Citizen-Leader Contact Apathy In Botswana And Tanzania: Examining Its Implications For Good Governance Practices
Cliford J. Ringo, Mogopodi H. Lekorwe

Abstract
Citizen contacting is the practice of getting in touch with acting government officials with either requests for services or complaints. Unlike other contacts directed to varied government officials, citizens’ contacts with political leaders have received less attention from scholars with no apparent explanations. This paper analyzes the results obtained in the survey made by Afrobarometer in 2011-2012 with regard to citizen-leader contacting. Tanzania and Botswana has been picked as case studies. The findings show apathetic behavior amongst the citizens to contact their political leaders including local government councilors and members of parliament (MPs). We presuppose in this paper that communities are facing multitude of problems which can rarely be resolved if they are not timely addressed. In most cases they must be reported to the leaders who would ultimately address them or forward them to other relevant authorities hence making contacting pivotal. The paper highlights possible implications of such contact apathy for good governance practices. It further provides a conclusion, some recommendations and finally opens up areas for further research.

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