Fafi MP Salah Yakub on Tuesday said the activities of NGOs in his constituency must be well-coordinated so their impact can be felt on the ground.
He said some operate in a clandestine manner and exist only on paper but are hardly felt on the ground.
Yakub was speaking to the press outside the Bura East deputy county commissioner's office after a meeting that brought together local administrators and NGOs working in Fafi subcounty.
“We are thankful for the interventions of some of the NGOs. However, the activities of most NGOs are not well-coordinated in our area. Some are briefcase NGOs and don’t even have offices around. We want to know what they are doing and how they are helping our people,” he said.
According to records from the Garissa NGO Board office, there are 17 national and international NGOs working in Fafi. However, not even one has an office in the area.
MP Yakub wondered how an NGO could claim to be operating in the area and yet they have no offices or staff.
"Mine is an appeal and a request to the National NGOs Coordination Board to stamp their authority and audit the NGOs working in my area,” he said.
The MP said although he understands that the NGOs board might not have the capacity and resources required to man and supervise all NGOs in the country, they should do more to monitor them.
“I want to send a strong message to the national NGOs coordination board. I understand most NGOs are not audited, supervised or accounted for what they are doing. Going forward I want to see a situation where they are held accountable for what they are doing in terms of staff, recruitment and finances from donors," Yakub said.
"If they can't do that then I think we should amend the Act and give EACC the authority to do that.”
The MP also took issue with NGOs concentrating on one issue at the expense of other important things that equally require attention.
"I'm concerned that all NGOs are focused on undertaking cash transfer services to needy people while neglecting other sectors such as provision of basic healthcare services and water," he said.
Bura East deputy county commissioner Thomas Bett urged NGOs to follow laid down procedures and operate in openness.
“We want to request all the NGOs operating in this area to gear their programmes towards saving lives. As you know, the area is facing serious drought and people's livelihoods are in danger. It is always wise that what the left hand is doing the right hand should know for coordination,” he said.
Officer in charge of NGOs coordination in Northeastern region Joseph Mutemi said his office had a problem dealing with a number of NGOs operating in the region.
“It is unfortunate that we have hundreds of briefcase NGOs which are only there on paper but in the real sense they don’t exist on the ground. they have been playing hide and seek games with me. They are not transparent at all,” he said.
Mutemi said he had visited several NGOs with a view to establishing what they are doing only for them to relocate to other places.
"I want to challenge them to work closely with my office, local administrators and leadership so we can all work towards uplifting the lives of our people,” he said.
Edited by A.N
