Noise about NGOs is an attempt to silence independent voices in Kenya

The cartoonists in our daily press are the most perceptive and incisive analysts in Kenya.

Wednesday’s cartoon in The Star was brilliant. It depicted a person called Govt stealing from the back pocket of taxpayers, as one of our many self-styled preachers is also stealing from “Wanjiku.” “Govt admonishes the preacher saying, “That is immoral and fraudulent; I will have to regulate you!”

That sums up much of the false debates on the need to control civil society organisations in Kenya. It is couched as regulation: But make no mistake, the idea is to control and/or destroy the last independent sector in Kenya. And those calling for controls are the ones most prominent at the trough “eating.”

Let’s be clear: NGOs and other civil society organisations — like everyone else — need to be transparent and accountable. But that accountability should be, like businesses, to their donors and stakeholders. Not to the government, unless government is a funder, or a stakeholder in the work of the NGO.

For once we go into the realm of NGO accountability to government, we lose the essence of independence of NGOs, essentially turning them into civil service units.

This makes a mockery of the oversight role for those NGOs dealing with accountability. For how can they be an additional check and balance on government and politicians, yet have to be accountable to them?

Dodgy arguments are being made that because NGOs receive foreign funding, then they could be foreign agents. Hmmm…does this mean that because our new railway is being built and financed by the Chinese the Jubilee regime is a foreign agent of China? Does this mean that because the significant chunk of our HIV/Aids budget is funded by the USA, the Jubilee regime is an American agent?

And is our Parliament, which receives support from USAid via SUNY-Albany an agent of the USA? Or is our Judiciary an agent of UNDP and World Bank which are substantial funders? And is our military, receiving significant funding from US and UK, an agent of these countries?

SILENCE INDEPENDENT VOICES

Does it mean that because Commercial Bank of Africa, for instance, has foreign shareholders and foreign directors it is a foreign agent? Or that Nation Newspapers is an agent of France, where the Aga Khan, the biggest shareholder (and thus funder) is based?

Let’s cut to the chase. The noise about NGOs is only about trying to silence and intimidate some independent voices that speak truth to power. We have a regime that is more sensitive to criticism than any other we have ever had. And that sensitivity; that lack of confidence, begs many questions about its legitimacy and ability to govern.

For if it is about transparency, why is there no effort to increase the transparency of business? It was businesses, not NGOs, involved in Anglo Leasing. Goldenberg was a business not an NGO too.

Indeed, an October 22, 2012 report in “Public Intelligence” rated Kenya as the easiest country in the world to establish “an anonymous shell corporation,” which is the route to money laundering, corruption, theft and the illicit transfer of funds. It is not surprising then drug trafficking, corruption, and even terrorism thrive in Kenya.

We see it every day too. Remember the list of land owners in Lamu whose titles were revoked recently? They were all shell companies. Remember the list of those in the tussle over plots in Karen? Again opaque shell companies dominate. It goes on and on.

And yet, there is not a word from the political class about regulating this clearly dangerous and corrupt practice. Why? Because many of them use this method for their nefarious activities! They don’t want, for now, the scrutiny by NGOs.

But you can bet that when they fall foul of the powers that be, they will rush for help to the same NGOs they now condemn.

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