PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Ethiopia: Ethiopia reviews strict civil society regulations
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The European Union (EU) and the Ethiopian civil society organisations Friday welcomed the review of the 2009 law which banned foreign-funded Non-Governmental Organisations from dealing with human rights, political advocacy and justice.
Ethiopian finance ministry official, Belachew Beyene, said the government reclassified EU funding to local NGOs as “domestic” instead of “foreign funding”.
This is a step which effectively frees 3.34 million euros to civil society organisations and sets the stage for a six-fold increment in the coming months.
Head of the European Delegation to Ethiopia, Ambassador Chantal Hebberecht, said the decision to specifically review the financing arrangement for the civil society was in keeping with demands of the Cotonou Agreement.
“The EU has always had a strong commitment in working with the civil society as stated in numerous policies and international agreements such as the Cotonou Agreement,” Ambassador Hebberecht said.
The EU has been providing funding to the civil society since 2006 through the Ethiopia-EU Civil Society Fund. This is part of the development cooperation programme.
“The CSO Fund is a specific case,” Ambassador Hubberecht told PANA, insisting that the re-classification of the EU funding to the local NGOs was based on a joint programme implementation agreement signed with the government.
“The fund is now considered an Ethiopian local Fund,” she added.
The Ethiopian Lawyers Association is among the beneficiaries of the new fund. The lawyers association will receive funding to promote legal awareness, strengthen access to legal aid and continue with lobbying of parliamentarians.
An official of the lawyers body praised the move to change the EU funding into a local fund, which would enable the lawyers association to resume operations after suffering from a financial crisis.
"We understand the environment is evolving and some aspects challenging. I would like to stress that with these projects, you are implementing an official EU-Ethiopia cooperation programme," said Hubberecht.
Ethiopian officials said the civil society fund was benefiting the local population. Currently, about 150 civil society beneficiaries are implementing programmes valued at 22 million Euros.
“The work of the civil society is not antagonistic work against the government,” Ambassador Hubberecht told PANA in an interview after witnessing the signing of 18 grants valued at 3.3 million Euros. “It is difficult to define the role of non-state actors. The different associations have all a role to play.”
The grants would focus on the implementation of projects dealing with governance, creating civil society networks, strengthening the provision of health services to pregnant women and advocating for the rule of law, human rights and peace-building initiatives. There are also projects focusing on green economy initiatives and dealing with climate change among local communities.
The classification of the EU funding to local fund will enable several civil society organisations denied funding by the 90% local funding requirement contained in the 2009 NGO law. The law, known as Civil Society Proclamation banned organisation with more than 10% of foreign funding from dealing with human rights, justice and free legal aid.
The decision has seen a drastic drop in the number of civil society organisations with up to 600 forced out of operations.
However, the European aid to civil society in the East African country appear to be likely to resume full stream with the re-classification of aid package to local funding.
The EU is planning to unveil another 16 million Euros to finance the local NGOs during the next round of funding this year.
“We would like to have good results with greater impact on the population that is why we are increasing the next phase to about 16 million Euros,” the EU envoy added.
-0- PANA AO/VAO 11April2014
Ethiopian finance ministry official, Belachew Beyene, said the government reclassified EU funding to local NGOs as “domestic” instead of “foreign funding”.
This is a step which effectively frees 3.34 million euros to civil society organisations and sets the stage for a six-fold increment in the coming months.
Head of the European Delegation to Ethiopia, Ambassador Chantal Hebberecht, said the decision to specifically review the financing arrangement for the civil society was in keeping with demands of the Cotonou Agreement.
“The EU has always had a strong commitment in working with the civil society as stated in numerous policies and international agreements such as the Cotonou Agreement,” Ambassador Hebberecht said.
The EU has been providing funding to the civil society since 2006 through the Ethiopia-EU Civil Society Fund. This is part of the development cooperation programme.
“The CSO Fund is a specific case,” Ambassador Hubberecht told PANA, insisting that the re-classification of the EU funding to the local NGOs was based on a joint programme implementation agreement signed with the government.
“The fund is now considered an Ethiopian local Fund,” she added.
The Ethiopian Lawyers Association is among the beneficiaries of the new fund. The lawyers association will receive funding to promote legal awareness, strengthen access to legal aid and continue with lobbying of parliamentarians.
An official of the lawyers body praised the move to change the EU funding into a local fund, which would enable the lawyers association to resume operations after suffering from a financial crisis.
"We understand the environment is evolving and some aspects challenging. I would like to stress that with these projects, you are implementing an official EU-Ethiopia cooperation programme," said Hubberecht.
Ethiopian officials said the civil society fund was benefiting the local population. Currently, about 150 civil society beneficiaries are implementing programmes valued at 22 million Euros.
“The work of the civil society is not antagonistic work against the government,” Ambassador Hubberecht told PANA in an interview after witnessing the signing of 18 grants valued at 3.3 million Euros. “It is difficult to define the role of non-state actors. The different associations have all a role to play.”
The grants would focus on the implementation of projects dealing with governance, creating civil society networks, strengthening the provision of health services to pregnant women and advocating for the rule of law, human rights and peace-building initiatives. There are also projects focusing on green economy initiatives and dealing with climate change among local communities.
The classification of the EU funding to local fund will enable several civil society organisations denied funding by the 90% local funding requirement contained in the 2009 NGO law. The law, known as Civil Society Proclamation banned organisation with more than 10% of foreign funding from dealing with human rights, justice and free legal aid.
The decision has seen a drastic drop in the number of civil society organisations with up to 600 forced out of operations.
However, the European aid to civil society in the East African country appear to be likely to resume full stream with the re-classification of aid package to local funding.
The EU is planning to unveil another 16 million Euros to finance the local NGOs during the next round of funding this year.
“We would like to have good results with greater impact on the population that is why we are increasing the next phase to about 16 million Euros,” the EU envoy added.
-0- PANA AO/VAO 11April2014
