Staff Writer
17 November 2007
Arusha — So what will happen once donor communities start channeling funds to governments instead of sending such aid directly to Non-government organizations and other civil society institutions that work at community level?
The about 40 community workers, who met in Arusha this week, foresee a bleak future in community development issues in Africa, taking into consideration the unnecessary bureaucracy that state organs in the continent 'enjoy' practicing.
"The situation has never been that good in the past, as most NGOs were being watched skeptically by governments but it may get worse if the organizations lose control of funds," Father Peter Mpiganjira from Malawi pointed out. Other delegates agreed with him.
They however agreed that poverty in Tanzania and surrounding countries can only be eradicated if governments, donors and civil society organizations work together, but channeling funds to government may give African states unbridled powers to do almost anything, including harassing NGOs that do things they don't support.
"Civil society organizations work close to the people, now their problems first hand and when planning for budgets this is always taken into account," said Baraka Mwabenga a participant from Tanzania.
The sessions were coordinated by Christin Overrams the Secretary General of CIDSE.
Delegates from CIDSE (an alliance of 15 Catholic development organizations from Europe and North America) and Caritas Europe, as well as Tanzanian civil society representatives and government officials, who were meeting at the MS-Training Center for Development Cooperation (TCDC) in Usa-River area, pronounced their perspectives and experiences in this cooperation to make aid work for the poor.
The increasing recognition of the importance of local ownership in development cooperation has led international donors to develop new aid instruments, such as direct budget support. However, the delegates wondered whether these changes will give a better voice to the local people on their own communities' development.
As far as they are concerned, the opportunities and challenges set by these new trends in development are still unclear.
In this changing international aid environment, the CIDSE and Caritas Europa seminar brought together the diverse range of development actors to debate the implications of the new trends in development cooperation.
Discussions focused on Southern civil society's policy dialogue with their respective governments and the international donor community; their access to sustainable funding and the ways to strengthen cooperation amongst different development actors.
Seminar participants included civil society organizations from across Europe and their partners in five African countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia, as well as government representatives from the region and donor representatives (African Development Bank, European Commission Delegation, European Member States aid agencies, UNDP, World Bank).
Caritas-Europa is the umbrella organization of the European network of 48 Caritas member organizations, working in 44 European countries. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas International.
Caritas-Europa focuses its activities on policy issues related to poverty and social inequality, migration and asylum within all countries of Europe, and issues of emergency humanitarian assistance, international development and peace throughout the world.
CIDSE on the other hand, is an international catholic network for development policy and development cooperation.
Founded in 1967, it promotes cooperation among its members in their efforts to eradicate poverty and establish social justice. CIDSE members share a common vision for advocacy and development programmes based on the values articulated in Catholic Social Teaching.
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