June Editorial
The World of International Cooperation
From collaborative service to a "Boss" attitude
How much nostalgia for times past, when an International Donor sought humanitarian service providers for the benefit of the most vulnerable communities and with the desire to grow in a healthier environment.
The local NGOs, knowledgeable about the life of the countryside and with long technical and social experience in rural development for each expression of interest, responded with all the will and carried out sustainable programs that remained in the memory of the local communities, as a mark of a common will for development!
Programs were carried out to support communities affected by the social destabilization caused by the civil war;
Rural development programs were carried out, emphasizing the increase of Production and Productivity with the guarantee of production throughout the year, facilitating the fight against malnutrition.
Programs were carried out to fight HIV-AIDS and other endemic diseases, creating a new awareness of how to face these diseases and transmitting positive results to the new generations.
Micro-finance programs were carried out, guaranteeing a myriad of solidarity groups that with the concept of savings gave a guarantee of social and economic growth for the poorer classes.
Environmental Defense programs were carried out with actions of reforestation and repopulation of mangroves and applications of Government Laws that oblige private investors to collaborate with their social responsibilities in the investment.
Programs have been carried out to promote the most vile strata: women, girls, young people, and children, always seeking a continuum of this type of humanitarian action.
Water and Sanitation programs were carried out in order to guarantee "water for all" considering that Mozambique is a country that can have enough water for all... and modify and assume new habits of family and community sanitation.
Programs for the application of energy resources were carried out, introducing innovative instruments to families and communities, such as the reintroduction of windmills, the introduction of solar panels, solar energy pumps, and micro-systems for water distribution.
And all these programs have always been carried out with all the administrative and financial rules, with periodic Monitoring and Evaluation, with the involvement of the direct beneficiaries and with the collaboration of experts in the field of development, offered by the Donors to better carry out programs, the result of imitation of the best practices spread in the world of Development Cooperation.
In short, the Donors and their intermediate representatives felt the problems that affected the poorest classes and were in need of support, lived closely with the problems of underdevelopment, and fought with us for accelerated and integrated growth in view of a radical change in the situation of poverty!
BUT, after a few years, I am referring above all to the great donors, the situation of collaboration has been crumbling and becoming ever more absurd and lacking in social spirit. All cooperation is dominated by great financial concern, by accepting in the realization of social and development programs only qualified cadres and with Masters, as if they were competitions for university or legal chairs.... Or construction ventures.
The themes of the Promotion of Women, the Fight against Absolute Poverty and Malnutrition, the Defense of the Girl, the fight against illiteracy, the insertion of young people in working life, environmental defense, and the social and economic sustainability of the most vulnerable communities, among others, are THEMES and remain without great interest on the part of the Donors... but strong dominance of the great machine of financial control, which determines and occupies their attention entirely.
To all this is added another attitude, considered absurd by all those who carry out development programs in the field, and that is the procedures for disbursing funds.
What does that entail?
Payments of emoluments, bank guarantee payments, anticipation of funds by national NGOs, and return of anticipated funds only after monitoring on the ground and verification of the correct use of funds, subject to non-acetate of part of the values.
It follows that
- each national NGO, once the collaboration proposal has been accepted, must anticipate all the funds of each tranche and be reimbursed only after a minimum of 5 to 6 months of delay, prior to acceptance of all invoices submitted!
- each national NGO must by virtue have a large capital, otherwise it must resort to bank loans with interest, not reimbursable!
In short, the risks of postponement of activities, payment of back wages, and inability to maintain a healthy environment accumulate... with permanent risks of inflation and loss of funds, always in favor of the NGO Nacional... and at the same time with the accumulation of unused funds that turn in favor of the Donor who finds himself with funds for other opportunities of "exploitation".
And all this, in the name of the holy dedication of the Donors, is always available to help the poor country that needs everything to grow and get out of absolute poverty, returning all the blame to the National NGOs, weak to execute sustainable programs!
It is a real shame of the behavior of international cooperation!
It needs to unmask all this and return to the times of mutual esteem and joint collaboration between the donor and the executor of integrated rural development programs!
There needs to be an equal behavior of esteem and service between the Donors and the executors of programs, be they national or international!
You need to listen again to the anxieties of the beneficiary communications and give them the ability to grow by valuing all their own strengths!
To attract and engage everyone, especially young people, in the same cause of development!
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Yours Sincerely,
Dominic Liuzzi,
National Director of KULIMA.
