PROGRAMMES
The Faith and Justice Programme
The Faith and Justice Programme is the heart of JCTR’s Organizational values, as it provides a faith based approach to achieving social justice for all. The overall objective of the Programme is that Citizens and institutions are inspired by gospel values, effectively care for the environment, prudently utilize public resources, and promote social justice for all. It primarily relates to economic, social and cultural rights of all citizenry. The program operates and produces various publications such as JCTRs bulletin based on a set of values which include; human dignity, option for the poor, social justice, discernment, rootedness, simplicity and transparency. In addition, the program wholeheartedly deals with all human rights and governance with particular interest of the most marginalized sections of society. Through research, advocacy, education and consultancy the program analyses public documents like the Public Order Act, make submissions to parliament as the starting point of advocacy.
The Faith and Justice Programme
The Faith and Justice Programme is the heart of JCTR’s Organizational values, as it provides a faith based approach to achieving social justice for all. The overall objective of the Programme is that Citizens and institutions are inspired by gospel values, effectively care for the environment, prudently utilize public resources, and promote social justice for all. It primarily relates to economic, social and cultural rights of all citizenry. The program operates and produces various publications such as JCTRs bulletin based on a set of values which include; human dignity, option for the poor, social justice, discernment, rootedness, simplicity and transparency. In addition, the program wholeheartedly deals with all human rights and governance with particular interest of the most marginalized sections of society. Through research, advocacy, education and consultancy the program analyses public documents like the Public Order Act, make submissions to parliament as the starting point of advocacy.
Social and Economic Development Programme
The Social and Economic Development (SED) Programme of the JCTR is one of the core programmes whose overall objective is to see an improved political and economic governance that is responsive to the needs of the poor and marginalized in Zambia. The Programme engages with government using findings from the Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) in order to promote the formulation and implementation of socially compatible and poverty reducing policies. The Programme further seeks to promote a transparent and accountable public financial system in Zambia through the review and advocacy for reform of the public financial policy framework. The Programme ensures that the application of public funds in selected development areas is monitored through, among other things, analysis of the Auditor General’s Report.
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The Social and Economic Development (SED) Programme of the JCTR is one of the core programmes whose overall objective is to see an improved political and economic governance that is responsive to the needs of the poor and marginalized in Zambia. The Programme engages with government using findings from the Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) in order to promote the formulation and implementation of socially compatible and poverty reducing policies. The Programme further seeks to promote a transparent and accountable public financial system in Zambia through the review and advocacy for reform of the public financial policy framework. The Programme ensures that the application of public funds in selected development areas is monitored through, among other things, analysis of the Auditor General’s Report.
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The Outreach Programme
The JCTR Outreach, which began as an avenue to help mobilize the populace to participate in the call for Zambia’s external debt cancellation, has, over the years, come to mirror what JCTR does at national level. Mirroring what JCTR does has meant involvement in education and advocacy activities both at local and national levels. Outreach activities initially began in five districts of Kasama, Ndola, Mongu, Monze and Livingstone and later extended to Kabwe.
The Outreach Teams that comprises an average of 15 volunteers per team have conducted activities which include:
Currently, JCTR Outreach has been scaled down to four; Kasama, Kitwe, Mongu and Livingstone where it intends to have full time JCTR employees in charge of these offices. Previously, only Kasama, Livingstone and Mongu had full time employees manning offices on a pilot basis.
Some Significant Achievements that JCTR contributed to over the last 30 years
Moving Forward
· Enhance the pace of implementation of the 2017 – 2019 strategic plan and reposition the organization to participate in governance issues. Issues such as peace building particularly in the light of the 2021 general elections and prudent use of public resources in the context of highly publicised corruption cases will remain key to JCTR in the years to come.
· Strengthen the Centres’ resource mobilization strategies – with many grant partners moving away from basket funding to specific funding, JCTR is facing challenges in meeting its administrative as well staff costs. There is therefore need to mobilize more resources to enable the Centre continue meeting its objectives
The JCTR Outreach, which began as an avenue to help mobilize the populace to participate in the call for Zambia’s external debt cancellation, has, over the years, come to mirror what JCTR does at national level. Mirroring what JCTR does has meant involvement in education and advocacy activities both at local and national levels. Outreach activities initially began in five districts of Kasama, Ndola, Mongu, Monze and Livingstone and later extended to Kabwe.
The Outreach Teams that comprises an average of 15 volunteers per team have conducted activities which include:
- Education and advocacy activities to pressure for effective and transparent public finance governance system (e.g. loan contraction, national budget, fiscal decentralization),
- Campaign to promote domestic trade policies that impact positively on the people’s productive capacity, especially the poor,
- Campaign to promote policies for the improvement of urban households’ capacities to afford basic needs,
- Promote political ethics and constitutional respect for human rights e.g. through the demand to include Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Bill of Rights, a campaign that in 2016 saw the holding a Referendum
- Promote accountability among duty-bearers by conducting social audits on schools and clinics so that the funds allocated to various projects are used for the intended purpose.
Currently, JCTR Outreach has been scaled down to four; Kasama, Kitwe, Mongu and Livingstone where it intends to have full time JCTR employees in charge of these offices. Previously, only Kasama, Livingstone and Mongu had full time employees manning offices on a pilot basis.
Some Significant Achievements that JCTR contributed to over the last 30 years
- Cancellation of Zambia’s debt- April 2005
- User fees in primary school dropped- 2005
- Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) which existed as a Project of the JCTR is set up as a separate NGO- 2005
- Expansion of the JCTR Basic Needs Basket (BNB) from Lusaka to several other towns- 2005
- Rural Basket launched- November, 2007
- Spreading of the BNB to other countries in Africa- 2007/08
- JCTR is awarded, the Jubilee Global Leadership Award”- 18 October, 2008, presented in New York, USA
- JCTR is awarded the “Drivers of Change”-Civil Society Award”- 23 October, 2008, presented in Johannesburg, South Africa
- CST Calendar distributed country-wide in Zambia as a National Liturgical Calendar and translated into French for use in some countries in French Speaking Africa-2008 and 2009
- JCTR Outreach Programme grows beyond focus on debt to include mirror what JCTR at national level does; advocacy on socio-economic issues in their contexts and national-wide- 2008
- Contributed to the advocacy to hold a referendum to expand the Bill of Rights in the Zambian Constitution to include Economic, Social and Cultural Rights- 2016
- Enjoyed a sense of legitimacy among the public and government for our sound research and integrity in our work of social justice. Thus, we called upon to input into various processes that shape policy
- BNB contributed to the public debate on policies such as removal of maize and fuel subsidies, the revision of the minimum wage and the statutory instrument on conditions of service for domestic workers in 2012.
- BNB informed the Centre’s budget submissions to the Ministry of Finance, which, in turn, contributed to the zero rating of wheat products, among others, by the government in the 2013 National budget.
- The Ministry of Labour and Social Security invited the Programme to participate in the process of further determining sector based minimum wages
Moving Forward
· Enhance the pace of implementation of the 2017 – 2019 strategic plan and reposition the organization to participate in governance issues. Issues such as peace building particularly in the light of the 2021 general elections and prudent use of public resources in the context of highly publicised corruption cases will remain key to JCTR in the years to come.
· Strengthen the Centres’ resource mobilization strategies – with many grant partners moving away from basket funding to specific funding, JCTR is facing challenges in meeting its administrative as well staff costs. There is therefore need to mobilize more resources to enable the Centre continue meeting its objectives