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NGOs: Good or Bad?

July 12, 2014 at 8:23 pm | News Desk

Salman Ali

In this modern era every individual is well aware of the word “NGO”. The concept of NGO’s which started with the fall of Soviet Union in late 1980s saw not only realignment of world states to a new unipolar world order but also witnessed progressive people, hitherto supporting socialism, making a paradigm shift from Marxism to “liberalism”. This was a west-sponsored move to keep engaging such elements to avoid conflict in societies. For this a global initiative of non-government organization was launched in the name of human rights.

But sadly the meaning of NGO’s has changed with time and I have no hesitation while defining the real meaning of NGOs through my dictionary that it’s a private bourgeoisie organization which tends to work for the working class but without any practical work rather arranging luxury meetings in the favor of so called tablet intellectuals.

I have some questions in my mind that what are these so called NGOs are doing? Secondly what is the purpose of these NGOs? And where are the funds being received by these NGOs used?

The answer is simple “Nothing”, rather than money plundering. The amount which is plundered in the name of welfare is used for some other themes. If these NGOs had implemented programs according to their constitution then unlike today, condition of poor would have been different.  The society might not be desperate like today.

I am not here to criticize the role of NGO’s but I am writing what common people think and gossips. Once I had a detailed meeting with few of my friends and they were of the view that most of these NGOs are headed by influential, politician, bureaucrats and rich people or elite. These are the people who plunder in the name of “NGOs” and deprive the deserving people of their rights. They have seen and so have I that NGO people who were riding on bicycles in the past, now own more than one vehicle at their home. Those had pennies in their pocket until yesterday now having accounts with millions of dollar. These NGO people are directly linked with Left comrades

Everything has good and bad aspects so there are some NGOs who are truly working for the betterment, welfare of the people, capacity building, giving awareness and farewell of human beings but on the other side some NGOs are leading our society to a threatening destructive gateway and no doubt, their role seems to be negative.

Legal Expert Sarmad Ali says, “Civil society in Pakistan is generally weak, and has only recently begun to address macro-political issues. Nonetheless, there are some potentially promising results that are beginning to emerge from the efforts of coalitions and networks of NGOs and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to educate citizens about the meanings of democracy, representation, and the role of voters. NGOs are Catalyst, enabler and innovator in the society.

“Basically NGOs role is to prepare people for change. They empower the people to overcome psychological problems and for the opposition of oppression. Its role cannot be denied. The thing is NGOs credibility has been damaged by some fake NGOs which are working just for sake of funds. But mostly NGOs are doing their bit to improve the living conditions of grass root people and make them aware about their rights and even training them for getting their due rights. So I believe if government is not paying attention to them, we the NGOs are the ones who are working and building their capacity and it’s a massive contribution”, says Ali.

We all know that NGOs claim that their only task is to create social awareness but when people felt that NGOs are not helping them concretely, they lose interest and merely social awareness is of no use to them. Some of the clever participants turn this opportunity into favors for themselves by manipulating different NGOs to get funds in the name of social work. They know that projects are foreign funded and there is no commitment and sincerity behind it. Most NGOs have more or less become family business making big profit and if you are a good pretender you can generate huge funds so that people don’t trust NGOs for help as they consider them a fraud.

I had several discussions with NGO people commonly known as tablet intellectuals about NGOs role and they always claim they are taking full fledge and baby steps for improving and giving a change in society though meetings and seminars likely organized in five star hotels with buffet dinners. They feel this is change but we all know what is it and where the fund is being used?

I feel society will not change with these steps and one has to believe that society changes when people themselves are geared up for the change but presently people of Pakistan are not all set for this change. Secondly tablet intellectuals should know that NGOs role is not providing service delivery like providing education and building schools, law and order, constructing hospitals or maintaining streets and roads, rather this responsibility is of the state. They should know the real difference and responsibilities between a state and civil society. In any country civil society’s role is very clear they are not the alternative for the state and government. They should not focus on developing their own infra-structure rather they should focus on pressuring the government on different issues. If they are not clear what to do and what not to do, then they must read Hegal’s point of view between State and Civil Society.

I want to share some information and facts with my readers that students of Punjab University researched and had a survey which was published in a newspaper as well. The survey established that 80% of NGOs of the country get millions of dollars without doing any welfare work. Their only aim is plundering money. Only 20% NGOs are relatively functional. In Punjab 4000, Sindh 3301, NWFP 309, Balochistan 286 and Azad Kashmir 92. NGOs were reported not working according to their constitutions and promises. These are the figures collected by the PU students during a survey.

Shohrat Rizvi member of Progressive Youth Forum (PYF), was of the view that, “State has been the provider of public necessities since the rise of nation states; it still has a monopoly on force, taxation and law. Yet if the state fails to deliver the basic necessities of life to its citizen, a vacuum is created. Since the creation of United Nations in 1945, this vacuum is increasingly getting filled by the NGOs. Working for the benefit of the society, NGOs have created a space for themselves in capacity building and raising awareness among the masses.

“But it would be a mistake to consider NGOs as a replacement or a remedy for the services that are to be provided by the state. They neither have the resources nor the capacity for that. Moreover with the massive influx of funds from international donor agencies, this sector is also falling victim to the same demon that has cursed the state machinery in Pakistan, i.e. Corruption. With no visible system of accountability, the aid money sent for the people is being plundered by the already rich management of these NGOs. If we wish to benefit from them, we need the NGOs to focus more towards capacity building and raising awareness among the masses, leaving the functions of the state to the state, as well as having an effective system of accountability in place, says Shohart.

The failure of non-governmental organizations and misappropriation of funds by them is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan. Corruption and dishonesty has plunged in all sectors of Pakistan and so into these organizations.

The writer is a board member of Progressive Youth Forum, Lahore-based social and political activist and he can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com

 

News Desk

Economic Affairs Editor

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