By Kellys Kaunda
NGOS AS DELIVERY UNITS – A CLOSER LOOK AT THE DECISION OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO CUT OFF NGOS
One of the rationales for the existence of NGOs is that they deliver services efficiently, effectively and quickly.
They do so because they are not huge and complex like governments are.
The layers of decision-making in government are multiple often affecting service delivery.
Effective, efficient and timely delivery of service costs money because it requires human resource with the requisite expertise.
To attract such expertise means giving them proper financial packages.
This is why the Singaporean government is one of the most effective and efficient in the world – the salaries of its civil servants are often higher than in the private sector.
Can’t the US meet its foreign policy goals if it uses NGOs to deliver goods and services or peddle its influence?
Of course it can and it has always done so with varying degrees of success.
It’s NGOs that USAID funded that spread democracy, a cornerstone of the US foreign policy, around the world.
And governments around the world felt the impact.
This approach was effective because USAID funded local NGOs thus keeping the US out of local politics and in the process avoiding the appearance of imperialism.
