Do these foreign NGOs appreciate our priorities?

By MWANGI WACHIRA

In the article Billions at Stake Over President Uhuru Kenyatta Team’s Standoff With US, EU that appeared in The Standard on Friday, March 16, 2014, Roselyne Obala claimed the country risks losing Sh14.7 billion due to delays by the Government in signing agreements with donors.

The backdrop to the article appeared to be the recent allegation and denial that some development partners were working through local NGOs to destabilise the government. 

Through the article the government stated it was only trying to ascertain that the funds would be used for projects that are consistent with the development needs of the people.

The article could have expanded on the underlying issue: aligning aid to development priorities.

In past decades some countries gained a well-deserved reputation for funding their NGOs to work with Kenyan NGOs and civic groups to deliver aid for development especially in hard-to-reach areas.  Wells were dug; trees were planted; schools were built and supported; clinics were built and supplied; school children were given supplementary food.

Audits showed that donor-supported projects resulted in tangible and verifiable gains – schools, clinics, safe water.  Many Kenyans were grateful.

Today, a large portion of funds provided by some of Kenya’s leading development partners goes into intangible activities generally under the heading of civic education or civil society.

As the article reported, of the $50 million that would come into the country from US and EU, 60 per cent has been set aside for civic education with the balance going to other activities that lead to tangible and verifiable gains in development.

Two decades ago there was no funding category called ‘civic education’ or ‘civil society’. Today it is the primary activity of some development partners.

Our development needs have not changed. We still need good schools, health clinics, and safe drinking water. It is the priorities of the development partners that have changed. 

Therefore the government is correct in asking fundamental questions: just what does the country get from civic education? 

What is its content and how does it contribute to the welfare of the recipients?

How does it align with Kenya’s development priorities as defined by ourselves, not others?

To take a recent example, what was the concrete or tangible development impact of the estimated Sh130 billion that came into local NGOs and civic groups in the run-up to the 2013 elections? 

More broadly, are the priorities of foreign donor governments and their NGOs in sync with those of the country as reflected in such key statements of our aspirations as Vision 2030? Or do they have their own agenda?

It is these and related questions that need to be answered to the satisfaction of our government before signing agreements. Perhaps it is time for donors and development partners to go back to helping Kenyans attain their goals in development as reflected in brick-and-mortar projects that anyone can understand and appreciate. Civic education is nebulous and open to abuse or misuse for activities that reflect donor priorities rather than our own.

Dr Wachira is an Economist who retired from the World Bank