Zambia: Are NGOs Relevant in Zambia?

Source: allAfrica

RECENTLY China passed a contentious new law giving police wide-ranging powers over overseas charities and forbidding them from recruiting members or raising funds in the country, prompting an immediate outcry.

At least 1,000 foreign Non governmental organizations (NGOs) are thought to operate in China, including development charities such as Save the Children, advocacy groups including Greenpeace, chambers of commerce and university centres.

The law, which comes into force in January, gives police the right to endorse the registration of all foreign NGOs.

The Chinese case is a wakeup call for African countries many which have a myriad of such organisations championing all causes from human rights to building toilets.

Are NGOs relevant in African countries like Zambia?

I feel a number of them are irrelevant and just worsen the problems they are supposed to address, though there are a few that are genuine.

In Zambia, there is a range of local and foreign NGOs - from self-help associations to national societies and federations.

They may seek to address issues related to health, HIV/AIDS, gender, human rights or the environment working in partnerships and coalitions.

However, though it is difficult to pin point which ones are irrelevant, I would suggest that most NGOs especially those dealing with governance and culturally-related issues should be banned or reorganised to invest in research before they could be allowed to operate.

Several scholars have scrutinised NGOs to ascertain their relevance in relationship with the far-fetched claims they make in alleviating problems affecting societies where they operate.