Civil Society Organisations commemorate World NGO Day
Empowering Grassroots Movements for a Sustainable Future.
27 February 2025 – Gaborone and Francistown
Non-governmental Organisation (NGO)s, civil society and informal groups serve as a critical foundation for accountability, public participation and social good. Those in the grassroots, without meaningful resources to scale impact and ensure equitable remuneration for our people, continue to advocate and transform lives with little to no resources. Community based organisations play a key role in addressing social issues and complimenting state and private sector shortcomings. Our work is underpinned by the shared value of Setho, where volunteerism, collaboration and innovative thinking are driven by the passion to improve the lives of Batswana. The role of NGOs continues to be compromised with declines in funding and a lack of equitable engagement. This leads to missed opportunities for co-creation and complimentary action towards Vision 2036.
We extend our deepest sympathies with Batswana impacted by the recent floods. We hope there can be continued dialogue and policy improvements in strengthening safeguards and responses to the impacts of climate change. Early warning mechanisms, resource allocations, clear and inclusive information sharing are critical to ensure no lives are lost due to natural disasters or the related impact in health, economic participation and human rights. Notably, community based mental health, economic development and social justice should be prioritised. Ensuring a care driven and well-being economy to stimulate national resilience, productivity and equitable policy reforms. Civil society remains a partner to strengthen prevention, mitigation and response measures. We have the expertise, lived experience and grassroots reach to ensure inclusion and accommodation of diverse needs.
Whilst the devastating impact of global development aid cuts over the last 5 years (Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands among others), the US government’s abrupt pause and projected removal from the global development funding pool will have unprecedented outcomes. From global health infrastructure, media freedoms, gender equality, human rights and multilateralism: Botswana, as a higher middle-income country, should prepare and set up its own solutions for domestic, regional and global commitments. This includes a sustainable resourcing ecosystem that compliments service delivery, human rights fulfilment and broader development outcomes. We believe there are opportunities to showcase Botswana as an exemplary democratic state beyond economic and trade metrics. Through investing in civil society, there can be tangible outcomes in improving societal wellbeing, human rights literacy, eliminating gender-based violence and strengthening civic participation.
This year’s theme is a critical reminder in the potential for working with civil society: Empowering Grassroots Movements for a Sustainable Future. Grassroots movements often work with less than BWP 500,000 in annual income, mostly project related/tied to specific activities including workshops, advocacy and community service provision. This often leaves little room for dignified salaries, appropriate rental space, or even social projections for those engaged in transformative work. Founders often sacrifice their own personal resources, unpaid time, unaccounted labour and opportunity costs to secure livelihood and take care of their own families. We hereby make the following recommendations for government, the private sector and international development partners:
- Fund civil society, prioritising grassroots and emerging community based, and community led organisations to ensure maximum impact and beneficiation from resources. The lower overheads and administrative costs for smaller organisations means greater impact and focus on transforming communities.
- Ensure hard-to-reach communities and issues are supported. This is key for leaving no one behind. This includes ensuring dedicated fiscal quotas, integration in disaster management and development budget interventions, along with disability provisions beyond normative resourcing by accommodating accessibility equipment and technological advancements.
- Amplify lived experiences to sustain human rights, health and democratic gains made. Notably, through harnessing indigenous knowledge, storytelling, linguistic, and disability inclusion to ensure knowledge is power.
- Encourage collaboration with civil society, as opposed to competition. Leveraging the diversity of civil society to ensure wider impact and scope to strengthen the trajectory of Botswana’s development. This includes ensuring participatory, circular and democratic processes in regulatory, resourcing and networking enablement.
- Improve mechanisms for social and public participation to ensure grassroots civil society and communities have clear avenues for participation and consultation. Inequities in engaging with the same civil society means diverse and grassroots perspectives are left behind. There should be meaningful, rotational and representative mechanisms to ensure meaningful participation reflective of civil society’s diversity and impact on the ground.
See outcome document from last year’s in person commemoration: https://drive.google.com/file/d/190BvvonQhuJQZm8bIpVvEafljjpGSfzd/view?usp=sharing