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"speaker_name": "Mr. Shakombo",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for National Heritage",
"speaker": {
"id": 244,
"legal_name": "Rashid Suleiman Shakombo",
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"content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, this House adopts Sessional Paper No.1 on Non-Governmental Organisations laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 28th June, 2006. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the draft Sessional Paper being presented is a culmination of five years of wide consultations, jointly undertaken by the Government and civil society organisations. These consultations were done both locally and abroad, especially in those countries with strong civil society backgrounds and which have gone through similar experiences as what we have been through. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as you are well aware, the NGOs Coordination Act of 1990 became operational in 1992, before any policy studies were done on the sector. As a result, the Act has a lot of gaps, which has made the management of civil societies in this country very cumbersome. Secondly, the civil society in this country has grown tremendously and now covers almost all sectors of our economy, and every corner of this country targeting the poorest of the poor. With this phenomenal growth over the last 40 years, my Ministry felt the need to come up with a well thought-out policy that will create an enabling environment that will allow civil societies play their meaningful roles in the national plans. To do this, it was imperative that a comparative policy review be done and a new Sessional Paper be developed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Sessional Paper has looked at all areas of the civil society and come up with policy guidelines which, when implemented through Parliament's blessings, will:- (i) Provide an enabling environment for the civil societies to operate under. (ii) Address some of the fears expressed by the civil societies. (iii) Enable the Government to manage the societies effectively. (iv) Enable civil society organisations to be more accountable and transparent, both to their donors, recipients and our society at large. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Sessional Paper is divided into two parts. The first part, which covers chapter one to three, looks at the whole spectrum of: Introduction of the sector, historical background to the sector, the need for policy in the sector, the objective of such policy for the sector, core values of NGOs and the current status of NGOs in Kenya. The second part proposes 11 policy guidelines which we hope, if implemented, will go a long way in harmonising the organisations in the sector with other sectors like the private and public sectors. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, at this point, let me highlight some of the main objectives of this draft Sessional Paper. These are:- (i) This will provide an operational definition of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) so that all non-state actors in the voluntary sector can be taken care of. For example, SDOs, SCOs, pressure groups, CBOs, et cetera . (ii) This will enable for the provision of a broad framework for legal and institutional arrangements to facilitate operations of NGOs in Kenya. 1936 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 6, 2006 (iii) To propose registration procedures which are transparent and will facilitate better co- ordination of NGOs while, at the same time, safeguarding the freedom of association. (iv) To strengthen relationships and networks between the Government and the civil society, including the NGOs. (v) To enhance mechanisms for collaborative relations between NGOs, the Government, funding agencies and other stakeholders. (vi) To propose and facilitate mechanisms for Government support to NGOs such as funding NGOs activities and contracting NGOs to implement projects on its behalf. (vii) To promote transparency, accountability and awareness among NGOs themselves, the Government and other stakeholders involved in the sector. (viii) To facilitate exchange and flow of information on NGO activities in order to maximise utilisation of resources, share experience and findings. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this policy will be the basis for the laws to govern the operations of NGOs in Kenya for now and posterity. As I have already indicated, the second part of the Sessional Paper is, indeed, giving policy pronouncements so that the above objectives could be realised. I am counting on the House to give this important sector a new lease of life through the support of this draft Sessional Paper. With those few remarks, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move."
}