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"speaker_name": "Mr. Lesrima",
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"legal_name": "Simon Saimanga Lesirma",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this good policy Paper. I also wish to thank the Minister for bringing this Sessional Paper and hope that he will come up with a Bill once this is adopted by the House. The Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Kenya do a good job. We are told that they are very many but the biggest problem is the question of accountability. To whom are they accountable? The NGOs are neither accountable to the donors and well-wishers from abroad nor are they accountable to the Government and the communities. This Sessional Paper brings out these issues and tries to, in a very humble way, see how some kind of regulation and relationship can be brought about without the Government creating Governmental NGOs. The Paper also seeks to ascertain how the Government uses NGOs and how the NGOs work with the Government. The Paper comes out very clearly that the Government can use the NGOs. It should also incorporate NGO activities and utilise them as resource and vice versa . Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the biggest problem also is the question of rationalisation of the presence of NGOs in the districts, particularly those that are vulnerable to cattle rustling, drought and famine. There is also proliferation of NGOs in those areas yet there is no rationalisation. Sometimes there is overcrowding of NGOs in those places. There is, therefore, need to harmonise the activities of these NGOs. The policy Paper talks about the NGO Council. We have been aware of the NGO Council for some time but when we hear of it, the impression we get is that it is a Nairobi outfit which is managed by a few people. We do not see the relationship between the Nairobi outfit and the outfit in the constituencies. We do not see the NGO Council having any effective supervision or regulation at the grassroots. We need to emphasise that in our legislation. Even the registration of Community Based Organisations (CBOs) as NGOs, sometimes is a five-minute activity. It is under the Ministry for Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services. I do not understand why. I know that there is a form that you can fill and take round to various Ministries. If you want to start a CBO, the chief stamps your papers. You can also forge a District Commissioner's stamp. There is also the officer from the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services who also does the job and you can get a certificate within one day. That also requires to be regulated. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, at the district level, there is need for the NGOs to network and come together to self-regulate in terms of a code of conduct. This should be public and imposed at the local district level. The NGOs should come together and have a local NGO sort of network which will assist them to avoid duplication of efforts. If they are involved in water, health, food distribution or education, they need to avoid duplication of efforts. Duplication of efforts brings about wastage in resources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the District Steering Group (DSG) is chaired by a 2112 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 13, 2006 District Commissioner, and comprises heads of departments of various Government Ministries. Representatives of some NGOs operating in certain districts also form membership of the DSG. Some NGOs have larger budgets than our Government departments at the constituency level. I know of a certain NGO, which has a budget of Kshs48 million per year in my district. But it is not a member of the DSG. So, NGOs undertaking education and health related projects should be members of the DSG so as to harmonise their activities with Government Ministries on the ground. It is important to bring on board the activities of all NGOs in a district to avoid duplication of efforts. Having code of ethics for the NGO sector is also very important. There should also be a way of enforcing such ethics. NGOs should be audited by the NGO Council either from Nairobi or at the operational level. There must be a way of checking their activities to ensure that they conform to a code of ethics. In today's democratic world, all of us are required to be transparent and accountable. Public officers are required by law to declare their wealth. I do not see any reason why NGO officials should also not declare their wealth. I know that in ceratin remote districts such as my district there are resources from abroad channelled through NGOs. I also know that there is massive siphoning out of funds meant for development activities by some NGOs. I am sure if an audit of NGOs is carried out, it will reveal that 70 per cent of resources meant for development activities are invested elsewhere. Some NGOs from Great Britain are provided with funds for development activities in Samburu, or the Maasai land in general, but you will find some people running these NGOs like personal outfits. They are accountable only to themselves and nobody else. Board members of these NGOs are illiterate and cannot prevent resources from being misused by NGO officials. There is need for the NGO representatives to declare their wealth as is the case with the public officers. We should monitor closely the activities of NGOs operating in remote areas of this country. This is because they often end up becoming cash cows. Some people form NGOs to take advantage of our problems. Some NGOs are formed to deal with peace issues but they are not interested in conflict resolution initiatives. In fact, they will perpetuate conflict, so that there is a continuous flow of funds from donors. In this way, conflict becomes their cash cow. There are also other NGOs formed to prevent development in our rural areas. They also block legislation. For instance, last time some NGOs tried to block the enactment of the Wildlife Management Bill. We were not able to pass this Bill in this House because of interference by NGOs. Some animal lovers in New York and London channelled funds to NGOs to make sure wildlife is taken care of at the expense of our communities living with it. Activities of NGOs should be regulated through legislation. In conclusion, we should provide legislation to guide winding up of NGOs. I have seen some large NGOs in my constituency, which own large assets and other resources wind up and then reinvent themselves after a couple of years. We must make provisions for winding up of NGOs, so that upon winding up their assets revert to the communities among which they operate. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}