‘Why exclude NGO’s and NPO’s from BRICS?’: local organisation
"We better understand the needs of our people and how best we can help assist communities."
SEDIBENG. – While the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Convention is taking place right at our doorstep, local non-government organizations have decried their exclusion from the convention.
One such, a youth-led organization from Evaton West, Positive Flames South Africa, has taken a stand to call for the government to include the NGO/NPO Sector in the future in the BRICS proceedings.
Positive Flames South Africa serves as the lead organization to over 650 member organizations that are operating at grassroots level in the nine provinces of South Africa.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, Abraham Mnguni, Positive Flames South Africa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said that the NGO/NPO sector plays a critical role in shaping our communities and country through developing society, improving communities, and promoting citizen participation.
“Sustainable development is a fundamental break that’s going to reshuffle the entire deck, yet (they) say nothing for us without us.”
Mnguni said that the NGO/NPO sector wants the following:
- Consultation, (We better understand the needs of our people and how best we can help assist communities with capacity and development goals),
- Policy Development and Advocacy, (We demand the lead of driving the agenda of advocacy and civic education for citizens) and,
- Resources (We should be the leaders in resource management critically in the training and development of SMMEs)
This, he said, is to prevent the corruption that it saw in COVID-19 funds, which were meant to benefit society, and ended up in the pockets of friends of government officials and their families.
