Malawi NGO Board draws Chinese lessons from hard work and patriotism
The NGO Board of Malawi has said that the country can benefit from the NGO sector if it emulate the regulatory framework that is in China.
This was said by the NGO Board Director of Programmes, Kamwana Muyaya after a three week seminar on NGO Capacity Building for Developing Countries in China.
Muyaya said that NGOs in China demonstrate high sense of patriotism, hard work and insistence for progression in their daily undertakings and stated that Malawian NGOs would progress in poverty alleviation if they emulate the Chinese example.
“The interesting thing is existence of an effective multi-sectorial approach to development with respect to NGO work. Almost all programmes implemented by NGOs are harmonised and linked to particular public services entrusted by government. In contrast, Malawi NGOs are less aligned to national planning frameworks and lack policy framework. In the end, we see in the communities’ duplication of efforts by NGOs, concentration of NGO efforts in one particular area leaving out other areas,” he said.
Muyaya added that effective implementation can be through local councils which will prioritise the needs of the citizenry in that particular council. H
He said that when citizens are consulted on what their needs are, they own development initiatives and as such the programmes and projects become successful.
“In Malawi, NGO programming is done top down or in other circumstances programmes are imported from foreign capitals. It is an open fact that District Executive Committees (DEC) of local Councils, are made to review projects that are already approved, with base line research that was done elsewhere, and whose funding has already hit the NGOs bank account. This kind of approach renders local Councils with no option but to rubberstamp the programmes,” he added.
“NGOs raise funds in the name of Malawians therefore the raised funds become public funds and attract public scrutiny. All NGOs must account for the funds raised on behalf of Malawians. NGOs must be transparent and account on how they used the funds raised for Malawians. Malawians must know how much money was raised in their name, and how it was used. That is what the NGO Board does on behalf of Malawians,” he said.
China sets the agenda and is in charge of all developmental matters. It establishes the regulations for all players to follow in every sector of the economy and therefore views NGOs as partners in development and treats them as such. All NGO work is seen to complement the government effort to develop, a better China for all and therefore NGOs follow the regulations set by the government.
According to Executive Vice President of China foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Mr. Wang Xingzui, a strong regulatory environment subjects non-governmental organizations to annual audits before renewal of certification to ensure prudence and credible partnerships.
Wang further said provincial Bureaus register and locate impoverished citizens, households and needy locations for proper targeting and this avoids uncoordinated targeting of beneficiaries by Non-Governmental Organizations while they are able to choose who and where to help.
He said while cases of mismatch of assistance and needs hamper efforts in Malawi, lessons can be drawn from China where the poor are categorized in line with needs and assistance.
Since the down of multiparty democracy, Malawi has been flooded with NGOs working in different sectors of Health, education, agriculture, and human rights among others who have done a tremendous job in service provision and promoting human rights although some NGOs have poorly performed and swindled donors or beneficiaries.
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