Africa Day: Calls for Africa to free itself from donor dependency

As the continent celebrates Africa Day on Wednesday, there are growing calls to free Africa from international donor dependency.

Donor dependency

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a decrease in the inflow of donor funding from international aid organisations.

At the recently concluded Trialogue Business in Society conference, hosted earlier this month in Johannesburg, it was revealed that 90% of civil society organisations were dependent on international donor funding.

However, the pandemic had forced countries to look inwards and prioritise their domestic needs over international aid.

One of the panellists at the conference, the chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF), Sello Hatang, used the NMF as an example of how non-profits can successfully raise funding at home.

According to Hatang, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the foundation received 80% of its funding from international donors.

This had changed dramatically in the aftermath of Covid-19, with international funders now contributing only 40% of the foundation’s budget.

“We should free ourselves from donor dependency, and we can. The 2020 pandemic proved that we can. We had to look at home for funding and our corporate partners came on board, mostly with no strings attached,” he said.

Agile non-profit sector

Hatang highlighted the importance of the agile non-profit sector in facilitating impact on the ground.

“If funding is given to local non-profit organisations (NPOs), you see the impact. If it’s given to government, I’m not so sure.

“When we launched the sanitation project for schools with Vodacom, it became even clearer that it’s easier when money goes to local NPOs or community-based organisations that know what is happening on the ground.

“When it goes to government, not only does the money go through processes that don’t make sense, in most instances, it doesn’t get to where it needs to,” he said.

But what are the barriers faced by local NPOs in getting access to funding?

The director of the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI), Bheki Moyo, argued that the relationship between donors and recipients of donor funding can be fraught with power imbalances.

He said the more funds there are to disperse, the greater the need to ensure transparency and accountability. This can sometimes lead to unnecessary red tape, negatively impacting the work of civil society.

It’s even worse for many smaller organisations that do not have the governance, processes and language that they need to access donor funding, Moyo said.

“Our research found that international donors tend to support international organisations, with a lot of the money that is allocated for interventions in Africa usually ending up in the headquarters of international organisations in the north,” he said. 

“This practice is common among Northern-based donors, who prefer to support international organisations with reach and influence, but not necessarily an intimate knowledge of community needs.

“Processes are so rigorous and limiting, and while larger institutions can access funding, they are not as embedded in the community. This creates a mismatch that hampers development.”

Moyo added that companies and donors should think innovatively and not behave like traditional donors, which tends to constrain NPOs.

Illicit financial outflows

Former Public Protector Professor Thuli Madonsela, who was also one of the panellists at the conference, shared her reflections on the topic.

Madonsela highlighted that while Africa should find its own resources, it was important to acknowledge how Africa’s resources had been pillaged, and how the continent continued to lose money through illicit financial outflows.

“I don’t think we should buy into the conversation that says we shouldn’t get some of that money back. I think we should get it back as part of restitution. But on our terms, and in a purpose-driven way,” she said.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe and Lethabo Malatsi

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