Taming NGOs

Empowering people with inclusiveness, equality, livelihood opportunities and awareness and motivating them to participate in development and progress of the society are the fundamental tenets of the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). Also know as the civil society organisations, they have the responsibility of empowering the poor, Dalits and women and other vulnerable communities and mainstreaming the marginalities groups. They are not supposed or demanded to make all these happen on their own, but they are expected to forge partnership with the government in implementing the sustainable development policies and empower people.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the empowerment and inclusion framework includes four elements viz. right and justice, participation and voice, resource and capabilities, and norms and institutions. The UNDP's latest report 'Accelerating progress: An empowered, inclusive and equal Asia and the Pacific' without empowerment of people and inclusion, it is hard to achieve the 2030 Agenda of sustainable development, commonly known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

It calls for the greater civic engagement that enables a diverse range of individuals and groups to meaningfully participate in decision making, strengthening the local ownership of solutions and responsibility for their implementation. Civil engagement is also necessary for the meaningful cooperation among the members in the society in public dialogues, implementing development projects and forging collaborations among different groups and institutions.

Since the governments don't have concrete plans or programmes for such engagements, the CSOs need to perform this duty. They should help individuals to access public resources and services, represent the voice of the people in some occasions, aware them about their rights and responsibilities, and create a bridge between the people and the government in terms of social expectations. They also can replicate the best practices of social development tested elsewhere in the world in their societies.

But, in the context of Nepal, do the NGOs meet these expectations in their words and works? Let's see the numbers. According to the UNDP report, there are about 300,000 registered NGOs in Nepal which means there are more than 10 civil society organisations for every 1,000 people, highest in the world. Nepal's regional peers like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have only 1.53 and 0.07 NGOs for per 1,000 population. 

Nepal has almost one NGO for every 10 people yet people lack awareness about their basic rights, duties and health. Girls are being raped in 'Chhaupadi', daughters are still given less priority while sending to school, marginalised communities can't raise voice for their own pathetic plight and social discrimination still exists even in the urban settlements. People living with HIV AIDA are doomed to face social stigma.

The NGOs are less successful in dealing with these issues. While some I/NGOs are working against Nepal's international policy and some are active in religious conversions. Many of the NGOs are run by family or a close group, they seldom publish economic details of the organisations or programme details.

Registered CSOs and philanthropic associations

Country	Registered NGOs	NGOs per 1,000 people
Nepal	300,000	10.40
Philippines	279,499	2.73
Bangladesh	250,000	1.53
Indonesia	250,000	0.96
Cambodia	5,000	0.32
Thailand	14,000	0.21
Sri Lanka	1,500	0.07

Source: Accelerating progress: An empowered, inclusive and equal Asia and the Pacific'

In order to change the situation, the government had proposed a National Integrity Policy with provision that NGOs seeking foreign funds should obtain approval from the Finance Ministry with the rationale of the fund. It also includes condition that no NGO should lobby in favour of any INGO that make baseless allegations against Nepal, they should get their annual activities be approved by the government, should not influence policy making and send any information/reports to foreign countries without government permission.

But, with pressure from multiple stakeholders, the government had momentarily paused the policy process. However, government sources say that they are preparing similar policy which might give some ease to the NGOs. President of the NGO Federation of Nepal Jitram Lama says it will be unfair to say all the CSOs are fraud or work against the social or national spirit. Most of them don't have chance to mobilise any funds. 

Contrary to the UNDPs report, he said that there were only 50,000 NGOs and other 50,000 community organisations. "Only 2 per cent of them have chances to mobilise foreign funds and have access to resources. Rest 98 per cent are just working on their own efforts. Keeping all NGOs in the same basket would be unfair," he said.

The government is mulling to create a powerful mechanism under the Ministry of Home Affairs to monitor and regulate the NGOs in the country. Although the NGOs criticize any such move that try to control their 'free exercise', many experts and the government say that some regulation must be in place in order to ensure that the NGOs work for what they claim and the society gets some benefit out of that exercise. 

Published in The Rising Nepal Daily's Friday Supplement on 31 May 2019.