PAC’s   History  on  Public Dialogue  and Consultations

Malawi   lacks debate on   contentious   issues. PAC’s   interventions therefore  aims  at  enhancing  public  dialogue in  order  to  develop  a  shared minimum  agenda on  contested  issues. Previously, public  dialogue  was being  enhanced  through  what  was  known  as  “Roundtable  Conferences”  on  Electoral, Political  and  Economic  issues  –  an  idea  that  UNDP-Malawi  bought   and  supported  PAC  in  1995. Since  then  PAC  held  such  public  dialogue  meetings to  allow  stakeholders   discuss  contentious  issues  under  one  roof.  In  2012  PAC  rebranded  the  Conferences  as  “ All-Inclusive  Stakeholders  Conferences”  with  three  main  objectives – to  hold  authorities  and ourselves  accountable; to  generate  issues  for  advocacy  and lobbying; and  popularizing  ideas  on  contentious  issues  such  as  third term constitutional bid  of  2001  and  calls  for  federalism. Since   then PAC   has generated   various recommendations and resolutions.  Most notable ones   are   those   documented   in 2016 which led to PAC-Government Technical Team dialogue   exercise. As  a result  of  the latter, an  agreement was secured  to  reform the electoral  law  in particular  to  bring to  bear  50%+1 electoral law  but  also  change  the Local  Government  Act.

This  component  entails enhancing  public  dialogue in  order  to  develop  a  shared minimum  agenda on  contested  issues  for  advocacy and lobbying. So  far  the  following  have  been  carried  out:

  1. First All-Inclusive  Stakeholder  Conference  , Limbe  Cathedral  March, 2012
  2. Second All-Inclusive  Stakeholders  Conference , Mount  Soche, October, 2012
  3. Third All-Inclusive  Stakeholders  Conference, Mount  Soche, February, 2014
  4. National Stakeholders  Forum   on  Inclusivity  and  Federalism, November, 2014
  5. Fourth All-Inclusive  Stakeholders  Conference, January 2015
  6. Regional Fora on  Inclusivity  and  Federalism , 15-24  June, 2015
  7. Firth All-Inclusive Stakeholder  Conference
  8. 5+1 All-Inclusive  Stakeholders  Conference