IN recent times, the media has been inundated with reports of global market recession otherwise known as the credit crunch. The impact of this global phenomenon is already being felt by both individuals and organisations in developed and developing economies.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for instance, recently reported that even the world’s richest and investment gurus like Messrs Warrant Buffet and Bill Gates have suffered significant losses in their investments, following the stock market meltdown on the Wall Street.
The Information Communication and Technology(ICT) magnate, Bill Gates had his fortunes decline by $18 billion while Mr. Buffet who until this year was the world’s richest person, lost over $25 billion and consequently slipped to the second position on the Global Billionnaires Rich List.
The notorious collapse of investment giants like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch are very fresh on the minds of people in the developed markets particularly those who have lost their jobs.
As expected, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) world wide are scaling down their activities with its attendant problems like job losses that have affected some staff.
Among the NGOs that have been reportedly affected are Oxfam GB, the Opportunities Industrialisation Centres International (OICI), and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
In Tamale, it is on record that 108 NGOs have registered with the Department of Social Welfare to operate in the Metropolis as well as other parts of the Northern Region to bring relief to the rural poor.
Most of them have confessed that the global market recession was affecting their activities as they could no longer meet their targets. This might in one way or the other affect beneficiaries of interventions from these organisations.
It is however refreshing to note that some of the NGOs in Tamale have started re-strategising to cope with the current effects of the credit crunch.
A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans and credit or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks.
It equally means there is a reduction in the availability of credit independence of a rise in official interest rates. Many times a credit crunch is accompanied by a flight to quality by lenders and investors as they seek less risky investments often at the expense of small to medium size enterprises.
In the midst of this gloomy picture, some NGOs in Tamale and for that matter the Northern Region like the Ghana Network for Peace Building (GHANEP), the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) and the Northern Ghana Network for Development (NGND) have placed emphasis on generating their own funds rather than depending on donor funding.
It is worthy to note that the NGOs have over the years contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of the people in their operational areas. Sectors such as education, health, provision of potable water, credit facilities for income-generating activities among others have for instance experienced some growth and donor support through the NGOs.
It is on record that some rural communities do not know about the existence of a central government because of the heavy presence of some NGOs in those communities.
Figures show that School for Life for instance, has supported over 100,000 children in the three Northern regions to acquire formal education up to the secondary level.
Hafiz Muntaka, the acting National Network Co-ordinator of GHANEP, indicated that his outfit was fine tuning its activities to focus on conflict interventions and transformation.
“Even before the credit crunch, we were facing financial constraints, that is why we are changing the focus of our activities to raise more funds” he observed.
Established in 2002, GHANEP is to primarily prevent, transform and resolve conflicts through a co-ordinated effort of peace building organisations and individuals in the country. The organisation is operational in six regions namely, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Volta and Ashanti.
At the moment, the CCFC has also curtailed its six-year strategic plan towards addressing the needs of children in deprived communities. For over a decade, the CCFC Ghana office has been supporting children and families regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds to enable them to break the cycle of extreme poverty and replace it with a cycle of self-reliance.
Indeed, the curtailing of programmes by CCFC could have serious effects on children in Tamale and the entire region in terms of provision of educational materials and construction of Early Childhood Development Centres.
The Communications Manager of the CCFC, Mr Justin Bayor, minced no words when he said that “our support base is dwindling and it means we cannot achieve our targets”.
He further explained that the organisation could no longer construct rain water harvesting tanks, health facilities, household latrines, and Early Child hood Development Centres because of the credit crunch.
“CCFC is therefore re-strategising with the aim of generating funds internally to continue its programmes; but we are not folding up, “he noted.
In view of the current state of affairs globally, one is tempted to ask whether there is any hope for the rural people and the NGOs themselves or whether there is a way out of this current global economic shock.
For one thing, it is refreshing to note that some NGOs foresaw the effects of the crunch and have already put in place some interventions to mitigate them. That in itself is commendable and shows the vision and foresight exhibited by some NGOs in Tamale.
Some suggestions have been put forward by some analysts of the crunch.
The Executive Secretary of the Northern Ghana Network for Development, Mr. Ismail Lansah, has for instance advised NGOs to go into Rights Based Development programmes in order to survive the global recession.
The Secretary explained that there has been a paradigm shift from depending on donor funding for service delivery to Rights Based Approach (RBA) programmes even before the crunch started.
Rights-based Approach involves making communities aware about their roles and responsibilities in holding the government accountable to the provision of social amenities.
According to Mr Lansah, if any donor agency would provide funding to any organisation now, then it would be channelled towards supporting RBA programmes.
Unfortunately however, the development worker contended that most of the local NGOs do not have the capacity to engage in the RBA programmes. He explained that for instance, NGOs would need high calibre of competent staff who are experts in managing and carrying out RBA programmes.
“Majority of indigenous NGOs and Community-Based Organisations are excellent in community mobilisation and service delivery at the grass roots; they are yet to optimise their skills in RBA programmes,” Mr Lansah further observed.
One pertinent question worthy of consideration is: Why are International donor agencies now interested in the RBAs?
The first reason, according to Mr. Lansah, is that donor agencies are supporting organisations in Ghana which venture into RBA programmes due to the fact that the country has earned respect from the International Community regarding its stable political environment and the subsequent consolidation of her democracy. The other reason is that donor agencies are now venturing into what is termed the “Multi Donor Budget Support System” where government budget is funded directly by donors for the provision of social amenities.
What are the implications of this paradigm shift in donor support for local NGOs in Tamale?
They are not far- fetched because such a situation apparently means that there would be less money for NGOs to go into direct service delivery at the community level. Therefore, Think tank groups like the Centre for Policy Analysis, Institute for Democratic Governance, the Integrated Social Development Centre and the Institute for Policy Alternatives that have already taken the lead in designing Rights Based development programmes would be doing something meaningful. This is because they would be engaged in programmes that are eventually tailored towards community sensitisation to ensure that government is accountable to the people in the provision of social amenities.
In order to survive this crunch phenomenon, some development workers have suggested to NGOs the critical examination of government’s pro-poor policies such as the free maternal care programme, and the Livelihood Empowerment Action Programme (LEAP) to sensitise communities to demand accountability from duty-bearers.
One is therefore tempted to ask whether there is light at the end of the tunnel in spite of the credit crunch?
If those suggestions by analysts in Tamale are anything to go by, then it means the NGO sector that undoubtedly drives the economy of the Metropolis and for that matter, Northern Ghana, would survive whether there is a global recession or not. This means there is hope for the rural poor if the NGOs tailor their programmes towards community sensitisation to demand accountability from duty-bearers regarding the provision of social amenities by government.
However, the NGOs must be innovative in designing new programmes to avoid duplication of functions.
Indeed, some residents of the Northern Region have raised concerns over duplication of functions by some NGOs, unco-ordinated programmes and the lack of an effective monitoring system to check cases of alleged abuse of funds meant for the poor.
The Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Mr. Jacob Achulo for instance, argued that the lack of effective monitoring machinery was affecting efforts at assessing the impact of NGO activity on the socio-economic lives of the rural people.
“Some of the NGOs operate on the quiet for several years in the region without registering their organisation until when the time comes for them to access credit facilities and funding from abroad, then they come rushing to us for registration and the subsequent acquisition of certificates,” Mr Achulo noted.
Some development workers have however indicated that there is a monitoring system in place.
For instance, Mr Lansah contended that an NGO Standards Commission had been set up at the national level where NGOs are scrutinised by professionals and experts in the field. The programme is being funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Apart from this, donor agencies usually engage the services of international consultants to monitor and evaluate programmes of NGOs using their own proposals on the objectives and expected achievements of their activities.
The ultimate aim of such a monitoring mechanism is to ensure that funds made available commensurate with service delivery provided by NGOs in their respective operational areas.
Whatever the case may be, issues of accountability are very critical to accelerated development and enhancing the quality of life of people particularly in the rural communities.
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