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Opinions expressed in this column are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of SW. NGOs
Code of Conduct Indispensable to Cope Up with Certain Broken Norms “All
the Billions of Birr Poured Out into the Country Since 1973 Have Brought
No Significant Change,” Dr. Minas Hiruy Without
a transparent and accountable regulations where Non Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) should stick to meeting the requirements they stand
for, it would be laborious to make them development partners in a given
country, said Dr. Minas Hiruy, Director and Chairman of Hope Enterprise
and NGOs Code Observance Committee respectively. In
his exclusive interview with the Addis Tribune, Dr. Minas said
that almost all of the NGOs, both local and international, have been
operating in Ethiopia without a specifically stipulated Code of Conduct
and this has led to the breaking of certain norms such as abuse of
beneficiaries and staff in the sector, misuse of funds and resources and
inefficiencies of all sorts among others.
NGOs
were operating in Ethiopia prioritizing goals that they came for as some
of them came here basically compelled by the crisis in the early 70s
that resulted from a repeated drought and man-made problems. Despite
their efforts, however, according to him, it happens that certain
breakdown of norms have been observed as these NGOs are not ‘Saints’
and/or ‘Angels’. In
his report to the Code Familiarization workshop that was held on May 9,
2002, Dr. Minas said that all the billions of birr poured out into the
country since 1973 were seen to have brought no significant change in
the country. But
this, he said, is not only sins of omission by the NGOs but also because
of the tremendous problems that is observed within the society. With
this concern, the NGO community took the initiative to come up with
rules and regulations four years ago, with the objective of creating a
healthy environment with various stakeholders mainly the government and
the community. And also upgrading the service provided by the NGOs so
that transparency and accountability could be achieved. The
government has also taken it seriously and soon there would be a
legislation that would govern NGO administration in the country, he
said, adding that the NGO Code Observance Committee has recommended
having a focal agency from the government office. “This focal agency
will not only regulate but also promote and facilitate the sector.” Reacting
to the recent debate opened in the Addis Tribune some couple of
weeks ago, Dr. Minas said that as the overwhelming majority of NGOs are
good and concerned actors of development and who have sacrificed much to
a given country, then one has to be careful and substantiate
accusations, if there are troublesome activities within the sector.
“People have a right to go after the case and file a petition to the
Code Observance Committee or any other concerned government organ
including courts instead of making a blanket accusation,” he said. It
is true that, however, there might be few NGOs who are not meeting with
the requirement of norms, Dr. Minas revealed, but he said the few rotten
apples should not be an adjective for the majority of NGOs. Dr.
Minas believes a country without an NGO will not score significant
developments since NGOs are the major development partners and
instruments for the welfare of others with a motto of “I am my
brother's keeper,” he reiterated. “It does not mean that, however,
NGOs have the money pouring down on them. Unfortunately, this is the
impression that many people feel about us.” According to him some of the unfounded allegations have come due to the short-falling of funds among the NGOs. But the people should be aware that there are so many competing needs around the world while donations are narrowing and shrinking. |
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