A watchdog for society

There is need for civic education particular amongst NGO leaders. Civil society proper is citizen’s organizations. Civil society is NOT in government. It is out there struggling. Dorthe Mortensen interviews Elkanah Odembo

A: The political transition started back in 1988-90 when Kenya moved from a one party system to a multiparty system. At that time civil society was everything else than KANU. It was NGOs, faith based organizations, grassroots movements, trade unions, women organizations and political parties. One and all came together in response to a very authoritarian government and demanded a multiparty state with space for people’s participation in governance. Once this was achieved civil society moved to the next phase and began talking about democracy and the need for a new constitution.

So, when Moi blocked the initial constitutional process during the 2002-election, and NARC promised to deliver a constitution within 90 days coming into power, civil society started mobilizing resources for what we saw as a progressive non-ethnic force, an opportunity to change the government and a way to push the constitutional process. Some of us sat in NARC office until midnight helping to draft their manifesto and do secretarial work. So, when they now tell us “we didn’t say this, we didn’t say that” we know better…

This is how NARC came into power with a very progressive agenda, but without ideology. They came together out of convenience and because of a common enemy.

 Q: Did civil society as well come together out of convenience and because of a common enemy?

 A: Not as much as the politicians! When I was agitating for change it wasn’t about removing Moi, it was about changing a system of government that wasn’t providing development for people.

 Q: How would you characterize the relationship between government and civil society today?

 The government recognizes civil society. In the opening of the constitutional review process at Bomas the president said, “If it was not for civil society we would not have been where we are today”.

 But civil society must remain civil society. We must stop the nonsense of civil society going into government. It is a pile of crap. We have a few NGO leaders who got into parliament and who got cabinet positions, but that is it!

 There is need for civic education particular amongst NGO leaders. Civil society proper is citizen’s organizations. Civil society is NOT in government. It is out there struggling. The role of civil society is that of being watchdog for society. Some believe that because civil society has a few people in government we should become friends, but civil society is not meant to be friends with government. By the same token: when people leave civil society and become part of the government, we can not expect them to continue to think and behave like civil society, then they would be failing in their responsibility as state functionaries.

 It is mistaken to expect that professor Wangari Maathai is going to lead a demonstration to Kahura Forest; she is a minister in the government. She has a particular responsibility preserving the forest, but working from within the government. But don’t expect that forests are not being cut down. Civil society must act as watchdog – no matter who is in the presidency or cabinet.

 Q: How does the relationship between government and civil society affect the self-image of civil society organizations?

 A: The nature of government doesn’t matter for civil society. Even if you helped it to power, you are not its bodyguard! The government has its own machinery to care for and preserve itself. Civil society must continue to create space for citizens as an independent intermediate body.

 We have 2700 registered NGOs with the government. These are the organizations I refer to as intermediaries. These are organizations run by professionals like me. If civil society really is to take of, we need a space where the intermediary NGOs link with proper citizens organizations. Once we find this space and we make sure that NGOs and the citizens organizations are together, I believe we can say: THIS is the voice of the people.

 Q: The 2700 intermediary organizations are they all needed to create the link to the citizens of Kenya?

 A:  Some are certainly not needed. Those that are not effective, those that don’t have a clear purpose and vision – they need not exist. But given the level of development and the amount of work to move this society out of poverty, NGOs are needed. The government can never do it on its own.

 Q: In your view, how have international donors influenced the role of civil society during the political transition and after?

 A: In the late 80^th and early 90^th we had a situation where the Kenyans got very disillusioned with the government. So did the international bilateral donors who withdraw their support to the state. Instead resources were channeled through civil society. Naturally the number of NGOs mushroomed and a lot of bogus NGOs emerged.

 When we got a new government everyone was excited. We got the right people in government – the progressive, smart and well-educated people who were saying the right things. The donors couldn’t ask for a better deal. The NARC manifesto, the Economic Recovery for Wealth and Employment, the free education system – the entire right thing were set in motion. What option did donors have but support such a government?

 But in their excitement the donors forgot that a government is a government, is a government! It doesn’t matter how good they look, smell or feel there must always be a private sector and a civil society that is active and vibrant. That mix is needed for a society to grow and flourish. You can’t have a strong government and a weak private sector and civil society. And vice versa. It is a lesson that donors need to appreciate.

 If the minister of justice Kiraitu Murungi is the one championing human rights – there is a problem! States all over the world tend to be the number one perpetrator of injustices, the number one violator of human rights. No matter how progressive a government is donors ought not to say, “We know you have a good human rights program, therefore, the resources we gave to civil society, is now given to you”. Rubbish! The state is the state, and the state will always protect its own interest and that of the political elite.

 Q: During the 10-year period when almost all donor funds were channeled through civil society poverty rose in Kenya. Today civil society is criticized for its lack of impact on poverty reduction. Is the criticism valid?

 A: Yes. NGOs have not had their act together. NGOs have been disoriented. They have not realized that they need start thinking as a sector, not as individual entities. And they have to sort out their governance. In general and strong terms I would say that NGOs are poorly managed, poorly governed, and the leadership is poor.

 No doubt, there are some excellent NGOs in this country. If it wasn’t for the present of NGOs in parts of this country people wouldn’t have access to agricultural and livestock extension service, education, roads and basic social services. But we need to move beyond that and ask what is our role and how we can impact society in terms of being the third leg of society (state and market). That is what this sector, that I feel so strong about, has not yet figured out.

 Civil society needs to show it is adding significant value to society. We have to move beyond the subsistence level. The NGOs have to strategic changing economic and power relations. Too many NGOs are just happy to do something, somewhere. So, we promote tree planting or train health workers. But it is a first aid approach to development without really getting to the underlying causes of poverty.

 I see two major levels. One of making sure that the interventions are about moving people out of poverty. The other one is engaging at a national, level with government and challenging government policies.

 Let us see a situation where we, every year before the minister of finance releases the budget, convene a public forum on district and national level at which we examine how our government allocated its money, if the money actually reached the people of Kenya and in what proportion.

 I believe it is a primary responsibility for civil society to engage the government at that level. The government has public resources; we must be able to ask how they were spent and what impact they had. The government is not going to ask itself that. And if international donors are truly concerned, someone must remind them that they need to be able to monitor how the government is spending money. And they cannot rely on the government itself.

 Q: Looking at the current situation of civil society, do you dare to forecast the future of civil society organizations?

 A: At the moment the NGOs are only accountable to the people who give them money. If the urban middleclass professional NGOs doesn’t make a connection with the citizens organizations and define what kind of future we want for this society and how we can hold each other mutually accountable, the poor will be poorer and the marginalized even more marginalized.