Public Benefit Organizations (PBOs), formerly NGOs in the North Eastern Region have been commended for fostering collaboration and building trust between communities and security agencies, thus enhancing security in the region.
In a region that has experienced insecurity incidents, especially from al-Shabaab insurgents in recent years, PBOs have played a critical role in facilitating dialogue to overcome historical mistrust between local communities and the state, promoting social cohesion and allowing information flow to avert security threats.
PBOs in the region have also been leading efforts to address violent extremism, and manage inter-communal conflicts by working with community-based peace structures, such as peace committees and elders, to support early warning systems and mediation, thus acting as a bridge to formal security apparatus.
Speaking after leading a tree planting exercise bringing together officials from different PBOs at the North Eastern Regional Headquarters in Garissa, Garissa Township Deputy County Commissioner, Sebastian Okiring, said that the PBOs had been supportive to peace and security efforts by engaging the communities through dialogues on the importance of a secure country.
Okiring further hailed the PBOs for coming-up with resilience programmes, especially those that cushion communities from the effects of drought and floods, which have been recurring in the region leaving behind losses of livelihoods.
“Our working relationship is very cordial. The PBOs have been very supportive to our programmes, particularly facilitating security issues, bringing the communities closer to the law enforcement agencies, which has gone a long way in improving the security situation because members of the public are now willing to share information,” Okiring said.
“Funding for most PBOs has drastically gone down, and as a government, we have put a lot of effort in bringing together the PBOs to avoid issues of duplication. Our key areas of focus given that this is a drought and flood – prone area, are resilience programmes where we support families to start-up businesses,” he added.
At the same time, the DCC said that the government had aligned all the programmes being undertaken by the PBOs so that there was no duplication and to make sure that there were no repeat beneficiaries at the expense of others.
Mohamed Abdullahi, who was representing the PBO Regulatory Authority Director General on his part called for support of the PBOs, noting that the sector’s impact in the country was very momentous.
“The impact of the PBOs is very significant across the country. In the last financial year, the country received through donor aid Sh246 billion, out of which Sh214 billion was utilized in the country,” Abdullahi said.
“We are encouraging the leaders across every region to support PBOs because in this way, we can create employment for our youth and also supplement the government and fill the gaps where the government cannot reach,” he added.
Abdiwelli Mohamed, the founder of Semi-Arid Resilient Network PBO in Garissa called for private – public partnership in resource mobilization for the PBOs to fill in the financial gaps left by the withdrawal of major aid organizations due to global issues and conflicts.
“There have been funding issues for the PBOs because of the global conversations and conflicts, but we are committed to contributing to community resilience and the national development plan. The focus line here is now the private – public partnership, which is very key for the development resource mobilization efforts,” Mohamed said.
By Erick Kyalo
