Public perceptions of CSOs are generally good

General news for Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Source: GNA

2020-12-22

Public perceptions of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ghana are generally good, except among party activists, who perceive CSO criticism of the government as attempts to make the regime unpopular.

The Ghana CSO Sustainability Index Report 2019 indicated that most people view CSOs as charitable organizations and widely support their activities, especially in local communities.

The CSO Sustainability Index is a tool created by USAID to study the strength and overall viability of CSO sectors in countries of operation.

Ghana was one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to participate in the assessment in 2009 with the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) as the local implementer.

The 2019 report was presented in Accra at a media outreach workshop by Mr. Douglas Quartey, development consultant / author of the Ghana CSO Sustainability Report.

Quartey said that using a standard set of indicators and collecting data each year, the CSO Sustainability Index tracks changes in the strength of the CSO sector over time and enables comparison between countries.

The report reiterated that government perceptions of CSOs remain mixed. The opinion of the business sector on CSOs was positive, although collaboration was limited.

He revealed that both the government and parts of the business sector recognize CSO experience and invite them to speak at their events.

The report hinted that social media use was high among urban and rural organizations, with many organizations using Facebook to disseminate information.

“CSOs in Ghana do not yet have a general code of ethics, although most organizations include codes of conduct in their operational manuals,” the report states.

He said that in 2019, as part of the grant-making process, CSOs receiving funding from STAR-Ghana had to share their organizational codes of conduct.

He said that despite their importance for national development in all sectors, Ghanaian CSOs face monumental challenges to survive.

Mr. Kwesi Jonah, Senior Fellow, IDEG, said that as international development partners and donor agencies were gradually cutting financial support to CSOs, African governments must create financial support for their local CSOs.

He noted that in most advanced democracies, such as the United States and Denmark, governments provide financial support to CSOs, and claimed that the African government could do the same.