NGOS IN ESWATINI NEED FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the world over, play a key role in complimenting governments in addressing social problems affecting the poor and the marginalised. I tend to agree with those who argue that NGOs are an extended arm of government. Even those who are advocating for policy reforms play a critical role in raising government awareness on the plight of people, especially those in hard-to-reach areas.  What is a non-governmental organisation? The 2005 NGO Policy of the Kingdom of Eswatini defines an NGO as ‘a nonprofit organisation which is overseen by a voluntary non-paid Board and is registered in the country to address a development problem.’ This entails that NGOs do not make profit, but address social challenges using donated funds.

An NGO is set up by private individual(s) who see a problem affecting a section of the community, particularly the poor and most vulnerable groups, and these problems not being addressed by government. It is an entity that depends on funds from donors who may be national – companies, individuals and international donors.  NGOs are public good institutions and cannot be permanently owned by founding members, a problem that has led to the collapse of some NGOs when founding members refuse to hand over to other capable individuals.
What has led to exponential increase in NGOs in Eswatini?

Very few NGOs existed prior to independence. They included CARITAS, Save The Children, the then British Red Cross (which is now Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross), The Nazarene Mission, Catholic Church to mention a few.  There has been exponential growth of the NGOs in Eswatini as well as many countries around the world. The advent of HIV/AIDS in the 80s and its devastating effects on emaSwati in the 1990s, led to the surge in NGOs operating in Eswatini. These included international, national, community based and faith based NGOs.
Other development challenges include deepening poverty; unemployment; lack of access to education; human rights violations; evictions; gender based violence; disasters, such as the 1991 food crisis caused by drought that was regarded as the worst in living memory; environmental challenges including climate change and its impact on weather patterns in Eswatini and many parts of the continent and globally, just to mention a few.

How NGOs are structured

The first key document that the founders develop is a constitution, which is a document that defines the goals and objective of an institution and why it exists.   It defines how the board is appointed, its powers and term of office and how the executive director is appointed, to mention a few. There are membership and non-membership based organisations. In membership based organisations, individuals join the organisation through a defined process which explains how members are recruited and lose their membership. Members elect the organisation’s Board.  Example of membership-based organisations includes CANGO, Family Life Association of Eswatini to mention a few. 

Non-membership-based organisations are institutions where board members are invited    based on their skills, experience and passion for the agenda the NGO pursues. In both instances, the Board plays a critical oversight role. NGOs are managed by an executive director or coordinator, with support from managers, staff and volunteers. The recruited staff is remunerated based on available funding. Many national and community based organisations struggle to access resources to pay for staff and operations.  The NGO sector is also credited for providing space and opportunities for graduates to sharpen their skills in the sector, whilst in search for jobs. Hence, NGOs are regarded as training ground.

How are NGOs funded?

NGOs depend on donations to fulfil their mission. These include individuals, companies, external/international donors. To a large extent, NGOs depend on international funding to address social problems. Unfortunately, this is the trend in many developing countries. Governments, unfortunately, are concerned that NGOs are controlled by foreign interests. Sadly, our governments are not keen to set aside funds that could be accessed by national and community based NGOs to avoid dependence on external funding.  
It is worth noting that donors in recent years have   invested in capacity strengthening of NGOs in the country. This included strengthening systems, policies and staff capacities to design, manage, monitor and report on projects. This has enhanced NGOs accountability and promoted good stewardship.

Appeal for increase in national funding

As international funding is dwindling due to global conflicts and disasters, there is need for NGOs to raise most funding locally. Hence, there is a call for governments in developing   countries to increase domestic financing. Also critical is for national   companies to increase their social investment funding whilst emaSwati who have resources should also increase   individual donations. Mother Theresa once said “Even a drop makes the ocean”. There is need for emaSwati to support NGOs financially as well as volunteer their skills.    
Please play your part!   

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