Philanthropy forum: Give us adequate resources to fill devt gap

The Ghana Philanthropy Forum has suggested to the government to adequately resource non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and regulatory institutions to function effectively and efficiently to help fill the development gap.

It observed that the philanthropic sector played a crucial role in filling the developmental gaps where the government was limited and must be well supported and positioned.

However, despite crucial role played by NGOs, they faced myriad of challenges including proper structuring and relevant policies, programmes and activities to enable them to thrive.

Dr Ben Ocra, the President of the forum suggested at the Fourth National Philanthropy Summit held in Accra, which was attended by 400 delegates from across the country,
and brought together development professionals, actors in the public and private sectors, and non-profit entities to engage and strategise towards improving philanthropic work, which is the third sector of the economy.

The two-day summit also presented the opportunity to participants to assess impact of philanthropic work on society, and to showcase new models of civil society advocacy.

Dr Ocra admonished them “to be strategic in their role of complementing government’s efforts at developing society by engaging in projects to make an impact on the citizenry”.

 Isaac Debrah, the Coordinator of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Philanthropy Platform, United Nations Development Programme, Ghana, noted that philanthropic foundations played important roles in development and sponsored ventures the government or some private entities were uncomfortable to fund.

“Over the past two years, philanthropy has been shifting to more structured and strategic approach with emergence of the SDG philanthropy platform, African Women Development Fund, STAR Ghana and many corporate foundations are doing impressive social investments across the country,” he stressed.

 John Majisi, the Member of Parliament for Krachi Nchumuru, and a board member of Inclusion Ghana, an NGO, said mutual and well-documented partnership agreements must be attained between government and stakeholders and indicated that “proper documentation should be put in place to track contributions in addressing national policies and development initiatives”.

He appealed to NGOs to be more visible in deprived areas of the country rather than focusing on areas already receiving government services and interventions and
 expressed gratitude to the forum and STAR Ghana Foundation for organising the summit to address issues and find solutions to changing the face of philanthropy.

He commended individuals and international donors for their continuous support of various socio-economic, cultural and political services and interventions, which could not have been attained.

-gna.org