A new NGO umbrella organisation is preparing to challenge the role of the fractured South African National NGO Coalition (Sangoco).
The Mail & Guardian reported two weeks ago that the new organisation had been formed, but at the time could not reveal details of its plans.
The National Alliance for NGOs of South Africa (Nangosa), is ”a remedy to the frustration confronted by NGOs and CBOs [community-based organisations] at the operational level”, says its secretary general Alice Rajuili.
Rajuili is president of the South African branch of African-American Aids Support Services and Survival Institute, an international HIV/ Aids NGO.
She says Nangosa was formed because of the problems NGOs had with Sangoco. The new umbrella body will be formally launched in September, and already has 810 signed-up members, she says. Five percent of these are former Sangoco members.
Sangoco represents about 4 000 of the 17 000 to 140 000 NGOs in South Africa. This figure comes from a report on civil society in South Africa by the Cooperative for Research and Education (Core) and the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa).
Sangoco was formed in 1994 to counter the critical situation that confronted NGOs after 1990 when anti-apartheid funding started drying up. It envisions a strong civil society that serves the interests of the poor, but allegations of mismanagement and internal strife have racked the organisation since January. Leaders of Nangosa say the strife has distanced members from Sangoco, a weakness it hopes to resolve in its organisation.
”We would like to emphasise that the emergence of Nangosa is a result of the disunity and lack of coordination in the [civil society] sector,” n framework document for Nangosa says. ”We will embark on addressing local problems until HIV/Aids and poverty have been brought down to their lowest degree.
”We will increase the participatory capacity of the NGO sector with respect to government programmes like the local economic development strategies and the integrated development plans.”
These are government initiatives to encourage local business growth and social development through partnerships with the private sector, NGOs and local communities.
Rajuili says Nangosa will appeal to community organisations that do not have the infrastructure to access resources that larger, more popular NGOs can.
Meanwhile, Sangoco has appointed a special task team to solve the impasse before the NGO Week in September or October in a last-ditch attempt to save the umbrella body. The six-person team was selected at a special national council meeting two weekends ago. Members include Sangoco president Lucas Mufamadi, Core director Phiroshaw Camay, Idasa director Paul Graham and Women’s National Coalition general secretary Laura Kganyago.