-Mechanism-of-Engagement-with-NSAs.pdf>.
59 Matlosa K & K Lotshwao, ‘Political Integration and Democratisation in Southern Africa: Progress, Problems and Prospects’, EISA Research Report, 47, 2010, p. 41.
60 Ibid., pp. 21–35.
61 Ibid., p. 41.
62 Quoted in: Godsäter A, ‘Civil society and regional governance: Knowledge production and issue-framing around SADC’, Journal of Civil Society, 11, 1, 2015, p. 108.
63 Ibid., p. 110.
64 Ibid.
65 Plenk S, Regionale Integration im sub-saharischen Afrika. Eine Analyse von EAC, SADC and ECOWAS. Berlin: Springer, 2014, p. 236.
66 Godsäter A & F Söderbaum, ‘civil society participation in regional social policy: The case of HIV/Aids in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Global Social Policy, 17, 2, 2017, p. 126.
67 Godsäter A, ‘Civil society and regional governance: Knowledge production and issue- framing around SADC’, Journal of Civil Society, 11, 1, 2015, p. 110.
68 Godsäter A & F Söderbaum, ‘civil society participation in regional social policy: The case of HIV/Aids in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Global Social Policy, 17, 2, 2017, p. 126.
69 Ibid., pp. 127–30.
70 ECOWAS granted observer status to NGOs in 1994 while the EAC followed suit in 2000. See ECOWAS Decision A/DEC.9/8/94 Establishing Regulations for the Granting to Non-Governmental Organizations the Status of Observer Within the Institutions of the Economic Community of West African States (1994), as well as Art. 3(5) and 3(6) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, which entered into force on 7 July 2000.
71 This point was brought to my attention by an anonymous reviewer.
72 Interview with Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, executive director of The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), 4 September 2018.
73 Interview, Guy Aho Tette Benissan, regional coordinator of the West African CSO umbrella organisation Reseau des Plates-Formes Nationales d’ONG d’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre (REPAOC), 24 September 2018.
74 Interview with Chris Maina Peter, EACSOF’s second President, 4 September 2018.
75 Interview with Edith Kibalama, Director of the Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development, 27 August 2018.
76 Interview with Bob Libert Muchabaiwa, previously Research, Advocacy and Policy Manager, SADC-CNGO, now Social Policy and Economics Specialist, UNICEF Malawi, 27 August 2018.
77 Zajontz T & A Leysens, ‘Civil Society in southern Africa – transformers from below?’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 41, 4, 2015, pp. 9–10.
78 Godsäter A, ‘Civil society and regional governance: Knowledge production and issue- framing around SADC’, Journal of Civil Society, 11, 1, 2015, pp. 106–7.
79 Godsäter A & F Söderbaum, ‘Civil society participation in regional social policy: The case of HIV/Aids in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Global Social Policy, 17, 2, 2017, pp. 130–1.
80 East African Civil Society Organisations’ Forum, ‘Regional Synopsis Report on Civil Society Operating Environment in East Africa’, 2014.
81 Iheduru O, ‘Civil Society and Regional Integration in West Africa. Partners, Legitimizers, and Counter-Hegemonic Actors’, in Fioramonti L (ed.), Civil Society and World Regions. How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014, p. 150.
82 I would like to thank one of my anonymous reviewers for bringing this point to my attention.
83 Interview with an anonymous former EAC official, 28 September 2018.
84 Janah Ncube, formerly SADC Directorate for Policy, Planning, and Resource Mobilisation, quoted in: Godsäter A, ‘Civil society and regional governance: Knowledge production and issue- framing around SADC’, Journal of Civil Society, 11, 1, 2015, p. 109.
85 Interview with Chris Maina Peter, EACSOF’s second President, 4 September 2018.
86 Interview with an anonymous former EAC official, 28 September 2018.
87 Interview with Morris Odhiambo, former President of the East African Civil Society Organisations Forum (EACSOF), 24 September 2018.
88 Interview with Chris Maina Peter, EACSOF’s second President, 4 September 2018.
89 Interview with Edith Kibalama, Director of the Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development, 27 August 2018.
90 Interview with Bob Libert Muchabaiwa, previously Research, Advocacy and Policy Manager, SADC-CNGO, now Social Policy and Economics Specialist, UNICEF Malawi, 27 August 2018.
91 Interview with Alice Mogwe, Director of The Botswana Center for Human Rights, 12 September 2018. The limited literature on SADC-CSO interaction comes to a similar conclusion – see Godsäter who notes that SADC’s ‘state-centrism has greatly influenced state–civil society relations, to the detriment of CSOs. Many governments in the region, for example, in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Mozambique, have an innate distrust of civil society and often undermine its ability to play a meaningful role in democracy and development. Therefore, a number of SADC member states do not welcome collaboration with CSOs. The above has great repercussions on the regional level. Regional integration in southern Africa has historically been the preserve of states and governing elites, and popular participation in regional integration frameworks has been very weak’. See Godsäter A, ‘Civil society and regional governance: Knowledge production and issue-framing around SADC’, Journal of Civil Society, 11, 1, 2015, p. 106.
92 Interview with Bob Libert Muchabaiwa, previously Research, Advocacy and Policy Manager, SADC-CNGO, now Social Policy and Economics Specialist, UNICEF Malawi, 27 August 2018.
93 Olonisakin F, ‘ECOWAS and civil society movements in west Africa’, IDS Bulletin, 40, 2, 2009, p. 109.
94 Hartmann C, ‘Leverage and linkage: How regionalism shapes regime dynamics in Africa’, Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft, 10, 1, 2016, p. 94.
95 Interview with Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, Executive Director of The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), 4 September 2018.
96 Iheduru O, ‘Civil Society and Regional Integration in West Africa. Partners, Legitimizers, and Counter-Hegemonic Actors’, in Fioramonti L (ed.), Civil Society and World Regions. How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014, p. 143.
97 Olonisakin F, ‘ECOWAS and civil society movements in west Africa’, IDS Bulletin, 40, 2, 2009, p. 111.
98 Ibid., p. 110.
99 Interview with Bob Libert Muchabaiwa, previously Research, Advocacy and Policy Manager, SADC-CNGO, now Social Policy and Economics Specialist, UNICEF Malawi, 27 August 2018. Secretariat officials often point out the legal constraints preventing them from pushing for a substantive involvement of CSOs in SADC affairs, see Zajontz T & A Leysens, ‘Civil Society in southern Africa – transformers from below?’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 41, 4, 2015, pp. 9–10.
100 Interview with an anonymous CSO official, 12 September 2018.
101 Ibid.
102 Interview with Bob Libert Muchabaiwa, previously Research, Advocacy and Policy Manager, SADC-CNGO, now Social Policy and Economics Specialist, UNICEF Malawi, 27 August 2018.
103 Matlosa K & K Lotshwao, ‘Political Integration and Democratisation in Southern Africa: Progress, Problems and Prospects’, EISA Research Report, 47, 2010, p. 46.
104 Interview with Morris Odhiambo, former President of the East African Civil Society Organisations Forum (EACSOF), 24 September 2018.
105 Ibid.
106 Ibid.
107 African Minds, The Civil Society Guide to Regional Economic Communities in Africa. New York: Open Society Foundations, 2016, p. 22.