The questionable relevance of some NGOs and CBOs

The ideal role of non governmental organisations (NGOs) and community based organisations (CBOs) in a developing country like Rwanda is to work as a useful friend and partner of the Government in supporting its efforts and those of other actors, to bring about positive social change. NGOs and CBOs which know so and carry out their role should be commended. Those which do not should wake up to the dictates of their mandate and play the right role to be relevant. Otherwise they are not relevant. The wake up call is also to NGOs and CBOs which specialize in advocacy but in a way reminiscent to fighting Government policies instead of constructively advocating for better ones or influencing better ones. For the sake of peace and tranquillity, there should be no rivalry whatsoever between civil society and Government over issues of making the country better. Working in rivalry or competition with Government in any way, for whatever reason or excuse, defeats the meaning and purpose of NGOs or CBOs. It unfortunately makes their existence questionable, turning them into a liability instead of an asset. For which reason, NGOs and CBOs should revisit their mandate and work in partnership with Government, in line with the country’s National Development Plan and the related activities, to assist her to make her rightful share of contribution to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At all times, all NGO and CBO plans, programmes, projects and activities must be consistent with the country’s National Development Plan. To be so, they should have a copy of such plan in their offices and refer to it often. They should also consult with the Government continually on the same and work hand in hand with it to know the social development gaps in different parts of the country and their magnitude, so as to know where their services are much needed. Then will they rightly support Government efforts to provide required services efficiently and effectively in appropriately needy communities. Doing so also helps pinpoint the right share of contribution each NGO or CBO should make to enhance the planned national developmental goals and objectives in a particular area. In fact, relevant plans, programmes, projects and activities of NGOs and CBOs should be a translation of the country’s National Development Plan objectives. Contrary to that is similar to implementing national development plans of another government or shadow government, to say the least. Likewise, both the central and the relevant local governments should know which NGO or CBO is where, when and what it is doing for purposes of coordination. A situation where an NGO or CBO carries out its work without the knowledge of the central and relevant local governments, for whatever reason, must be avoided. For that is devoid of the virtues of good partnership in development. Regular reporting of work and donor funds flowIn order for the Government, donors and other actors to know the progress of the work of NGOs and CBOs in the respective areas of the country, NGOs and CBOs should have a regular system of reporting about it monthly or quarterly. They should do so through meetings or by electronic means or otherwise and communicate the same promptly to the concerned, including Government. The reporting should include funds received from donors, so that Government particularly local governments know money received by particular NGOs and CBOs for projects in their respective areas of jurisdiction. NGOs and CBOs should in addition submit all statutory reports in time to facilitate Government planning, decision making and control. Doing so will also enable NGOs and CBOs to remain in good partnership with the Government to the extent of Government recommending some to donors for funding. They will also rightly avoid putting themselves in unnecessary trouble of causing Government and donors to guess about their work instead of being sure of it. Mark you, guessing leads people to guess wrongly. Avoid duplication of efforts in registration It is also necessary that Government authorities responsible for registering NGOs and CBOs streamline their policy in such a way not to allow NGOs and CBOs being registered to do similar things in the same locality to avoid duplication of efforts. It also wastes the local community’s time, involving them more than once for similar things such as participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) and participatory urban appraisals (PUAs). Worst of all, the presence of more than one NGO or CBO in the same locality, doing the same things, causes unnecessary rivalry between them culminating to mudslinging and show offs to the community as to which one is better than the other, persuading the community to work with one and ignore the other. Public Private Partnership Although it is the responsibility of Government to provide needed social services to its people, it is not possible for it to provide such services adequately in time. Limited resources and sometimes bad planning, corruption or lack of good and sincere leadership make it impossible. That is why and when NGOs and CBOs become relevant. These are the gaps NGOs and CBOs should look for and fill, in full knowledge of the Government particularly the local government. Inadequate resources force the Government to postpone doing certain things for its people until a later date when resources are available. For instance, it may postpone tarmac king a very important road though notorious for causing motor vehicles being stuck for many days or hours every rain season. It may also postpone building a health centre or hospital or clinic for many years despite the fact that patients travel a long distance of not less than 20 kilometres or so, to reach the next health centre or hospital or clinic thus risking being worse or dying on the way. It is unfortunate that such long distance also discourages expectant mothers from receiving proper prenatal and ante natal care. Consequently, the majority of them inevitably resort to delivering babies out of health facilities or clinics. They also fail to receive and or undergo relevant health checks during and after pregnancy thus heightening the risk of maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate.In order for a country to experience good governance for positive development, the public and the private sector must cooperate. For whether a section of people of the country are Government officials and another section are members of the civil society, they are people of one and same country. They have the same destiny. Good or bad, is bound to happen to both parties irrespective of their status. It should, however, be noted that Government officials constitute a much small section of a country’s population and civil society the majority. Therefore it makes sense for both parties to appreciate each other and work together complementarily in a Public Private Partnership arrangement. Projects must start at community level The fact that NGOs and CBOs work with communities through projects, they should do so by starting projects with the community at village level. They should avoid prescribing projects on to communities. For which reason, they should avoid making project proposals and even project concept papers from their offices before introducing themselves to the targeted community and before incorporating the community’s input. For starting a project with the community makes the community to own it such that it inspires it to contribute to its best, on self help basis, what is in its ability instead of depending on a donor or donors for everything. It also makes the community to boldly demand for accountability from the NGO or CBO facilitating the project, raises the community’s responsibility to protect the project’s assets during the life of the project and causes it to prepare sustaining it after funding from donors cease. Quality assurance checks necessary As a sure way of isolating bad NGOs and CBOs from good ones, Government or the national NGO network should devise or strengthen a mechanism for auditing or cross checking the existence and performance of every organisation that calls itself an NGO or CBO, whether it is registered, has a known physical address, an office, its existence is known by the relevant local government authorities in the project area and at the district, has a management structure, members of staff, written administrative and financial control regulations, written conflict of interest safeguards, has known running projects at community level, has recognised completed projects at community level, minutes of periodical meetings of the governing body such as the Board of Directors or Management Committee or similar, holds Annual General Meetings (AGMs) regularly, and has audited accounts by professionally qualified and appointed auditors. dalemuta@yahoo.co.uk