(Feature)
By: Mohamed Sahr
Seamlessly put, civil society aspects of peace building is neither an animated instrument nor a dominant player in Africa particularly with regards to cultural and historical drive.
Notwithstanding, as in many post conflict countries such as Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Rwanda and Liberia among others, this jury appears to be an implemented agents, advocates and voluntary platforms to foster its double-standard roles, and to match up to the needs of western communities.
Civil society in Sierra Leone and Cambodia for instance is portrayed as a corollary of the country’s intimate political and social history.
World Bank admitted that most specialized civil society and NGOs owe their existing loyalty more to the influence and overwhelming support of their political wings, international donors rather than to the country’s democratic space, augmenting grassroots organizations, emergence of social activism or organization charity of an established middle class.
More so, civil societies today primarily look like a barrage of local consultancy companies that generally rely on the motives of donor community in return for a considerable reward.
The propagation of the crusades of its donor partners always brings positive in roads towards diverse operationalities.
In this regard, only few of them have a consistent ideological framework, working methods, better still constituencies especially in their everyday activities.
The diversification of the functions of civil societies and the importance of designing a conducive framework in relation to development are literally underrated.
Despite being an integral groups in development cooperation, the work of civil societies have to deal with breaking the barriers of incapacitated structures which address the heartfelt concerns of deprived groups thus, boosting political participation and good governance. By treating this seriously, the tendency of contributing to solve societal ills and keeping track on government initiatives are on compelling scale.
Regardless of all enthusiasm for the compliment of civil societies in post-conflict counties, the existing risk cannot be neglected. A Country such as Sierra Leone for instance where the civil society is still feeble, there is every possibility for outside party interference to be at the summit in its social, political and economic dispensation, and has great impinging effect on the development and the composition as well.
Hence, the ripple effect it brings would spread into the shadowed entrance. Owing to this, social interests are always favoured and compromised so to speak.
Consequently, these Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) seldom represent citizen’s talk less the broad publics and have little or no character when dealing with their visions and plans. Their works span towards enriching themselves at the expense of the common masses.
Most often than not, they are described as ‘toothless bulldog’. They bark but cannot bite. Although, their core mission is to always keep the governments on their toes and be the change maker for the people, but they play a massive shade-shifting role. On the other slide, the non-civil nature of the civil societies is bred and fed through its sponsors achievements and successes.
That is to say, civil societies are capable of creating a money-driven organization which could be far distanced from regular people and their problems.
However, in the early 2000s, popular organizational ability and the political climate have improved, and civil societies are progressively becoming a real-time work.
In all extent, civil society now serves as machinery for everyday situations for a vast number of Cambodians and Sierra Leoneans, often involving in issues of human rights, democratization, good governance and peace.
Some are normally intimated when they operate fearlessly but many are just jostling to be on the paychecks of their political God-fathers.