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Machakos District (Kenya): 2001 - 2006.

ESTHER LOVENESS OKWANGA

submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY

in the subject

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR HENNIE SWANEPOEL

FEBRUARY

201
2 ii

DECLARATION

Student Number: 558-800-6

I, ESTHER LOVENESS OKWANGA; do hereby declare that this Doctoral Thesis titled: "Caught at crossroads - which way for NGOs?" An analysis of NGO post-drought "rehabilitation through to development" interventions in Machakos District (Kenya):2001 - 2006"; is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ________________________ _____________________

SIGNATURE DATE

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was inspired by two personal experiences in the course of my twenty year career in relief and development work; the experiences were in two communities; at different points in time; in two

different countries and in spatial terms, approximately four thousand kilometres apart. Notwithstanding

the distance between them and differences in terms of cultural and traditional considerations; the two communities had two things in common; they were both rural and poor. At the same time however, they displayed a degree of assertiveness that is uncommon in many a poor rural community in Africa.

In both experiences, the two communities had been victims of a natural disaster during which they had

benefited from relief assistance delivered by NGOs; the relief assistance was greatly appreciated. In the

aftermath of the emergency phase, the NGOs remained in the communities to implement post-disaster mitigation and preparedness interventions; the goal of the interventions was to reduce the communities' vulnerability against similar threats in the future. The NGOs' donors concurred that

building the resilience of the communities against future threats to their welfare was the right course of

action in the post-disaster phase of the interventions. To this effect, the funding provided was strictly earmarked for longer term disaster mitigation interventions; at that point in time however, the

communities' expressed and most pressing felt needs were in respect of the short to medium term post-

disaster period. Such differences of opinion resulted in the communities adamantly refusing to participate in the planned interventions. My first reaction in both experiences was one of irritation by what at the time, I perceived as unreasonable behaviour and ungratefulness on the part of the

communities. In time and on reflection however, I came to realise that there was nothing unreasonable

about the behaviour of the communities; they were simply exercising their right to be involved in

decisions on matters that affect their lives. I am grateful to the two communities; in Gwanda District

(Zimbabwe) and Bagamoyo District (Tanzania) for the assertive position they took; such assertiveness was to be the trigger factor for further reflection on the challenges NGOs face in pursuit of their noble

mission of serving the poor and disadvantaged in society. In time, such reflection was to influence my

choice of the subject of study.

At some point during the study, I encountered some challenges and considered de-registering; I extend

my gratitude to Professor Frik de Beer and Dr. Derica Kotze of the Department of Development

Studies at UNISA for their support and interventions at the time. Part of the support resulted in the

iv assignment Professor Hennie Swanepoel as my new supervisor; the guidance and support he provided saw me finally reach this stage. To Professor Swanepoel, I extend my sincere gratitude.

In organising the field work,

former colleagues; Pamela Indiaka, Tabitha Matolo and Joseph Mbalu did a sterling job in facilitati ng contact with public authorities and the permission to conduct the study in Machakos District. The research assistants; John Mutongoi, Agnes Mwikali and Thomas Mutuku did an equally sterling job; often working long hours in order to get the field work co mpleted on time. I am grateful to them all for their support and contribution at this critical stage of the study. Finally, throughout the study, my family was behind me all the time; my husband Nelson and my twins, Nigel and Natasha; the twins started university when the study was well under way. Whenever

the twins noticed I was lagging behind my own deadlines, their regular reminders of the possibility that

they would complete their degrees before I completed mine were to act as the greatest motivation to keep me focused and avoid the implied embarrassment! I extend my sincere gratitude to my husband for the unwavering support and to the twins for the veiled constructive "threats". v

SUMMARY

Non Governmental Organisations have been operating in Africa since the 1940's; then, their work was heavily biased towards relief work. From the 1980s
however, the role of NGOs evolved to include development; understandably, African governments were finding it increasingly difficult to provide

adequate levels of basic services for their people. To this effect and initially; NGOs got involved in

development as short term "gap fillers" in the provision of basic services; health and education amongst others. As Africa's development discourse continued unabated, NGOs were recognised by

donors and host governments alike, as indispensible to the provision of such services; in time however,

they became the subject of criticism for allegedly failing to irreversibly ameliorate the conditions of the poor.

In delivering services,

NGOs work in a complex partnership characterised by power imbalances. The partnership involves donors who own the means of production which facilitate NGOs' work and host governments who "own" the humanitarian space which NGOs need to fulfil their humanitarian mandate While seemingly poor and powerless, the communities served wield the power to facilitate or block the success of NGO interventions through their commitment and/or lack thereof; respectively; NGOs' contribution is their skills and humanitarian spirit. The success of NGO interventions is a function of resources, humanitarian space and the goodwill that donors, host governments and the communities served bring to the partnership table respectively. The study sought to establish why between 2001-2006; NGO post-drought rehabilitation through to

development interventions failed to irreversibly reduce vulnerability against drought in communities in

Machakos District and the extent to which power imbalances which characterise "partnerships for development" contributed to the failure by NGOs to fulfil their mandate. The study revealed that NGOs are unwaveringly committed to their humanitarian mandate however;

the power imbalances that characterise "partnerships for development" and in particular, that between

NGOs' and donors militated against the fulfilment of their mandate in Machakos District. When NGOs

fail to deliver on their mandate; they lose credibility amongst the other partners and this reinforces the

power imbalances; it's a vicious cycle. "Caught at Crossroads..." NGOs are indeed. vi

Key Concepts

Development partnerships; community participation; empowerment; impact; sustainability; accountability.

Areas for further study:

The study was limited to post

-drought mitigation and preparedness interventions in Machakos District

which by expert opinion (agro-ecological classification) is semi-arid or marginal; as such, the District

has the potential for self sufficiency in food security. This is the possible explanation for lack of

enthusiasm by donors in funding longer term food security interventions in the District following the

drought of 1999 -2001. It may well turn out that had the interventions been in the very arid Districts and/or in other development sectors, the picture with respect to donor interest might have been very

different. With respect to the host government; food security issues are politically sensitive; to this

effect, that public authorities' decisions on priorities and targeting might have been different had the

interventions been in other less politically sensitive development sectors; cannot be ruled out. Finally,

with respect to the communities and as the saying goes, "a hungry man is a very angry man"; that some

of the negative sentiments expressed about the interventions can be attributed to this very fact cannot

be ruled out either.

Against th

is background, studies in the arid

Districts in Kenya or elsewhere and/or

in other development sectors would go a long way towards increasing NGOs' knowledge on the factors which influence the behaviour of the various stakeholders in partnerships for development in different contexts. An increase in such knowledge would broaden the nature and scope of strategies and options

available to NGOs to overcome the factors that act as constraints to the realisation of their cherished

goal of sustainable development in the communities they serve. vii

LIST OF ACRONYMS

BOND British Overseas NGOs for Development

CECM Community Environmental Conservation Monitors

CES Community Environmental Scouts

CHW Community Health Worker

CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation

CSO Civil Society Organisation

CSR Corporate Social Responsibility

DAC Development Assistance Committee

DMG

District Management Group

DSG

District Steering Group

DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom) ECHO European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Office

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