Government to oversee NGO’s council elections in Nakuru

Cabinet Secretary Francis Kimemia. In February, he accused USAid of being involved in some activities to destabilise the Government. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

By Stephen Makabila                

N\kuru, Kenya: The government’s involvement in Saturday’s  National Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Council national elections in Nakuru is raising alarm among key stakeholders.

This is because some insiders view it as a non-independent player who will be involved in the vetting of candidates  under an ad hoc taskforce chaired by Roselyne Aburuli from the Attorney General’s  chambers. Under Aburuli’s supervision,  Edison Nyale, an Under-Secretary in the Interior Ministry,  will be in charge of vetting candidates on security matters.

“We also have an officer from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in the taskforce,” Kevinnah Loyatum, the Chief Executive Officer   of the NGO-Council, said. Loyatum believes the thematic screening of the roles of NGOs in counties would help avoid a duplication of roles.

“We want to avoid a situation where five NGOs offer a single service in a county. That is duplication. It’s not practical,” said Loyatim.

The vetting team will include one person from the Association of Professionals in East Africa and Rukia Subow, the outgoing  chairperson of the Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation (MYWO).

  Nyale said the vetting  committee was determined to weed out corrupt individuals who do not meet the integrity threshold.

“Yes, we will be vetting   all those running for  seats in the national executive, regulatory committees, and national trustees between April 15 and 17 ahead of the elections on April 19,”  he said.

 The committee will be assessing the  integrity of candidates and seeking to establish their “national values” and suitability  to champion   Vision 2030—a government blueprint to propel the country to middle level status  by 2030.

 Nyale said the government  also wants to ensure  the NGO Council and the NGO Coordination Board can work together.

 “We want to inject professionalism in the running of the NGO-Council and we have been meeting since March 26 to prepare for these elections,” added  the  former DC.

Touchy subject

Security will also be of concern to the government. This  is a touchy subject  for state agencies, and in February, Francis Kimemia, then the chairman of the  National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC), complained that USAid,   the biggest contributors to NGOs, was involved in activities to destabilise the Jubilee administration by sponsoring demonstrations by activists,     accusations USAid denied. Nevertheless, there is disquiet in some circles that some of the activities of terrorist organsations such as Al Shabaab are sponsored by foreign actors.

However, it is the secrecy of the vetting process  that  is raising concern from former council members like  Ken Wafula who wants an independent and non-partisan group involved in the vetting, particularly after recent attempts by the government to cap the funding of NGOs came a cropper. “When we held the last elections, the returning officer was the Law Society of Kenya Secretary and  CEO Apollo Mboya.

“If the current NGOs leadership cannot involve the LSK to oversee the elections, they should seek services of the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC),” Wafula said. Wafula  noted that the NGO Council was an independent entity and that in an ideal situation, only the Ministry of Devolution, as the mother ministry, and the NGOs Coordination Board, should have observers at the election.

 Former PS John Githongo is also nervous about the government’s involvement and has raised the red flag.  “Yes, we want people of integrity to be in charge of the NGO council but beyond that, the government’s attempt to interfere with the elections is extremely worrying,” said Githongo.  “The primary concern is that the current government appears to be nervous of any criticism from NGOs and others for unknown reasons,” he noted.

 The NGO Council is  a  self-regulating, non-partisan body comprising all registered NGOs in the country, numbering slightly over 9,000. But government interest in the polls is inevitable given that the NGO Council’s membership includes international, regional and national NGOs working with a host of Community Based Organisations and other interest  groups.

However, independent players in the NGO sector are worried that  government involvement   could lead to interference.

They are also fears that like in the Law Society of Kenya’s polls held in February,  external groups may try to  influence the outcome of the elections by imposing a candidate they consider compliant.

Last year, attempts were made to introduce the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill of 2013 that would have limited donor funding to local NGOs to a maximum of 15 per cent of their total budget.

The NGO sector in Kenya is a multi-billion industry, contributing immensely to development in rural and marginalised areas, but accountability, corruption and transparency queries have also been raised against some of them.

Figures from the Ministry of Finance indicate NGOs receive an average of Sh300 billion annually from donors. The question, therefore, is whether the government wants to influence how these funds are spent or seek leverage over civil society organisations that has often run afoul of the State as a critical voice on public affairs. 

 The NGO Council’s principal is to promote training and offer policy advice with a view to preserving, strengthening and promoting actions in pursuit of a more just and equitable society.

The Standard on Sunday has established that three candidates are contesting the chairmanship of the NGOs council after one withdrew on Monday. Another 50 are battling it out for the 12 positions on the National Executive Committee and 80 candidates are fighting for the 22 thematic committee chairmanships in the council.

Wilson Kipkazi of Baringo County, who is gunning for the NGO-Council national chairmanship, is one of those who are partial to government involvement in the vetting process. “There is nothing wrong with the government helping in vetting those running as a matter of national security precaution,” he said last week.

Kipkazi will be running against  George Obondo from Nyanza region and Moimoi Lenana. Davis Njuguna, who was the forth contestant, has since stepped down.

On October 30, last year, the AG’s office published in the Kenya Gazette the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill of 2013 that would have slashed foreign funding for NGOs.