Of corrupt entities and NGOs: Part One By Nondumiso Sibanda I HAVE been following very closely the whole ‘Salarygate’ scandal. I am a patriotic and concerned citizen of the State and I am happy that we have begun doing something about it. The coverage that the press has been giving on this topical issue is worthy to note. There is no ubuntu in one earning US$230 000 while subordinates and some people are suffering. The guiltiest individuals being the board members who allow such ridiculous salaries to go on without taking note of the nation’s GDP. In the midst of this pandemonium of events and even more salary scandals being revealed, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector as usual, is busy applying for more funding from donors justifying that Zimbabwe is a corrupt State. The country is so corrupt that it needs more funding to stop the corruption, they say. You see one person’s poison is another person’s meat. While the majority of Zimbabweans are still hurting over this scandal, another group, the NGOs, are busy having a party because such revelations mean more funding for them. They are opportunists and I guess this would not be a problem to me if I knew that there was some form of passion attached to this great joy. There is no passion at all and for NGOs, they will continue to be in business as long as the status quo remains. I already know of a couple of NGOs that have started receiving funding from donors to unearth more ‘Salarygate’ scandals and to start having workshops with the different institutions especially the city councils. One such organisation is Transparency International which is holding workshops with the Harare local council. This organisation has been there for a long time and the question I have is why have things not changed, but gotten worse? You see as much as the likes of these organisations claim to be around to put an end to corruption, they often do not yet they continue receiving more and more funding from the donor community. Both the donors and the NGO continue having opportunities for work as long as the status quo remains. The solution is not having this entity that is NGOs and donor agencies, but is to have Africans solving their own problems as Africans. In this case, Zimbabwe needs to come up with its own solutions based on its cultural context. Going back to our foundational values of ubuntu/unhu and not just ending at naming and shaming. You see once again these are Western paradigms and they never work for African nations because they are not accepted by people. So money and more money is poured into NGOs for work that has been proven a failure. thepatriot.co.zw
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 15:25:22 +0000
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