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Do
NGOs have a role in ending Zimbabwe's crisis?
Sokwanele
March 10,
2006
http://www.sokwanele.com/articles/sokwanele/dongoshavearoletoplay_10march2006.html
Political crises
are normally resolved by political processes worked out by politicians
and their supporters.
But the failure
of Zimbabwean political parties to find a way through the maze where
we have lost ourselves, induces one to look in other directions.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become a major force
in our society - could they not show us the direction and lead us
back to political sanity?
NGOs are the
direct descendants of charitable and welfare organizations, but
they have evolved in different directions so that they now present
a wide variety of programmes and structures. For the sake of clarity
we can group them into three broad categories. First we have what
can still be referred to as welfare organizations, devoted primarily
to assisting individuals who have failed to achieve the basics of
a decent life on their own - orphanages, old people's homes, soup
kitchens, feeding programmes and shelters for the destitute and
street kids, and AIDS and counseling organizations. Secondly there
are the development organizations, engaged in income generation
and capacity building for communities to promote sustained economic
growth. Examples of these are Plan International, ORAP, and micro-finance
lending organizations such as Zambuko Trust. Third, and generally
more recently on the scene, are the civil society organizations.
These concern themselves in one way or another with issues of governance
and policy formation and implementation. Some focus on specific
interest groups. Here we find the human rights groups, civic educators,
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), those promoting democracy
or specific policies such as the Women and Land Lobby Group or the
Community Working Group on Health.
Just as the
animal kingdom encompasses both insects and elephants, NGOs come
in all shapes and sizes; some are home-grown, others are internationally
connected. In all three categories we have faith-based or church
related organizations as well as others which are purely secular.
Many cross over the category boundaries, with objectives in two
or even all three broad areas. An environmental NGO may teach water
harvesting for rural development but may also be engaged in lobbying
for more effective environmental protection legislation. An integrated
rural development organization may facilitate leadership training
and human rights education while teaching the scientific application
of fertilizer and running a school feeding programme.
In spite of
the differences, all NGOs share certain common features and face
a number of common dilemmas. First, they all originate from a vision,
ideological or otherwise, of an improved society, social justice
if you will, where individuals can satisfy their basic needs and
strive to achieve their human potential. They are based on idealism.
Second, virtually all depend on foreign donors. Third, all must
negotiate a position within the parameters drawn by government policy.
Balancing these three conditions can be tricky.
While NGOs of
the first two categories (welfare organizations and development
organizations) share the vision of a just society, their methods
of achieving it usually do not involve direct action relating to
governance. Their role in the present crisis has often been simply
to keep people alive and help them to adapt to the new environment
as well as they can. It is the civil society organizations to which
we turn to find a direct role in impacting on the crisis. Can they
assist?
Our response
to this question will be influenced by our analysis of what is wrong
and how it must be corrected. If it is simply to put a new political
party into power, then that is best left to political organisations.
But most civil society organizations have recognized that the problem
is not just ZANU PF's criminality. The problem lies deep in the
society itself which has permitted such an aberration of democratic
governance to develop and survive. The solution can not therefore
be found simply by replacing the present governing incumbents by
others, no matter how genuine or even angelic they may appear. The
lessons of Zambia, Malawi and Kenya are not lost on Zimbabweans.
And the current rupture in the MDC reinforces them. ZANU-like tendencies
toward the corrupt use of power exist everywhere in Zimbabwe. They
have almost become part of our culture.
If we identify
the problem not just as a need for a new governing party, but as
a need to create a whole new democratic culture from the grassroots
upwards, then civil society organizations do have a key role to
play. In most developed societies, state education institutions
teach the fundamentals of democratic practice - through both theoretical
and practical lessons. But the ZANU-ised government institutions
have forfeited the opportunity to play this role as they have become
rather tools of oppression, mistrusted by the people.
What can civil
society organizations do? A variety of possibilities exist, depending
on the particular focus of each organization. All are essential
to the development of a new democratic dispensation. Here are some
suggestions:
- Civic education
organizations can promote a cultural revolution towards democracy
through work at the grassroots. The aim would be to bring people
to an understanding of participatory democracy, to a knowledge
of their rights and a willingness to claim them, while respecting
the rights of others. One of the reasons that ZCTU was in the
forefront of the push for change in the 1990's was that they had
already gone a long way with this educational work.
- Information
and legal organizations can expose the failings in the present
governance by:
- Research
and publication of information on a wide variety of issues,
including abuses of rights, corruption and policy failures
- helping
people to seek justice through the courts where their rights
have been abused
- Membership
organizations can provide examples of democratic practice in their
own structures, giving people the necessary experience of democratic
leadership, democratic decision-making, transparency of financial
accounting, respect for rights and tolerance for differing opinions,
where the emphasis is on argument and persuasion rather than manipulation,
intimidation and violence to promote one's views.
- Special interest
organizations can develop model legislation such as constitutions
and policies on issues such as land, foreign trade and production
modes, challenging people to imagine a better future and think
both creatively and critically towards it. The development of
models needs to be accompanied not just by campaigning but also
by discussion and production of alternatives, so that people fully
understand the range of possible policy choices.
- Membership
organizations and coalitions of civil society organizations can
mobilize the people to demonstrate and express their dissatisfaction
with the present situation and their determination to resolve
it in a democratic direction. This builds people's confidence
and ensures their participation in the process of change.
- They can
also inform and lobby foreign governments, NGOs and international
organizations, bringing formal complaints to human rights bodies
and courts, thus building international pressure on the government
for change.
- Peace-building
organizations can work at grassroots to help heal the wounds of
hatred and intolerance and encourage people to respect each other's
humanity and work together to achieve common goals
- At a transitional
stage, all forms of civil society organizations can participate
in interim measures and negotiations to prepare the way for a
constitutional conference and internationally supervised elections.
The road we
have to travel to establish genuine democracy in Zimbabwe is a long
and winding one. Civil society organizations can help through all
these activities and many others to take us along that road towards
a shared vision of social justice.
But there are
problems and dangers along the road which must be overcome. Just
as these organizations may share a common idealism so they face
many common problems which work to undermine their contribution.
- Donor
dependence
Virtually all civil society organizations are donor funded.
Donors have their own goals and expectations and give funds because
they want them to be put to a specific use. The process of designing
project proposals, budgeting, persuading donors, and then reporting
in detail is an important and useful discipline. However, the
dependence leads to a deep insecurity and can also distort programmes
as organizations tailor their proposals to known donor interests.
- Bureaucracy/loss
of idealism
Many Zimbabwean organizations have been well supported by
foreign donors, who have provided funds for comfortable offices,
smart vehicles, hi-tech equipment, training courses and even regional
and international travel. Through the past inflationary years
it is the NGOs with foreign funds which have been best able to
raise salaries, while government and even the private sector have
lagged behind. Gradually NGOs have become the preferred place
of employment for all types of trained personnel. Comfortable
employees find difficulty in risking their good fortune by implementing
policies which could put them in government's spotlight and might
threaten the very existence of the organizations they serve. Hence
even civil society organizations become conservative in their
outlook, keeping to safe programmes which will not jeopardize
their infrastructure and jobs. Some lose the will to spearhead
change altogether.
- Egotism/power
complex
All human beings have weaknesses, whether they work for government
or for NGOs. There is always a temptation for capable individuals
who find prominence within the NGO world to become distracted
by their own sense of self-importance. This leads them to ignore
democratic interactions in their organizations and in their relations
with the people on the ground. Instead of working with the people
they begin to use them as a force to push their own agendas, without
allowing the people to develop the necessary skills to enable
democracy to grow.
- Infiltration
The strongest civil society organizations are those with membership
throughout the country, but they are also perceived as the most
threatening by government. These are organizations such as ZCTU,
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights), the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA), Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and the Zimbabwe
National Students Union (ZINASU). Membership organizations can
easily fall victim to the individual who simply wants a position
in order to establish a power base for his or her own aggrandizement,
or even to access funds which can be appropriated. But more dangerous
is the government agent who is planted within the organization
for the purpose of causing havoc and rendering it incapable of
carrying forward its programmes. By their very openness membership
organizations are vulnerable, but even non-membership organizations
can be debilitated by infiltration.
- Government
restrictions
It has long been the practice for welfare organizations to
register with the Department of Social Welfare to establish their
legitimacy in the eyes of government. But this has never been
a legal requirement and many civil society organizations have
simply registered trust deeds with the High Court under a common
law procedure. As the ZANU PF government has become increasingly
totalitarian, it has sought to exert control over all NGOs by
requiring registration.
It
could then refuse to register any "undesirable" organization, rendering
its operations illegal. The notorious NGO Bill specifically targets
civil society NGOs which are concerned with "issues of governance".
These would be excluded from receiving any foreign funding. Even
before the law is passed, we can observe some organizations adjusting
their programmes in the hope of not being refused registration.
Should the current draft become law, civil society organizations
will have to decide individually whether to cease operations or
devise other ways of continuing their work. Few, considering the
elements of donor dependence and bureaucratization, would have the
will or the means to continue, and many would simply close down.
The
challenge to civil society organizations, their boards and their
staff as well as their donors, is a tough one. While they cannot
directly bring the much needed political change they do have a vital
role to play in guiding Zimbabweans through the maze towards the
establishment of a genuinely democratic society. Only in such a
context can we enjoy economic development which leads to prosperity
for all. However, the way will be long and perhaps dangerous, and
those who believe there are any quick fixes are bound to be disappointed.
Positive achievements will not be made unless the organizations
and individuals within them rise above their own personal needs
and ambitions and are prepared to work, and even sacrifice, for
the common good. Let us hope they will have the skill, commitment,
moral courage and endurance to navigate through the rocks and survive,
in order to fulfill their important mission.
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