Align with Bottom-Up agenda, PS Omollo tells donors

Principal Secretary, State Department for Internal Security and National Administration Raymond Omollo during a presser at the Gelian hotel in Machakos town on August 2, 2023. [John Muia, Standard]

The Interior Ministry has raised concern over what it termed as the prevailing misalignment of international donor aid management systems among Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Public Benefits Organizations (PBOs) operating in Kenya.

In a press statement dated September 8, 2023, the Principal Secretary in the Interior Ministry Dr. Raymon Omollo stated that in its review, the government has established that the model is leaning more towards meeting the interests of donor countries than supporting Kenya’s national development agenda and priority needs.

“This is not only ineffective but also impairs the ownership of development plans for Kenya, as the host country. Further, it has the potential of weakening our capacity to accurately monitor and manage donor aid management in the best interest of our national security,” the statement read in part.

At the same time, the PS stated that despite the Government recognizing the critical role donor aid plays in our socioeconomic development, it is keen on mutual accountability between the host country and its development partners.

“The aid architecture must comply with the global best practices and the established regulatory frameworks,” he added.

The Government has already written a notice to all NGOs and PBOs in the country to comply with the requirement and align their operations with Kenya’s development priorities as captured in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

If followed, the PS says it will guarantee greater partnership and synergies among different parties working in the aid industry to ensure that donor aid is not only producing better impacts for Kenya but also benefits local communities.